Pete Calabrese is currently the Strength/Fitness Coach and periodization specialist with the US U-17 Men’s National Team. Prior to his time with US Soccer Federation, he spent six years with DC United of the MLS and one year with the Virginia Beach Mariners of the A-League.

Here is the third of five installments from Coach Calabrese. The focus of your session for the day should be high speed running over distance. Try this medium- medium heavy intensity warm up ideal for 2-3 days out from match day. Prior installments focused on regeneration and agility. Add this sprint/distance warm up to your own personal library and try them with your teams on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week!

View Installment 1: Warm Up Regeneration Focus, Low-Medium Low Intensity

View Installment 2: Warm Up Agility Focus, Medium Heavy-Heavy Intensity 

1.

Setup:

32 players, groups of 4-6, servers are 10 yards away facing the first player in line. 2-3 repetitions per variation per distance, 12-18 total sprints, 360-540 yards total sprint distance covered with and without the ball.

Instructions:

Start with movement prep, 15 yard distance: side shuffle, 2 and 2 forward shuffle, high knees, carioca, open hips forward, open hips backward. Variation 1- shown with yellow players, the second player in line slips a ball through for the first player in line to react and run onto it and dribble at pace to the 20 yard cone. Variation 2- shown with the red players, the coach plays a ball which initiates the sprint from the first player in line to arrive to the ball as quickly as possible and dribble at pace to desired distance.

Coaching Points:

• Proper sprint mechanics, first step must be forward, punch leg and arms forward towards the ball.
• No wasted movements or steps, acceleration and deceleration when manipulating the ball at pace.
• Between variations include dynamic movements:
  1. Kick straight, kick across, knee hug hamstring, quad stretch
  2. Lateral lunge to balance, lunge reach and rotate, deep squat side to side
  3. Reverse lunge to hip cradle, on back alternate leg swings, flip over head to heel
  4. Stability bounds lateral, straight leg skip 20 yards

2.

Setup:

32 players, groups of 4-6, set up as shown. Cones are placed two yards apart. 4 repetitions per variation each direction, 16 total sprints, 480 yards total distance covered with and without the ball.

Instructions:

Start with movement prep, 15 yard distance: side shuffle, 2 and 2 forward shuffle, high knees, carioca, open hips forward, open hips backward. Variation 1- shown by the red players, high knees through the cones, side shuffle to and around the corner flag and sprint to ball played through, finishing with dribbling at pace. Four repetitions then change directions, 8 sprints total. Variation 2- shown by the yellow players, quick footwork through the cones, side shuffle to the flag, turn inside facing the ball and sprint to the ball, finish with dribbling at pace. Four repetitions then change directions, 8 sprints total.

Coaching Points:

• Clean footwork through the cones
• Track the ball at all times if possible
• No wasted movement
• Sharp turns and take most direct route to the ball
• Between variations include dynamic movements:
  1. Kick straight, kick across, knee hug hamstring, quad stretch
  2. Lateral lunge to balance, lunge reach and rotate, deep squat side to side
  3. Reverse lunge to hip cradle, on back alternate leg swings, flip over head to heal
  4. Stability bounds lateral, straight leg skip 20 yards