Training for teenage soccer players, between club nights

A teenage player trains with the club two or three nights a week. What they do on the other days, and how they sleep and eat, decides a lot about how they grow as a player and whether they stay on the park.

Strength training is safe and useful for teens

Done with good coaching and sensible loads, strength training helps young players run faster, jump higher and handle the knocks of the game. It starts with body weight and technique, and the weight comes later.

Growth spurts change everything for a while

During a growth spurt a player can lose coordination, feel sore knees or heels, and need less jumping and sprinting load for a few weeks. Full Season asks for height every three months and adjusts the program when a player is growing quickly.

Sleep and food are training too

Teenagers need more sleep than adults, and a short night costs most the next day. Food comes first: protein through the day, carbohydrate around training, water. Full Season shows no supplement doses to players under 18; it says food first and to talk to a parent and the club physio.

What Full Season gives a teen player

If their club uses Full Season, each player gets their own page on their phone: a program built around their club nights and games, a 30 second check-in, the warm-up that looks after knees and hamstrings, and their test results. Under 12s do not get a gym program. Parents of players under 18 receive the player and parent notice, and a parent is asked for consent.

Read the injury prevention warm-up guide and the fitness tests. For one-on-one strength and conditioning in Richmond, see AK Fitness.