This is the world's best daily soccer routine or pre-game warm-up.

The following activity will improve your skills and help you get ready for the season. It is imperative that we not lose sight of the most important skill of soccer. And that is TOUCH. Touch determines what happens when the ball finally gets to YOUR FOOT.

The other important thing about TOUCH is that players can develop this skill and ability on their own away from team practice! And that is what you should be doing. That way, we can incorporate these growing skills INTO team sessions and make team sessions far more interesting (i.e. FUN) rather than spending 30-45 minutes of valuable team time learning the very basics.

You need to MASTER at least 3 different moves. And I mean MASTER. That means on both the left AND right foot, or in both directions. That means at game speed. And that means as a reflex – without having to think to yourself “ok, I want to do such & such move now, so the 1st step is”…etc. That also means including the exploding acceleration into the space you just created

for yourself every time you use (or even practice) the move. Of course, the more moves beyond 3 that you master, the more dangerous you will be to opponents because they will not know how to defend you. There are over 20 skills, feints, turns, and moves in our basic warm-up for you to learn. Just imagine how deadly a player you can be.

1000 TOUCH WORKOUT. The footwork activity here is designed to give you about 1000 touches in seven minutes. And I know that everyone can find seven minutes a day to work on their soccer skills. This warm-up should be done daily as a regular part of exercise and training preparation. Ideally, on practice days and match days, I would love to see everybody arrive 15 minutes early and get this warm-up in before we even begin the regular training session or match preparation.

SEVEN MINUTE DRILL

50 BALL TAPS (Toe touches)

BASIC ROLLS (10 each foot)

1) Inside Roll

2) Outside roll

BELL TOUCHES (50 touches)

FOUNDATION SKILLS (10 each)

1) Inside-Outside

2) Triangles

3) Vee

PULL-BACK SKILLS Do sequence with one foot then switch (4 times each foot )

1) Pull, Instep Push

2) Pull a Vee

3) Pull & Take with Outside of foot

4) Pull & Roll Behind

TURNS: from moderate speed turn 180 degrees and explode/accelerate for 3 touches. Then bring it back down to moderate pace for the next turn (4 times each foot)

1) Pull Turn

2) Drag-Back

3) Inside Chop

4) Outside-Cut

5) Cruyff

6) Stepover Turn

7) Step-On Shield & Turn

TAKE-ON MOVES, explode/accelerate after the move for 3 touches. Then bring it back down to moderate pace for the next move (4 times each foot)

1) Hip Swivel

2) Roll-Touch

3) Roll-Push

4) Inside-Outside (Mathews)

5) Stepover

6) Rivolino

7) Body Swerve (Scissor Behind the ball)

8) Scissor

9) Double Scissor

10) Ba-Dink (Cap)

Complete as indicated in the summer program. Recommended 6 days a week (6000 touches/week).

FULL 1000 TOUCH WORKOUT

To continue with the FULL 1000 TOUCH WORKOUT, add the following cycles:

BALL & A WALL

Spend another ten minutes passing against a wall. Use both feet. Use onetouch, two-touch, and three-touch pass backs. Pass back with both the instep and inside of feet. Include fake kicks. Keep feet moving and your weight on the balls of your feet. Receive balls with your body square behind the ball and work on accuracy with your passes.

JUGGLING/TOUCH LADDER

Spend ten minutes juggling the ball trying to get 100 consecutive juggles or, if you are not yet proficient enough a juggler, work the Touch Ladder.

PATTERN DRIBBLE

Pattern Dribble for 10-15 minutes.

(IR=inside right; OR=outside right; IL=inside left; OL=outside left)

Begin with easy 1 foot patterns:

IR-OR-IR-OR-IR-OR-IR-OR-IR-OR and

IL-OL-IL-OL-IL-OL-IL-OL-IL-OL

Progress to more complex patterns. For example:

IR-OL-IL-OR - IR-OL-IL-OR - IR-OL-IL-OR - IR-OL-IL-OR

IR-OL-IL-IR-IL-OR - IR-OL-IL-IR-IL-OR - IR-OL-IL-IR-IL-OR

IR-OL-IL-stepover-OL-IL-OR-IR-stepover-OR - IR-OL-IL-stepover-OL-ILOR-

IR-stepover-OR

Make up your own patterns. Be Creative. Have fun with it.

RUNNING, SPRINTING & SLOWING WITH THE BALL

Accelerate & Decelerate under full control of the ball. This is different from dribbling. Dribbling is about change of direction. This is about pace and change of pace. The ability to change you pace - explode or come to a dead stop with the ball under full control - is as important as any take-on move you can ever learn. The direction is roughly straight ahead. Start from a

moderate pace and then explode for 10-20 yards then bring the ball back down to moderate pace all the while not breaking stride. 10-15 minutes.