01 Sep Testing Speed

September Coaching Newsletter – 2016

Testing Speed

Speed

In today’s practice, too much assessment of the player is primarily due to the subjective observations from the coach.
Subjective observations are where assessment of the player is influenced by the feeling or opinion of the coach.
As a result, more and more attention has to be given to the objective methods, through the use of situational psychomotor tests, in controlling the ability of soccer players.
When evaluating an objective test, the personal opinion of the coach is not a factor.
One of the qualities of a situational psychomotor testing program is that the player’s, squad’s, coach’s and club’s progress can be monitored.
This objective method should be an addition to the subjective technical-tactical analysis of the player.

In Winning Through Planning and Testing, I explain in detail, the use of psychomotor (10 tests) and technical-tactical tests, from 9 to 18 years, that can be used to select and control the progress of players in a systematic controlled youth development program.
Speed plays a major role in the success of the soccer player.
It is the ability to perform a movement quickly or to see how fast a movement is performed.
When we talk about speed in soccer, we are talking about two components: cognitive (mental) and motor (psychomotor) speed.
In today’s modern game, speed is an essential part of performance.
One cannot imagine today’s elite soccer player without excellent starting speed, reaction speed, change of direction speed, running speed, ball control speed, speed in releasing the ball and speed in problem solving or situational intelligence in the game.
But at the same time it is of no use to have excellent psychomotor speed and poor technique, there has to be a balance.

As I have always stressed, technique is the foundation and should never be ignored.
A youth development scheme should be about producing players and not about winning championships.
Over the decades of testing I have found that elite players representing their region in State or National Championships are all scoring marks above 85 percent in these tests.
You might like to try the following two examples, boys 9 years (speed) and girls 11 years (coordination), and see how your players rate.

Test – 1 – 20 Metre Sprint (speed)

Description – The player stands stationary behind the start line, facing the finish line, waiting for the hand signal to start the sprint. The player sprints from the starting line through and past the 20 metre finish line.

Test 5 – Dribbling the Ball Around the Semi Circle (coordination)

Description – The ball is placed anywhere on the starting line, which is 2 metres wide. The player dribbles the ball around the semi circle radius of 9.15 metres and around a post, which is 2 metres from the semi circle edge, and back to the start. The time starts the moment the ball is kicked forward and dribbled back around the semi circle and over the starting line.

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