Soccer Speed
There are many types of speed in soccer. Raw speed, meaning how fast you can run from point A to point B, is obviously important. However, great soccer players require great speed of mind combined with speed of body. Speed is psychophysical. Jurgen Weineck described seven types of speed critical to soccer[1,2]. These are:
Perceptual
Speed
Anticipation Speed
Decision-Making Speed
Reaction Speed
Movement Speed without the Ball
Action Speed with the Ball
Game Action Speed
Perceptual speed is essentially raw speed of mind. It is the speed at which a player can process all the visual and verbal stuff going on around him. Players with great perceptual speed, see the ball, the goal, the movement of their team mates and the opposition, they see space on the field, and take visual and hear verbal cues. When a ball is in the air they are able watch not only the ball, but what is going on around them.
Players with great perceptual speed often have great Anticipation speed. Anticipation speed is something that improves with experience and, in the setting of team play, is something that improves as a team grows and gels. Players with great anticipation speed are able to "pick up clues"[2] and thus anticipate what is going to happen before it happens. Players with great anticipation speed are those that find themselves in the right place at the right time.
Decision-making speed is how a player reacts once he has processed the information around him. Some players have great mental quickness, but make slow decisions. Quick decision making, both with and without the ball, is essential to being able to play at a higher level. Players with slow decision-making speed miss opportunities.
Reaction speed in some sense describes a player's reflexes. For example, when a ball is shot 90 miles an hour at a goalie from 10 yards out, the goalie must have great reaction speed to deflect the shot. Reaction speed can vary from day to day (for example, if you didn't get enough sleep or ate poorly before a match). Reaction speed may also change during the course of a game. Reaction speed requires concentration and fitness. Players that are fit and focussed can sustain excellent reaction speed throughout a full match.
Movement speed is the speed at which a player executes a variety of movements without the ball. Examples include marking a player or losing a defender, body fakes, quick movement to first defender position, change of speed and change of direction, and quick tackles. Players with good movement speed are often the first to the ball. Movement speed may involve movements over long or short distances, but generally involves distances less than 25 yards [2]. Without great fitness and endurance, players can not maintain good movement speed through a full match.
Action speed is the speed with which a player can execute movements with the ball. In order to have great action speed a player must have mastery of the ball. It is no coincidence that the best player on a team is also very often the best juggler. Action speed not only takes lots of coordination, but lots of practice.
Game action speed is how the player puts all of the other types of speed together to make smart, fast decisions and actions in a game. Players with great game action speed not only make quick decisions and execute them well, they make the right decisions quickly and execute them well. They have not only great technical abilities, but a great tactical sense.
To play at very high levels in soccer, you must have great speed in all seven areas. You can only get there through lots of practice and effort.
1. J. Weineck, Optimales Fussballtraining, Teil 1: Das Konditionstratining des Fussballspielers, PERIMED-spitta Medezinische Verlagsesellschaft mbh, Nuermberg, 1992.
2.
V. Gambetta, J. Luxbacher, J. Osorio, R. Quinn, N. Sedwick, and M. Thyron, "How
to Improve the 7 Speeds of Soccer," Performance Conditioning, Inc., 1998.