Improve Your Soccer Skills - With FITLIGHT® Reaction Training System

Published: 2022-12-15

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Good soccer players rely on quick reflexes, sharp mental focus, and the ability to anticipate their opponent’s moves. That’s why many coaches and trainers use the FITLIGHT® reaction training system to help improve their players' soccer skills. With this system, players can practice specific exercises that will help them become more effective on the field. Let’s take a look at some exercises that will help you improve your game using FITLIGHT®.

Shoulder Checks in Soccer

To succeed in soccer, players must constantly be aware of their surroundings, including where their teammates and opponents are. Shoulder checks are designed to help develop this awareness by having players rapidly turn their heads left and right while moving in place. To execute this drill, it is simple: The player starts with the ball, with a coach in front and two lights behind the player on either side of them. With the lights beginning off, the player one-touch passes with the coach while checking their shoulders. At one point, the lights will activate blue or red. If blue, pass back and check to the FITLIGHT®; if red, turn and dribble to the FITLIGHT®. This exercise helps with awareness, decision-making, and first touch.

Peripheral Awareness in Soccer

Also known as indirect vision, peripheral awareness is the side vision of the eye that allows a person to perceive objects in their surroundings without turning their head or moving their eyes. Peripheral vision lets you view things and places that your primary vision does not allow you to see. Although peripheral vision is less acute than central vision, it is more sensitive to light and motion, allowing us to detect side activities even when we are not looking in that direction. In this drill, place lights on either side of the player. While the player one-touch passes with the coach, they must remain aware of the light behavior in their peripheral vision. If the light turns blue, the player checks to the FITLIGHT® without the ball; if the light turns red, the player must turn to the light while dribbling the ball. Peripheral awareness is essential for successful soccer players to anticipate their opponents' movements and react quickly without taking their eyes off the ball.

Soccer Reactive Defensive Positioning & Speed

Working on reactive, defensive position and speed helps soccer players develop speedier reflexes, which can be incredibly helpful when defending against fast-moving attackers or making last-minute plays before a goal is scored. This drill is designed to help improve overall speed while positioning defensively against an opponent. FITLIGHTS® are arranged in a diamond; the lights will activate randomly, with a beep sound. For a red light, accelerate to the light and deactivate it, maintaining a defensive stance; if the light is blue, deactivate it and force the player to their left. Players must react quickly to the colors of the lights, indicating left or right, while maintaining proper defensive posture and positioning. This drill helps players improve their agility and reaction time when defending against an opposing player.

These three exercises are only a few of what can be trained using the FITLIGHT® reaction training system, making it a handy tool for coaches and trainers who want to help their players become more effective soccer players on the field. With its adjustable difficulty levels, the FITLIGHT® system allows you to tailor your drills specifically for each player so that they can maximize their potential during gameplay. By taking advantage of this technology, soccer players can increase agility, quickness, peripheral awareness, reactive speed, and defensive positioning - all essential skills for any aspiring athlete looking to take their game to the next level! So, if you're looking for ways to improve your team's performance, give the FITLIGHT® system a try today.