Running Drills for Soccer Players: Get Faster with the Right Technique

Most youth teams jog two laps around the pitch before a match and call it conditioning. Speed does not come from that. Getting faster in soccer does not need longer laps, it needs better running technique. That is exactly what running drills are for: a set of technique exercises that train each part of the running stride on its own. This guide shows you which building blocks count, which ten drills suit U11 to U18, and how a forest run builds base endurance alongside them.

Why soccer players sprint differently

A sprint in soccer has little in common with a 100-meter dash. In a match you rarely cover long distances in one go. Instead come many short, sharp bursts in every direction, with stops, turns and pauses in between. Moving like that demands a different technique than steady continuous running: short, fast steps, a low center of gravity at the start and explosive acceleration. The first ten meters are decisive, because most duels for the ball are settled over that distance.

That leads to a simple consequence for your training. Whoever only runs laps may improve base endurance, but will not get quicker off the mark. Worse still: repeating sprints in the same form and speed cements the existing pace instead of raising it. The body stores movement patterns, and a constantly identical pattern becomes a barrier. This is exactly where running drills come in. They break the stride into its parts, make each movement clean, and then reassemble it into an economical, fast running style.

What are running drills?

Running drills are a series of running and jumping exercises that each highlight and exaggerate one specific phase of the stride. Instead of simply running off, you train the knee lift, the foot strike, the push-off phase or the heel recovery on their own. Through this isolation, the body learns the correct movement until it runs automatically.

The benefit works on three levels. First, technique: a clean running style is more economical, you lose less energy per step. Second, coordination: the exercises demand precise interplay of arms, torso and legs, which lays the movement foundation especially in youth. Third, injury protection: whoever lands and pushes off in a controlled way loads the knee, ankle and Achilles tendon less one-sidedly. Most coaches build running drills into the warm-up, but they also work as a dedicated technique block in the main session.

The 7 building blocks of clean running technique

Clean running technique can be broken down into seven building blocks. They are the map for every correction on the sideline: as soon as you know which block is off, you also know which exercise helps.

1. Arm action. The arms swing loosely from the shoulder, the elbow stays roughly at a right angle. They set the rhythm and stabilize the upper body. Tense or cross-swinging arms slow the forward drive.
2. Torso posture. The upper body stays upright, the head above the torso. With a weak core, the runner sinks into a sitting posture and tips forward, which costs pace and knee lift.
3. Knee lift. The swing leg drives the knee actively forward and up. Too low a knee lift shortens the stride and worsens the foot strike.
4. Hip extension. In the push-off phase the hip extends fully. A powerful hip extension lengthens the stride and is the real engine of the forward drive.
5. Heel recovery. In the rear swing phase the heel comes close to the glute. This shortens the leg's lever and makes the stride faster.
6. Foot strike. The foot lands flat under the center of gravity, first over the midfoot, at high speed over the ball of the foot. A hard heel strike far in front of the body acts like a brake and loads the joints.
7. Stride length and frequency. The interplay of length and rhythm of the steps sets the pace. You train both in isolation before they merge in the sprint.

Stride length or frequency: what counts?

Behind every running speed sits a simple formula: pace is the product of stride length and stride frequency. Whoever wants to get faster has to turn one of the two screws, ideally both. Stride length depends above all on strength and hip extension: the more powerful the push-off, the farther each step carries. You build exactly this push-off power with focused jump-power training, the strength side to running technique. Frequency depends on fast ground contacts and a clean, short swing.

For soccer the weighting is clear. Over the first ten meters, a high frequency with short, powerful steps brings more than long, sweeping strides. Long strides only take effect over distances that barely occur in a match. So in training the rule is: set the steps short and fast, not long and pounding. A proven exercise is the stride-out at deliberately high frequency. Players first exaggerate the small, fast steps and then carry them over into normal pace. Advanced players can work with resistance, for example a cord with light drag that forces short steps.

The most important running drills

These ten drills form a complete toolbox. You do not have to run them all in one session: three to five per training are enough, but clean. Each drill runs over a distance of about 15 to 20 meters, after which you walk back easily.

Building running drills in: when, how often, how long

The natural place for running drills is the warm-up. After an easy jog-in and some mobilization come three to five drills, each once or twice over the short distance. That brings the players up to temperature and trains technique at the same time. Plan two such sessions per week, 8 to 12 minutes each. For what a complete warm-up without equipment looks like, see these warm-up exercises for the U11.

Quality matters more than duration. Six focused, technically clean repetitions bring more than twenty sloppy ones in which the movement falls apart. As soon as the technique breaks down, the repetition is worthless or even harmful, because the wrong pattern gets ingrained. Better take a short break and start fresh. Daily running drills are not necessary: the body needs recovery between stimuli to lock in the new movement patterns. Increase the frequency first, then the complexity of the exercises and only last the pace.

Age-appropriate from U11 to U18

Running drills are not one size fits all. Before U11, tag and running games come first: the children should run, jump and move in varied ways, without you fine-tuning individual technique details. Conscious, isolated technique training only becomes useful once children can control a movement deliberately, so from around U11 to U12. From then on the demand rises with each age group.

Endurance runs and forest runs with the team

As much as acceleration is the focus, it does not work entirely without endurance. A certain aerobic base helps the players recover faster between sprints and stay focused over 60 or 90 minutes. The right place for it is not the cinder track but the forest. Soft forest ground cushions every step and protects joints and tendons, while hard asphalt transfers the full impact load onto knees and back with every strike. Changing the surface also prevents one-sided overload.

Intensity is decisive. A base run goes in the aerobic zone, at around 75 to 80 percent of maximum heart rate. The simple rule of thumb: whoever can still hold a conversation alongside is running right. Whoever is gasping is running too fast. For the team, 20 to 40 minutes at an easy pace work well, depending on age and season phase. In pre-season you lay the foundation, during the season an easy run for recovery after an intense match is enough.

The often underrated side effect: a shared forest run bonds the team. Away from tactics and performance pressure, the players talk to each other, groups mix, the coach is part of the group instead of a commander. Whoever enriches the run with a small loop over roots and hills also trains sure-footedness and coordination along the way. That turns the obligatory lap into a date the team looks forward to.

Running in the heat: tips for hot days

Especially in pre-season, running training often falls in the hottest time of year. With a few simple rules it stays safe and useful nonetheless.

• Time of day: Put the session in the early morning or the evening, and avoid the midday heat entirely.
• Route: Choose a shaded loop, the forest is the first choice here too. Water nearby helps for cooling down.
• Pace down: In the heat, intensity belongs throttled back. Move intense bursts and sprint intervals to cooler days and shorten the volume.
• Drinking: Plan fixed drink breaks every 15 to 20 minutes, with every player bringing their own bottle. Diluted apple juice or an electrolyte drink replaces the lost salt.
• Clothing: A light, airy jersey, plus a bright cap against the sun. Do not forget sunscreen on the neck and arms.
• Acclimatization: The body needs a few days to get used to the heat. Take the first hot sessions deliberately carefully.

Running drills PDF to download

The 10 drills with coaching cues, the build-in plan, the age ladder from U11 to U18 and a 6-week forest-run tracker as a printable PDF for your pocket.

Your running-drills plan for the season

Put the building blocks together into a simple rhythm. In pre-season you lay the aerobic foundation with two easy forest runs per week and introduce the basic running drills in parallel. During the season the focus shifts to technique in the warm-up and short bursts in the main session, complemented by a recovery run after hard matches. That way each phase gets its fitting stimulus without overloading the team.

If you like it concrete, print the ten drills with their coaching cues as a card set and take them onto the pitch. A simple forest-run plan for pre-season fits alongside it, staggering frequency, duration and pace over the weeks. Together they turn theory into a training system you can work through week by week.

And once pre-season is set and the team is fit, all that is missing is the real test against real opponents. A pre-season tournament is the ideal chance to see the new burst under competitive conditions. For how to prepare the team all-round for it, see the complete tournament plan.