So my question is off the triathlon topic but has to do more with developing general stamina and speed for soccer. My son ran XC this past fall and concurrently played club soccer (which is his true passion). Not surprisingly he played much better due to his conditioning. Come winter, he practices 2x/week and has games 1-2x/weekend. Inevitably he has begun to tire out more easily especially with the short sprints. Now granted this is indoor (oftentimes with walls) which seems like soccer on steroids. He is 13 but a young 13 and on the smaller side (5’2" and 94#) but based on growth charts is at the 50-55 percentile. He has yet to really hit puberty though we are starting to see some changes which embarrasses the hell out of him 
So my question is this. For the rest of this year until he begins his freshman conditioning, what is a reasonable amount of running for him. He will continue to play outdoor in the spring (2 x 1.5 hr practices, 1-2 games/weekend) but will also be playing tennis which didn’t have much, if any, of conditioning when he played last year. Would running 2-3x/ week at 2-3 miles be an adequate start? I figure once summer comes then he can run 4-5x/week with some sprints to simulate the game. He is very eager to do something to build his stamina and speed as he can see that this is going to be a big limitation for him.
Sorry for not being on the topic of tris but I figured there is enough collective endurance and parental knowledge on the forum.
Thanks.
Kar-Ming
My 11-year old son runs about 2 to 4 miles, five times a week, and it has really helped him with his soccer tournaments, baseball, and even wrestling.
XC impacts their endurance regardless of the amount of soccer they play. So if you want him better conditioned for it this spring, running distance is a good option.
My daughter played club soccer year round. Trained 3X a week and played every weekend. 10 months of the year. She was an All American soccer player. But she also ran XC in the fall. Her best conditioning and soccer play was when she ran XC.
Also, being winded playing indoor soccer is not a good harbinger for playing outdoor.
Its really strange that he has conditioning issues. Maybe the problem is not the endurance to play the game as much as the sprints are winding him too much. He has run a respectable 6:50/ mi pace for a local 5k when he was in 7th grade so I know that he has the aerobic capacity. So maybe the better question is whether focusing more in doing sprint work help more for this or increasing overall running distance. He actually doesn’t get too bad in the outdoor game perhaps because the pace is a l bit slower.
LSD runs may improve overall conditioning, but you should consider HIIT workouts. Soccer, basketball, etc. are usually “long” periods of jogging back and forth followed by short intense bursts of speed. IMO, that is how one needs to train.
Any aerobic fitness helps, and for sure if he’s in better XC run shape, he’ll be more resistant to those gasping fatigues after chasing the ball down, and will recover much faster.
However, remember than 5k and other endurance run events are just that - endurance events. They typically will not train sufficiently the fast-twitch burst fibers that give you your best top sprint speed. And like it or not, that top sprint speed is the key determinant of speed in most field sports, soccer included.
I was often regarded as the fastest player on the field or court when I played soccer or basketball. (More in basketball, as my speed was particularly good in changing directions, not as much as a dead sprint speed.) Even though I’m short, I would have fun trying to terrorize basketball courts - you know you’re a threat when the first thing the opponents say when you step on the court is "watch out for that guy - he’s REALLY fast, so don’t dribble!’ At the time, my 5k speed was a 23 minute 5k, and would have been slower if I hadn’t run xcountry in junior high school.
It was always fun to have the 16-18 min 5k guys from HS jump in a pickup bball or soccer game, and not even considering the ball skills, have them invariably say “I can’t guard this guy - he’s too fast.” You really need that top sprint speed over aerobic endurance for field sports.
First thing ill say when asked how much he should run… The answer to this should be: as much as he wants to.
- He is still at a young developing phase. Unless he is a top flight athlete who only wants to play soccer, then making every activity revolve around this sport will ultimately lead to higher percentages of burnout.
Now: If the kid loves soccer, loves the training, loves devoting all of his time to this (think tiger woods at a young age)
- I would have him doing more plyometric, body weight workouts… supplementing with very easy 1 hour runs… Don’t put weights on him. his body is still at the stage of development and more could actually hurt him here.
At this age I understand the want to develop him into an absolute machine… but technique based drills and fun conditioning should be the focus. Once he hits 16+… that’s when I’d really focus and “specialize” on hitting his conditioning.
Just my personal philosophy… but obviously it is all individual and based on your kids motivation and body structure/development
I do a short running season with my kids. We do 3 x 4 miles per week for 12 weeks. Seems to help with soccer and is great family time. I let the oldest do cycling instead last year. He missed the family time and is glad to be back running. He believes it is very helpful for soccer and that ur even improves his sprinting.
that’s what I was looking for. He does play tennis, snowboards as well but his true love is soccer. He loves the practices more than the games and engages in pylometrics once a week. He’d play every day if he could. Since he is on the young side (he was 1 week from aging down), he tends to be the youngest and smallest. Just saw his pediatrician for a checkup and he has barely begun puberty (if at all). Doctor thinks he won’t hit puberty for at least a year and wasn’t concerned at all. Said that his cardio-vascular system isn’t really all that developed. I know it frustrates him being smaller, lighter, and a step slower than his cohorts (some of whom really have impressive muscle definition) therefore we were trying to see if there was anything he can do to improve. He has really been focusing on his technical development so his footskills are fairly good. Can’t wait for his body to catch up to his technical ability.
This subject hits home with me… I was a soccer player in all through youth, select club, and varsity. Burt out by college but kept in shape with weights and a little running. Didn’t find the true passion for distance running till after college. Hindsight I would’ve ran XC, swam, but still played soccer. Only thing I truly regret is not focusing on kicking power and technique with both feet as to just one over powering right foot. My injuries have always fallen to my non dominant side and my gut always point back to my true strength base my body developed upon. My advice would be to have him even out his kicking power and strength to both legs to build a solid base for his future athletic endeavors.
I played varsity and club in high school and college as well (NAIA so not the big leauges) and soccer fitness is sort of all over the place. In general it is an endurance sport and any extra running will be beneficial, but the key is anaerobic capacity and sprint speed over general endurance. I was 5’5’’ when i was 14 and never got any taller. When i got to high school i had to put on a lot of muscle to hang and the same for college, muscle and conditions will make up for size. Right now i would focus on lots of ball control drills that last for 30-45min long, that will include a lot of running and add in the necessary conditioning. The key at this age is skill development, anybody can get into shape in a few years. When he hits 16-17 i would start to up the specific run training to 25-30mpw off season with lots of intensity (track workouts, game specific drills, and LSD runs), but always place a premium on skill development. If he wants to make varsity in highschool he will most likely be competing with lots of kids who play soccer 4-5 hours each day so their skill will be very high and fitness will not bridge this gap. Also make sure he is hitting the weight room at this age as well. Serious traveling clubs in high school will include a lot of running in their training, probably around 30-40mpw including all running during practice and games. In college it can depend but a typical week was ballpark for us around 40mpw, but a lot of that was slow jogging mixed with very high intensity efforts.
Take home message is that fitness at this age is not very important, skill development is everything. My college team was filled with small Mexican and South American guys who had amazing skills and incredible fitness. When i asked them about their “fitness” training they said they just played all day every day and never did real run training. In fact one guy who now plays in the MLS never trained without his ball. He would go on 5-8 mile training runs with his ball, he would dribble it around campus everywhere…up the stairs, to the gym, in the gym, in class, but guess what he had exceptional ball control and that is why he was MVP.
Thanks for all the replies. My lil dude is my oldest so I have no idea especially as I never played soccer. I’m sure he will be fine. He has been in club soccer for the last 4 years so he plays as much as he can. I can step back and just be as supportive w/o trying to give any advice (especially bad advice). He is one of those kids who will dribble a pebble, a sock, or anything that resembles a ball if it was near his foot. So my take home message, continue focusing on skills development, enjoy the game and his physical abilities will catch up. Thx again!
I agree with Mike.
Soccer at this age is all about skills development, especially two footed ball kicking and ball control.
I played a lot of football in county leagues in the UK from age 10-14 and was in the high school first XI.
The only run training we’d do would be a few laps of the pitch as a warmup.
We did a lot of high intensity shuttle run training - the beep test. Plus explosive stuff like standing jumps
Rest of time we focussed on skills and just playing a lot got us fit. In the off season, indoor 5 a side soccer is great fun and superb for fitness.
Almost without exception the best players were the most skilful. Skills are hard to learn, takes much longer than getting fit and its best to master them as early as possible as it’s tough to break bad habits.
As far as running goes, fartlek style runs would be the most relevant up to about 5km.
All the best