For many soccer coaches, running drills is a big part of practice. With so many skills and techniques to be learned, the quickest way to get them down is to repeatedly run drills that focus on the desired skill. One area that coaches should include in their practice is soccer drills for fitness.

Fitness is a fundamental part of the game of soccer. While most coaches will agree that being in proper physical condition can often mean the difference between victory and defeat, all too often fitness takes a back seat to the drills that focus on specific skills. Ignoring physical conditioning can be counterproductive. Late in the game, when the players are getting fatigued, they become slower and less agile. They will be physically unable to perform the skills you worked so hard on in practice.

Ideally you will be able to combine drills that will concentrate on skills, while at the same time providing a conditioning benefit. Running attacking soccer drills that require a lot of running will certainly help build endurance. Run some drills back-to-back in rapid succession. This will help get the players' heart rate higher, and they will gain some aerobic benefit from the drills. Make sure however to include adequate rest in each workout as needed.

The same benefits can be gained from some of the soccer drills for defense. One way to accomplish this is to alternate attacking and defending drills. Let your players work on making the transition from attacker to defender and back again. Have them cover more of the field and make them run. The key is to avoid having them standing waiting for their turn to run the next drill. This allows them to cool down too much, and you will lose the fitness benefit.

A great way to find drills for fitness is to find a quality soccer drills DVD. These are typically made by trained soccer coaches, and can be a great resource, especially for newer coaches without the experience to develop their own drills. Once you have a good understanding of the drills and what they are trying to accomplish, it becomes easier to modify them for your own specific needs.

So, don’t neglect to include soccer drills for fitness in your practices. The last thing you want is to have your team lose to a team with less talent and ability simply because your kids ran out of gas late in the game. Work on your attacking. Work on your defense. And especially, work on improving the team's fitness.