10 Drills to Increase Your Speed

Speed is an essential component of a high-level soccer player. However, the key to increasing speed isn’t as complex as many people think it is – it’s doing plyometric exercises and improving running mechanics. In short, it’s more about building explosiveness in your ankles, quads, glutes, and hamstrings while perfecting the specific arm and leg movements that allow us to run more efficiently.

To help you make serious improvements in these areas no matter your age, check out this great video on YouTube on increasing your speed. Do these exercises every day for six weeks and you will see a different player.

Here’s why each element makes an impact.

1. 30 Seconds of Pogo Jumps

For the first drill, put your hands on your hips and explode off the balls of your feet without much bend in the knees. Let your ankles and calves do the work as this is where you get your explosiveness from.  

2. 30 Seconds of Jump Squats

With this one, you’re building on the pogo jumps from the first exercise. Keep exploding from your ankles and add a squat to it. While you get your explosiveness from your ankles and calves, you get your power from your quads, hamstrings and glutes.

Keep your arms crossed with your hands on your shoulders to focus on your legs.

3. 30 Seconds of A-Skips

Adding A-Skips brings coordination into the mix, focusing on your running mechanics (this is important because your arms do a lot to pull your body forward).

A-Skips are where you drive one knee up and the opposite arm at the same time, staying light on your toes throughout the drill. Make sure you’re staying on the balls of your feet like you did in the pogo jumps.

4. 30 Seconds of Lateral A-Skips

This is the same movement as the previous drill, but this time, you’re shuffling from side to side, working on your coordination and agility.

5. 30 Seconds of Kneeling Knee Drives

For this movement, you’re going to kneel down and drive one knee up, springing off the opposite leg. It’s very similar to a single-leg squat jump. Every time you jump, raise your opposite arm to maximize height.

This works on your explosiveness in your ankles, your power in your upper legs, and your running mechanics with your arms.

6. 30 Seconds of Lateral Bounds

Continuing with those explosive movements, you’re going to spring off one leg, take three shuffle steps to the side, and then land straight onto the opposite leg.

This one should feel natural as it’s one of the key movements you do in soccer.

7. 30 Seconds of High Knees

Similar to running in place, but you’re driving your knees up so that they’re level with your hips. And every time you drive one knee up, drive the opposite arm up as well to stay coordinated.

This exercise combines all of the previous drills and works on your endurance.

8. 30 Seconds of Broad Jumps

This is very similar to a jump squat, except you’re going to propel your body forward. Use your quads, hamstrings, and knees to jump to one side, then, do a 180-degree turn so you’re facing forward, and repeat the same technique to jump to the opposite side. Give yourself more momentum by driving your arms up every time you jump across.

9. 30 Seconds of Jump Lunges

This is the most strenuous drill on the list, so it’s important to make sure your form is correct as your heart rate increases. You’re going to bend both knees 90 degrees, springing off one leg and onto the next. Every time you drive that knee up, drive your opposite arm up at the same time.

10. Three Sprints

Lastly, you’re going to combine everything and work on your on-the-field speed.

If you’re at a field, start at the goal line, jog to the edge of the 18-yard box, and then sprint to the halfway line. Walk back to the goal line slowly to let your heart rate go down for about 30 seconds before repeating the drill two more times. Try to incorporate the same movements you’ve been practicing so far: driving the knees and the opposite arms up, pushing the ground away as aggressively as possible and exploding through your ankles.

This should take about 10 minutes in total to do, and it will significantly help you increase your speed if you do it consistently. As an added bonus, plyometrics are great exercises to reduce risk of injury.