Football Training Equipment: what do you need?

One of the beauties of the 'beautiful game' is its simplicity. It only takes two teams and a football to get a game started. The good thing is that this also applies to football training. You need very little equipment to start training a team from scratch.

Apart from a football and a means of identifying the two teams, such as a vest which they can either put over the top of their training shirts, or wear instead of a shirt, the main thing you may need are marker cones in order to mark out a pitch or perhaps a route for players to take whilst they practice dribbling and shooting skills. You may need to include a whistle in your kit to make sure you can be heard, and it could be a good idea to have a notepad handy, not only so you can organise what you want to do during the training session, but also to make a note of things to improve on, or ideas you can use for the future. You may need football pumps and bags to carry your footballs in.

Over a period of time you may wish to add to the kit with more realistic goals to practice in, and perhaps something to use to practice hurdling which is good for speed and strengthening leg muscles, as well as improving agility. Other options are speed rings, which again can be used as an exercise in building up explosive speed, and for agility. Older players may benefit from a magnetic coaching board on which you can introduce tactics, and plan for a particular game ahead. The equipment should be aimed at trying to improve fitness and agility levels, but also needs to include a large element of equipment which can be used to improve soccer skills. As players become older, it is imperative that football practice should not be boring, therefore introducing new ideas, and the occasional new piece of equipment, helps to keep training fresh.