Strength and conditioning are the two elements that most affect an athlete's ability to perform. When done properly, strength and conditioning programs can be quite effective in reducing injuries and helping an athlete to perform to their peak ability. In this program, Coach Taylor walks you through three effective workouts that will help your athletes to stay at their best. The first workout, the team training workout, includes workouts that include form running, jumping, core training, agility enhancement and soccer footwork drills. The second utilizes six different drills and several individual workouts to better develop a player's coordination, footwork and rigidity while reducing the risk of injury to the ACL. The third workout focuses on partner training through the use of exercises to improve team coordination as well as individual footwork, coordination and balance. When it comes to effectively strengthening and training your players, expert advice is key, and the ideas and advice present in this workout series will help you get the most out of your players.

75 minutes. 2008.

Coach Bluem brings a wealth of knowledge to this DVD on training the flank midfield player. Bluem begins by sharing several warm-up activities that will prepare players for practice. These activities are designed to practice flank combinations, the middle attack, passing and timing and meeting the ball at full speed. Bluem introduces a phase of training called 8 v 6. This session provides realistic defensive pressure, which helps develop proper decision making by the flank midfield players. All footage shows OSU players on the field in practice situations with Bluem narrating the action. The 9 v 9 session gives each team three defenders, three midfield players and two strikers and encourages the players to penetrate on the flanks. Coach Bluem teaches his players to change the point of attack and improve the results of each possession. This DVD includes sessions designed to work on combination play, penetration and improve the overall play of midfield players.

34 minutes. 2007.

For 27 years John Bluem has coached soccer in the US at a variety of levels. In that time Coach Bluem has developed a great appreciation for coaching soccer to different age groups. These 12 training games cover the areas of possession, penetration, finishing and tactical awareness. The games range from 1 v 1 to 4 v 4 settings and work on passing and receiving under pressure; safe possession before making penetrating passes; transition, dribbling and shooting; combination play to create scoring opportunities; and off ball movement. Tactical awareness is another component of this presentation. The Through the Gates game works on support, mobility, defensive marking and tracking. This DVD provides an organized three-prong approach to developing the flank midfield player.

86 minutes. 2007.

In the early 90's, Coach Lauffer taught and used zone play with great success. His teams were the forerunners of this type of play and he has continued to develop the zone concepts over the past 15 years. Lauffer indicates that zone play is a methodical and logical way to defend in today's game. Three main zone defense priorities are: Defender pressures the ball, defender covers the first defender and other players cover/balance. Zone defending demands clear responsibility between the players and all other lines. The goalkeeper must be active and vertical in his positional play. A whole team concept is needed to successfully play the zone and requires players to think defense and offense at the same time. To work on specific situations, the 6 v 4 game puts players in game-like settings. To build a strong zone, Lauffer examines strategies for attacking the zone as well. There is not a lot of information on breaking down the zone, which makes Coach Lauffer's coaching methods and teaching points invaluable for successfully implementing the zone. Because the zone is a staple in today's game, coaches can use this DVD to their advantage to win more games.

68 minutes. 2006.

Counter attacking, the art of modern counter attacking, is a relatively new concept in our country and needs to be taught, practiced and mastered to join the elite teams in the soccer world. Coach Lauffer dedicates this DVD to the modern concepts of counter attacking. Lauffer defines counter attacking as "an attack in response to an opponents attack." This part of the game is not yet appreciated in the United States. Practices are conducted with two goalkeepers in a 20 by 50 yard field. Defenders are coached to pressure or trap the ball in certain areas of the field to gain possession of the ball. This practice is a continuous game creating an attacking mentality for the players. Midfield pressing is diagrammed and discussed with regards to the developing pressure pockets and points. The goal is for defenders to win the ball and move forward at speed. The 9 v 9 (7 v 6) + (2 v 3) game has many excellent features as well. This DVD includes practice footage that will reinforce the white board presentations. Soccer coaches can get 'ahead of the game' by incorporating countering attacking into their teams.

28 minutes. 2006.

RD-02679B: with Butch Lauffer,
West Texas A & M University Head Men's & Women's Soccer Coach;
USSF Class "A" license, Irish Football Association (Grade 1 license),
United European Football Assoc. (Class "A" license) & UEFA pro license

In the early 90's, Coach Lauffer taught and used zone play with great success. His teams were the forerunners of this type of play and he has continued to develop the zone concepts over the past 15 years. Lauffer indicates that zone play is a methodical and logical way to defend in today's game. Three main zone defense priorities are: Defender pressures the ball, defender covers the first defender and other players cover/balance. Zone defending demands clear responsibility between the players and all other lines. The goalkeeper must be active and vertical in his positional play. A whole team concept is needed to successfully play the zone and requires players to think defense and offense at the same time. To work on specific situations, the 6 v 4 game puts players in game-like settings. To build a strong zone, Lauffer examines strategies for attacking the zone as well. There is not a lot of information on breaking down the zone, which makes Coach Lauffer's coaching methods and teaching points invaluable for successfully implementing the zone. Because the zone is a staple in today's game, coaches can use this DVD to their advantage to win more games.

68 minutes. 2006.

RD-02679C: with Butch Lauffer,
West Texas A & M University Head Men's & Women's Soccer Coach;
USSF Class "A" license, Irish Football Association (Grade 1 license),
United European Football Assoc. (Class "A" license) & UEFA pro license

Coach Lauffer dedicates this DVD to 12 training games to improve overall team play. These practices are divided into four areas of development: Developing possession play, three player movements, attacking/defending practices and shooting and crossing. Possession play requires one more goal than players involved with each player receiving two touches. The 8 v 8 to targets is a game that helps attacking team to deal with teams that press defensively. Another group of games are three player movements. This game can be played 6 v 6, 7 v 7, 8 v 8 with a floater. This game teaches players to run in advance of the ball. The game of one touch forward-two touch back works on getting across the face of attacking players for the purpose of supporting and the development of penetrating runs and passing. The third phase of games comes from the attacking/defending areas. Working on 3 v 2 and 2 v 2 game situations creates improvement. Another game, the three zone games help improve playing in tight spaces and the timing of runs and forward passing. The final set of games are shooting and crossing. Coach Lauffer illustrates these games with practices footage. These 12 games are detailed such that any soccer coach can incorporate them to help improve team and individual play.

74 minutes. 2006.