The Top 9 Best Soccer Conditioning Drills

Fitness and conditioning aren’t everything in soccer, but it’s the only thing that lets you use everything else you’ve worked so hard to develop. All of the talent, technical skills, and tactical understanding you have mean nothing if you can’t last 90 minutes without getting tired.

Soccer is a sport that requires speed, stamina, and explosive sprints to beat a defender, as well as the agility to change directions quickly and the ability to maintain high performance deep into the last minutes of the match. At higher levels of the game, the difference between winning and losing usually comes down to which team can stay locked in physically and mentally, even when fatigue sets in.

This is where using soccer conditioning drills comes in because they help build soccer specific fitness that can help you get in better shape and help you become a better player. If you’re a player who wants to stand out, help their team win matches, and perform at a high level when it matters the most, then these conditioning drills below can help you develop the physical fitness to express your talents even when you’re tired, when the pressure is on, and when it matters the most.

What are the Best Soccer Conditioning Drills?

Before I go over the best soccer conditioning drills on this list, it is very important to understand how to build real stamina because conditioning drills alone won’t give you match fitness—they’re just one piece of the puzzle. Real soccer conditioning comes from combining structured fitness drills, like the ones on this list, with taking tests and assessments and tracking progress over time, getting playing time in live games, attending team trainings regularly, training your mindset, developing a strong athletic foundation, performing breath-work consistently, and focusing on recovery off the field.

With that foundation in mind, here are the best and most important conditioning drills that you should be doing as a soccer player.

Small-Sided Games

Small-sided games are the best form of conditioning for soccer because they mimic real-game scenarios, involve both physical and mental stamina due to the running, decision-making, and technical skills that you must perform repeatedly against live opponents. Small-sided games can range from 2v2s to 9v9s, they can be played in different-sized fields, with different sized soccer goals, and the higher level and intensity you play at, the more your conditioning will improve.

Sprint and Jog Around the Soccer Field

This next classic fitness drill involves alternating between sprinting and jogging around the soccer field, and it is as simple as it sounds, although it won’t be easy. Start by jogging around the goal line, and once you get to the end, sprint the entire sideline until you reach the end, or you can do the opposite, jog the sidelines and sprint the goal lines.

Repeat this drill for a certain amount of time or number of laps around the field.

Pain Shuttle Runs

Pain shuttle runs are a classic conditioning drill where players sprint to cones placed at increasing distances (like 10, 20, 30, and 40 yards), touch each cone, and return to the starting point before immediately sprinting to the next cone further away. This is a conditioning drill that involves sprinting at maximum speed while changing direction repeatedly, or you can also backpedal to the starting cone each time.

Agility Circuit Race

Agility circuits mixed with a lot of decelerations, accelerations, changes of directions, jumps, and fast feet movements can be great conditioning drills, not just act as agility drills, but what can make them even better is if you’re competing with others. If you’re with a team or with a group of players, a short race involved will naturally push everyone to give maximum effort because of the competitive element.

Using quality agility equipment can make these circuits even more effective.

Tic Tac Toe Sprints

Tic Tac Toe sprints combine conditioning and decision making with competition by setting up a 3×3 grid of cones where two teams race to place markers and complete three in a row, just like in tic-tac-toe. Players start in a line 10 yards from the grid, and on the whistle, the first player of each line sprints to place one marker on the grid before returning to the starting line and tagging the next teammate to go.

Beep Test

One of the most common soccer conditioning tests in the world is the Beep test, where players sprint between two cones placed 20 meters apart, reaching each cone before the beep sounds. As the test progresses, the intervals between beeps get shorter and players get less recovery time, which tests both speed and endurance under increasing pressure.

This drill is an excellent fitness test and conditioning tool for players of all age brackets and skill levels.

Hill Sprints

Hill sprints are one of the most effective conditioning drills because the incline forces you to drive harder through your legs and engage your entire posterior chain with every stride, creating natural resistance training that develops both strength and speed simultaneously. Find a hill or slope and sprint up at maximum effort, then jog or walk back down for active recovery before repeating for multiple sets.

Cross Training

Cross-training with activities like swimming, cycling, basketball, boxing, or tennis is an excellent way to build conditioning while giving your body a break from the repetitive stress of soccer-specific movements. These different sports and exercises improve your overall fitness, work different muscle groups, help prevent burnout, and develop qualities like endurance, agility, and coordination that directly transfer back to the soccer field.

Barefoot Light Boxer’s Jog/Walk

The last exercise on this list is something that a lot of people might say is useless as a soccer player, and that is going on long light jogs or walks that are at least 30 minutes, and although that might or might not be true, doing this barefoot will for sure give you more benefits than you can imagine. The point of using this low impact exercise barefoot is to get the benefits of grounding therapy, build foot strength, and develop your aerobic capacity by engaging in low-intensity, steady-state exercise while not tiring you out for the more intense training sessions during the week.

Final Thoughts

To summarize, developing soccer-specific conditioning is essential for any player who wants to perform at their best for the length of a soccer game, from the first whistle to the final whistle of regulation time to potentially extra time, even when fatigue sets in. The conditioning drills on this list can help players develop the stamina to not get tired during a soccer game, but remember that real match fitness comes from combining these drills with actual playing time, mental training, athletic training, and proper recovery.

This means that you need to plan these drills accordingly with the rest of your training and recovery routines.

FAQs

What is the best conditioning drill for soccer fitness to last 90 minutes?

Small-sided games are the best conditioning drill for building the fitness needed to last 90 minutes because they combine physical demands with the technical skills, decision-making, and mental focus required in real matches. For maximum benefit, play small-sided games a lot throughout the week, go to team trainings, do your athletic foundation work, train your mindset, prioritize your recovery, and add conditioning drills from this list to your weekly training routine.

What is the best form of speed training for soccer players?

Hill sprints are one of the most effective forms of speed training for soccer players because they help build explosive power, leg strength, and acceleration while also developing the endurance needed to maintain speed throughout the entire game. Sprinting up an incline can improve stride length and power output, which directly translates to faster sprints on the flat field.

What is the best equipment for soccer conditioning drills?

The best soccer training gear and equipment to perform conditioning drills include cleats, depending on the surface you’re training on, soccer balls and goals for small-sided games, cones, other agility equipment, and a bag to carry your equipment.