Youth Soccer Strength - 3 Reasons the Single Leg Squat Rules

Many times youth soccer strength is overlooked3. This exercise requires core strength to maintain
because of the fear and misinformation aboutstability at the hip.
strength training for young athletes. A young male orIt is the movement in this exercise that closest
female athlete at the age of eight years old maymimics the on field movement of players. There are
start a properly designed resistance training program.a variety of ways that the single leg squat may be
With that being said let's focus on the one leg squat.completed.
If I was to build a strength training program on onlyOne way to do this exercise is to lean back (sit
one exercise for soccer it would be the single legback) with the arms forward as a counter balance.
squat.Done this way there is more emphasis on hip
In a soccer game there is a lot running, stopping andstrength.
changing direction. These actions occur on a single leg.Another way is to stand with one leg bent and the
Here are my three reasons for choosing the singleother leg bends at the knee such that a right angle is
leg squat.formed when it is lowered down. This way
1. The single leg squat forces each leg to workencourages more quadriceps strength.
equally hard through out the exercise as comparedEither way the goal is for the glute muscles to reach
to a squat where one leg may take up the slack ofthe heel.
the other.Once a soccer player is able to complete this
2. This exercise requires balance, coordination andexercise properly they may advance to some form
strength. This is very good injury prevention. Femaleof single leg plyometric exercises.
soccer players would be very wise to include thisA good strength training program for youth soccer
exercise in their training. It is an excellent exercise forplayers must include single leg squats as a
ACL injury preventioncomponent.