[ P O W E R, E X P L O S I V E N E S S, Q U I C K N E S S ]

To be a better soccer player, all of these are needed. Think about what’s. required to beat an opponent to a ball or a header.

Vertical force production is the physics behind these actions. It’s one of the components we measure when testing vertical jump, sprint speed, and agility in elite athletes. 

Training it is as simple as loaded squats or squat jumps.

REFERENCE: Vertical Force Production in Soccer. Mechanical Aspects and Applied Training Strategies. Strength & Conditioning Journal November 2019.

*Note, there is a mounting body of evidence that acceleration also has a horizontal force to it, especially in the early phases. Vertical force, however, can be a performance indicator of max velocity (Morin et al, 2011 and 2012). Stay tuned as I’ll break down the physics of sprinting soon on the blog.