The Athlete's Advisor Strength and Conditioning: THE PATH TO ATHLETIC POWER: Excerpt from Power Training a Human Kinetics Publication

Athletes in many sports do strength training in various forms, and soccer athletes today are much more likely to be involved in strength training than they were in the past. Although
strength training is valuable, nothing is more important than the conversion of strength into power. Strength by itself has little to do with most sporting movements; absolute strength
is forceful but slow. In soccer, power is involved in most of the movements that determine the difference between winning and losing.

Many terms and definitions describe power. Some of the interchangeable vocabulary includes these terms and phrases:ballistic, dynamic, powerful, explosive, speed-strength,
producing the greatest possible force in the shortest period. Examples of actions in soccer that rely on power include short sprints, jumping, diving, quick shots on goal, long throw-ins,
rapid acceleration from different running speeds, quick changes of direction, and punts downfield by the goalie.

As stated earlier, power should be the ultimate goal in refining training. For our purposes there are four ways to improve power--Olympic-style lifts, speed improvement, strength
training, and plyometrics.

Olympic-style lifts have been calculated to be the most powerful movements a human can produce. The amount of work done in a short amount of time demonstrates exactly what
power is all about. The movements from the ground in these lifts work the very muscles that are important for soccer--lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Specifically,
Olympic-style lifts help increase vertical jump, train explosiveness at the start of short sprints, and increase running speed by explosively strengthening the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.

Speed improvement is a way of improving power! Speed improvement can be the result of several different training methods. Overall strengthening of the lower body along with
the Olympic-style lifts, squats, and so on is one effective method. Second, improving the economy of the running motion by focusing on running mechanics will result in a faster run.
Poor running technique is often the reason that strong, well-conditioned athletes cannot run fast. Correcting improper arm carry, body lean, and stride length are all certain ways
to increase speed and subsequently power. Last, superior conditioning makes it easier to sprint and jump repeatedly and to make rapid changes of direction at full speed. During
a match the action can become intense and furious, allowing little rest. The highly conditioned player will be able to maintain higher power output longer even though rest is at
a minimum.

An athlete can increase power in only two ways--by getting faster or getting stronger. Strength training the entire body will result in higher power output. Although the lower body
performs most of the work during all-out running, the upper body also plays an important role. When the body becomes stronger, speed increases, vertical jump increases, and
strength-endurance increases to permit a longer period of higher output. Jeff Agoos of the Earthquakes and Joe-Max Moore of the US National Team are examples of a powerful
defender and attacker, respectively.

Plyometric training is a familiar topic to coaches and athletes involved with the teaching and learning of explosiveness. Plyometrics has been defined as a type of exercise that
bridges the gap between strength and speed. Obviously, then, plyometrics can be valuable in a program designed to promote speed, explosiveness, and power. By definition, plyometric exercises are designed to stress the stretch reflex in the muscle to speed up the neuromuscular response. The speed of the stretch is important, not the magnitude. As an example, you will notice that squatting deeply before jumping does not produce nearly the result that a shorter, quicker jump can. On the other hand, top speed does not always produce the most powerful movement. Touching your forefinger to your thumb at top speed is fast but not forceful. The blending of top speed and strength produces the best movement.