Freddy Adu trains at 6 min/mile pace.

Guys:

Here's a current summer training program for the UMichigan's men's soccer program.

http://www.umsoccer.com/11fitnessprogram.pdf

Most of it does stress quick recovery, shuttle exercises, etc., but the running "stamina" component is 2 miles in 12 minutes, 6 minutes recovery, and then one mile in 6 minutes. If you can't do this, you can't play--anyone who can't accomplish the two miles in 12:30 is deemed "unfit." So it's safe to assume that pretty much any D1 male field player can accomplish this. And it's probabably also safe to assume than national team players are at least as fit as a D1 program player.

I left three years ago, yes Ryan played soccer until he gave it up because running was more his thing and also more of a challenge. Pretty sure that the runnng training the soccer players did between the end of November and the end of My had more to do with their running success than playing soccer in the fall did.

Yes, there were a few girls who gave up soccer and became good runners, the way I look it at was they were runners wasting their time playing soccer, once they made the commitment to being runners they realized their potential. But, there were only a handful that actually became good runners (Ari, Bo, Lily, Eliza, Kristin) and one other who finally gave up soccer in college and became a good mid distance runner.

I'm not calling BS on your brothers time trial mile, couldn't care less, although the fact that he didn't break five for one mile tells me he can't go out and run 3-4 mile training runs at 6:00 pace. My 2nd best runner this yr. won the state mile title in 5:00.43 and she can't go out and bang out 6:00 miles for 3-4 mile runs, she would love to but it isn't happening yet.

I was using the 200 record to show how slow these so called fast soccer players really were. The guy I'm talking about was the 2nd leading scorer on the team and considered to be the fastest player on the team, just wasn't very fast.

I once saw this muscled up young guy like 22 yeaqrs old run like 30 mins at 6 min pace. Flashes of the next great 800m runner flew thru my head. I asked him if he ever ran track. He said yes in Junior High. Tried getting the guy out to practice. It was like pulling teeth. This sport requires real passion for it. There is a lot of talent out there, but only so much passion!

No. I'm saying that if his "easy, comfortable, conversational" pace is indeed 6 minutes for normal runs (8-10 miles, for example), then his projected marathon is 2:19. This is only if he is going at a VERY low intensity for his 6 minute miles.

I'm a former D1 track/XC runner.

Last summer I was asked to create a program and monitor a D2 men's soccer team for 12 weeks to get them "all under 5 minutes for 1600m". Soccer players can run..no doubt about it, but their mid-distance capacity varies widely, mostly by the position they play.

I ended up with 1 mid-fielder breaking 5 minutes...2 more mids under 5:10, and everybody else was slower...some as slow as 6:10. They all improved their times over the 12 week period, but just like runners...some have better genes than others.

Like most soccer players, I bet Freddy Adu can run 2:10 for 800...but gets dramatically slower as he moves up to 1600 and beyond.

I only read page 1 so apologies if this has already been stated w.r.t. the soccer fitness debate:

Mr. Hyperbole-Boston-Marathon-historian-Tom Derdarian states on page 576 of his book about Lucketz Swartbooi of Namibia "Two yeras earlier in his first marathon ever, with his only running practice gathered from soccer, he ran 2:30; a year later he ran 2:11:23..." (was 3rd that day, 1993, in Boston 2:09:57)

For the soccer debate wrote:

I only read page 1 so apologies if this has already been stated w.r.t. the soccer fitness debate:

Mr. Hyperbole-Boston-Marathon-historian-Tom Derdarian states on page 576 of his book about Lucketz Swartbooi of Namibia "Two yeras earlier in his first marathon ever, with his only running practice gathered from soccer, he ran 2:30; a year later he ran 2:11:23..." (was 3rd that day, 1993, in Boston 2:09:57)

What does that mean? There are runners playing soccer, when they quit soccer and focus on running they run well. When they just play soccer they don't run as well, soccer does not make runners.

JoeShmoe wrote:

I don't think anyone in soccer, especially those playing in Europe, are in the wrong $port.

This

I have seen soccer players in hs who do a season of running on the track to become 1:55 guys. They can't do it off of pure soccer but giving them 20-30 mpw they can do a lot more than you are saying.

It's pretty obvious that the point is:

soccer prepared him to run a 2:30. After focusing on running he improved to 2:09:57.

Martin Rooney played under 21 soccer Internationally with Ireland (Born in England, Irish parents)before switching to the 400 & declared for Great Britain !

reading comprehension 101 wrote:

It's pretty obvious that the point is:

soccer prepared him to run a 2:30. After focusing on running he improved to 2:09:57.

Yes, he ran 2:30 off of soccer training, which includes running, not playing baseball. But, the reason he was able to do that is because he is a runner, that is where his real talent was.

The fact that this one little skinny runner guy did it does not mean that all soccer players can do it or that any other soccer player on the planet could do it.

hp wrote:

it does not mean that all soccer players can do it or that any other soccer player on the planet could do it.

I never said it meant that. I only supported the idea that I understood it was ONE example.

Cheers.

In high school, often the Soccer and track guys are the same guy.

Track competes from the same athletes and its no surprise that a soccer player is a runner. At some stage he decieds to stick with one or the other. It has nothing to do with how each sport is preparing them.

The two sports complement themselves. Though they're mainly middle distance kids. The sprintes are usually on the football team.

And I hope Fredie Adu can run, cos he is not much of a soccer player.