Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Soccer might be one of the hardest sports to train for. Players need endurance to run for 90 minutes, with only one 15-minute break. And in the World Cup knockout rounds, if there is a tie, match time could extend to 120 minutes. Over the course of a game, the average player runs between 6 and 8 miles. But endurance is just a piece of the puzzle. Players also need to be capable of explosive acceleration, quick stops, jumping, and have a surprising amount of upper body strength.
Plus, soccer is really hard to predict. Unlike sports like cycling or rowing, the exact movements of a soccer match are dependent on the movements of 21 other players and can feel completely spontaneous.
In order to find out how soccer players can train for a sport that is so physiologically complex and chaotic, Vox producer Nate Krieger went to a practice with Brooklyn FC, a professional soccer team in the USL Championship League. He talked to forward Stefan Stojanovic and tried a drill designed by the team’s head of performance, Michael Higbee, to see how hard training for soccer can really be.
Read more about the fitness required to play high-level soccer:
Chris Barnes on the evolution of sports science in professional soccer: robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/chris-barnes-podcast
Sportsmith is a platform for trainers and coaches that has a lot of information about sports science and fitness. sportsmith.co/learn
This Sports Illustrated article breaks down how many miles a player runs in a game, broken down by position: si.com/soccer/how-many-miles-do-soccer-players-run-in-a-game
This video is presented by Colgate. Colgate doesn’t have a say in our editorial decisions, but they make videos like this one possible.
If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.
Subscribe to our channel! goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.
Watch our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE
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Soccer might be one of the hardest sports to train for. Players need endurance to run for 90 minutes, with only one 15-minute break. And in the World Cup knockout rounds, if there is a tie, match time could extend to 120 minutes. Over the course of a game, the average player runs between 6 and 8 miles. But endurance is just a piece of the puzzle. Players also need to be capable of explosive acceleration, quick stops, jumping, and have a surprising amount of upper body strength.
Plus, soccer is really hard to predict. Unlike sports like cycling or rowing, the exact movements of a soccer match are dependent on the movements of 21 other players and can feel completely spontaneous.
In order to find out how soccer players can train for a sport that is so physiologically complex and chaotic, Vox producer Nate Krieger went to a practice with Brooklyn FC, a professional soccer team in the USL Championship League. He talked to forward Stefan Stojanovic and tried a drill designed by the team’s head of performance, Michael Higbee, to see how hard training for soccer can really be.
Read more about the fitness required to play high-level soccer:
Chris Barnes on the evolution of sports science in professional soccer: robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/chris-barnes-podcast
Sportsmith is a platform for trainers and coaches that has a lot of information about sports science and fitness. sportsmith.co/learn
This Sports Illustrated article breaks down how many miles a player runs in a game, broken down by position: si.com/soccer/how-many-miles-do-soccer-players-run-in-a-game
This video is presented by Colgate. Colgate doesn’t have a say in our editorial decisions, but they make videos like this one possible.
If you enjoy our reporting and want to hear more from Vox journalists, sign up for our Patreon at patreon.com/vox. Each month, our members get access to exclusive videos, livestreams, and chats with our newsroom.
Subscribe to our channel! goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com.
Watch our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Facebook: goo.gl/U2g06o
Or Twitter: goo.gl/XFrZ5H
