Cutting? Not Really a Soccer Move

One thing I've been stewing on for a while now is how much work on cutting we, as an industry, do in our speed and agility programming for athletes.  I don't want to just pick on words here. I want to really express what is happening on the field, in a game or training, that is specific to a player's needs within their relative sport.  So lets's start by defining a cut vs. a curved run.

Cut: I'm looking for sharp angular changes here.  There's probably an element of deceleration and re acceleration.  My first thought goes to a running back in football looking for the right hole, or a wide receiver breaking on a route. There is angle that you could measure with a protractor.

Curved or Curled run: Here, I'm looking at sweeping change of direction. The player started in one direction and gradually changes that direction. A big difference here is the deceleration portion is minimized or entirely gone. When a soccer player takes the ball wide and then forward, it's a curved run.  A midfielder moving through space (see Lionel Messi) is using curled or curved runs.

Classically we've spent a lot of time training a player to cut and use changes of direction in a very linear, even if it's side to side, fashion. But maybe we should be putting just as much time in on the curvelinear movements.  I challenge you to turn on a soccer match and look for the differences.  What you'll likely see is that every cut is followed closely by either a) a pass b) a curved run.

Here’s how I implement curved runs:

1. Introduce the concept.

2. Practice a few runs around an object.

3. Add the idea of going down to speed up

4. Make it a two player game, such as tag

5. Make it a multiplayer game that layers in decision making and special awareness 

Note re: 3- by actually trying to speed up around a curve, you have to lower your center of mass. Lowering your hips makes your shins drop closer to the ground which in turn keeps you going faster. If you stay y’all, your shins get vertical, which is what you do to slow down. 

All of this to say, the best reason to curve your runs is to change direction faster. A true cut requires a hard STOP and restart in a new direction. 

Enjoy!