Take an inside look at the world’s most popular sport. Soccer Anatomy will show you how to elevate your game by increasing strength, speed, and agility for more accurate passes and powerful shots.
Soccer Anatomy includes 79 exercises, each with step-by-step descriptions and full-color anatomical illustrations highlighting muscles in action.
Soccer Anatomy goes beyond exercises by placing you on the pitch and in the game. Illustrations of the active muscles involved in kicking, heading, tackling, and diving show you how each exercise is fundamentally linked to soccer performance.
From attacking to defending to goalkeeping, Soccer Anatomy will improve every aspect of your game. You’ll learn how to modify exercises to target specific areas based on your style of play, personal needs, and goals. And you can prepare for competition by minimizing injuries using a system developed by FIFA’s medical research program.
Combining authoritative advice, expert instruction, and stunning four-color illustrations, Soccer Anatomy is truly an inside look at this one-of-a-kind sport. Whether you’re a player, coach, or fan, if you’re serious about soccer, this is one book you need to own.
Chapter 1. The Soccer Player in Motion
Chapter 2. The FIFA Warm-Up
Chapter 3. Arms
Chapter 4. Shoulders and Neck
Chapter 5. Chest
Chapter 6. Back and Hips
Chapter 7. Abdomen
Chapter 8. Legs: Muscle Isolation
Chapter 9. Legs: Complete Power
Chapter 10. Whole-Body Training for Soccer
Donald T. Kirkendall is uniquely positioned to author Soccer Anatomy. He earned a PhD in exercise physiology from The Ohio State University and went on to teach human anatomy, physiology, and exercise physiology as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse and Illinois State University. In 1995 he was recruited to join the sports medicine program at Duke University Medical Center and then at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests focus on sports medicine and physical performance with an emphasis on team sports—especially soccer. Since 1997 he has written a sport science column for the monthly magazine Southern Soccer Scene.
Dr. Kirkendall began competing in soccer during middle school and continued to play during high school and junior college and at Ohio University, where he competed in the NCAA tournament. He continues to play today in adult recreational leagues. He has coached soccer at various levels from U10 youth leagues to assistant coach at Ball State University in Indiana and earned the USSF B coaching license.