ERFORMANCE P SOCCER CONDITIONING A NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO IMPROVING SOCCER PLAYERS www.performancecondition.com/soccer Conditioning Interview: Kristine Lilly - Taking Control When Kristine Lilly retired from soccer in January, 2011 at the age of 38, she had played at the game’s highest level in four different decades. She played in five World Cups and three Olympic Games. She is a two-time world champion, a two-time gold medalist, a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Women’s Na- tional Soccer Team and she played in 352 games for her county—more than any other person in the world. She is the second leading scorer in the world behind Mia Hamm. Kristine was captain of the U.S. National Team from 2005-2007 and captain of the Boston Break- ers of Women’s Professional Soccer from 2001-2003, and again from 2009 to 2010. She was a five-time all-star for the Breakers and in 2010, the team retired her #13 jersey. Kristine played collegiately for the University of North Carolina, where she played in four ACC Championships, four NCAA Championships, held two captainships, and received four first-team All- America honors. She also had her jersey retired there. For the purpose of the interview conditioning is defined as soccer-specific development of speed, agility, mobility, strength/stability, power, speed/power endurance and aerobic endurance through train- ing, proper fueling and recovery methods to improve performance and prevent injury. BGN PC: You said that conditioning was the foundation of your career. Can you describe how you INT ADV laid this foundation through your experience? Who was influential in shaping this process? T-1 KL: The first person who put it into my head that conditioning was a lifetime commitment was Anson Dorrance of the University of North Carolina, who coached the Women’s National Team. I re- member being in a team camp at Christmas time doing fitness tests. My attitude was, “Well it’s the hol- idays so we can train with that spirit.” However, I quickly learned that fitness and conditioning are a year-round commitment. It hit me more as I realized its importance and I adapted it as one of the things Kristine Lilly that I can control. You decide either to do it or not. As a result of this commitment, I made sure I did something every day (with the exception of recovery days) whether it was a sprint workout, 20-minute run or running stadium stairs. PC: Anson is synonymous with the concept of the cauldron method of training Was this something you endured, dreaded or what was your personal feeling toward this? KL: It was something I adapted to. There was pressure on the national team to be up there in the rankings. The one thing that I know for sure is that it works. It puts pressure on players to take responsibility and not adversely affect the team by not doing your share. It makes for a great environment. Net Link: To learn more about Anson’s approach to conditioning click HERE. PC: You stated that conditioning is the one thing that you can control. What indicators (time of year, competition schedule, reading your body etc.) told you to increase work load and what indicators told you to back off and recover? How was this achieved in a team setting? KL: When I say take control, I mean you have a choice. We all know how to run; it not like tennis where you must learn to serve correctly. We all run. Another aspect of all this is the mental part. Only you can decide whether you want to be fit or not. On the National Team, we knew what test we doing whether it was suicides with cones or 120s. You could train to do better in these tests and I did. This is what I mean by control. I was on the national team when I was in high school and played other sports to condition myself as well. I would run fitness (cones and 120s) on my own three times a week. Other days I would go for a run or do stadiums. I had a choice—sit on the couch or train. PC: How did you come to learn to read your body? When did you know you could go hard or back off during your career? KL: Learning to read my body did not occur until I was in my early 30s. I think that your body should never hurt when you are in your teens and early 20s. As I mentioned, I did the cones and 120s three time a week. The cones lasted ten minutes the 120s 15-17 minutes; I wasn’t out doing a 30-minute warm-up. In my case reading came with age. I learned to take an extra day off per week. PC: Besides running, did you do other activities like strength training to work joint, tendon and ligament strength? How did playing other sports fit into all this? KL: Growing up, the thing that worked for me was playing other sports because it worked other muscles in my body. I am a huge pro- ponent of other kids doing this. I did not start lifting until I was in college because I really was not sold on it because I was afraid thought it would build unsightly muscles. This was in the 90s, but we know a lot more about it and now more girls do this type of activity with the benefits they offer. PC: Which sports did you participate in? KL: I played basketball and baseball when I was growing up and softball in high school. PC: What did you feel the transfer was in playing these sports to becoming a world class soccer player? How did you choose these sports? KL: Baseball was my sport when I was little because my dad loved it so much. Basketball was fun to play. PC: What conditioning strategies do you feel most influenced you in avoiding major injury? KL: I never had the mindset that I was avoiding it; it was a matter of taking care of my body by working out and eating right. I had my share of swollen ankles and also had a back issue but I could also play through it. I am not in the medical field, so there may be more rhyme or reason behind my avoidance of serious injury. Sometimes a player will be in an awkward position and it just happens. One thing that I do know is that I have really strong hamstrings; that is genetic and I inherited it from my dad. I did not want my hamstrings to be big, but that is the way it is. My daughter has them now so hopefully there is some carryover. PC: Did you do any stretching or yoga? KL: I was never a big advocate of stretching and never did yoga or Pilates; I just played. However, many girls play and get hurt. I think this might be that because they do not play other sports and play too much soccer. Other muscles are not used or trained. PC: You mentioned body imaging, shaping and your concern about strength training until you reached college. Has your position on this changed? KL: I think every girl fights her looks and are sensitive to comments. I already talked about how sensitive I was about my hamstrings but I have changed my mindset. I have total confidence because of the way I am and the way I look now. The strength and the stamina that I gained from playing the game and the fitness work that I did have provided that confidence and self-esteem that I did not have when I was younger. PC: What advice do you have for young players and, more importantly, their coaches in their approach to conditioning and proper recovery, including avoiding burnout (both mental and physical) and overuse injury? KL: The key word is “fun.” Are the players having fun? I now have a coaching business and when I deal with parents, I see the need to ensure that young players have fun. If you do only one sport, it is like a drill sergeant hammering away rather than going out in the yard, juggling for an hour on their own and having fun. There is a whole thing going on now in youth sports at all levels where athletes do too much and play too many games—it is all organized. There should be more of the unorganized variety where kids play in parks, have fun and not necessarily play soccer. It could be football, basketball or even tag. We see in high school if an athlete has talent and potential, so why not have fun at the younger levels? If they do not have fun, they get out. I get passionate about this because there are kids who are stop playing sports at 13. As far as conditioning and when to start, a ten-year-old should play and enjoy the game. That is not to say you can’t have relay races that are fun and condition at the end of practice. High school is where I think the athlete should start some conditioning. O More Information Please! In the last 15 years, along with running private soccer clinics and making public appearances, Kristine and her Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy http://kristinelilly13.com/kl-soccer-academy/ have given thousands of young athletes the oppor- tunity to train, have fun, and learn valuable life lessons.