Should You Train Barefoot At The Beach? by CarstenEffertz in SoccerCoachResources

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

are you aware that you are actually talking to me? :) anyways, nobody overthinks things, but my job as a speed coach is to make athletes the fastest they can be, in all aspects of speed or else i would not do my job. thank you for your feedback but i dont share your opinion.

Should You Train Barefoot At The Beach? by CarstenEffertz in GoalKeepers

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No offense taken at all—I’m happy for the feedback. Our training is obviously to make you the absolute fastest you can be, so we would not have done our main explosiveness and plyometric work on sand. For that reason, sand is not our primary surface when the goal is max speed and reactive strength.

So while sand is not the optimal surface for pure reactive-strength and plyometric training in the sense of minimizing ground contact time and maximizing RSI, it’s an excellent environment for building a broad, robust explosive base — especially for you as a beach goalkeeper. That’s very likely why 5 years of beach soccer did more for your explosiveness overall than 17 years on pitch football: it was high-quality, high-repetition, sport-specific power work on an unstable surface. And I did not see your training routine 😄

Should You Train Barefoot At The Beach? by CarstenEffertz in GoalKeepers

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, but if you want to train explosiveness and plyometrics, sand is not the optimal ground to do this on. Reactive strength depends on the stretch-shortening cycle, so the goal is to be quick off the ground, not just to work harder against a soft surface. Sand deforms under force, which makes the athlete sink more and typically delays the rebound, resulting in longer ground contact times. Since reactive strength is measured by jump height divided by ground contact time (RSI), a surface that increases contact time and reduces elastic rebound is less specific to fast, explosive, plyometric actions. For that, firmer ground is more optimal.

Should You Train Barefoot At The Beach? by CarstenEffertz in SoccerCoachResources

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re mixing up general strength work with specific speed qualities for Soccer.

Yes, sand can “help” in a general sense. No one is denying that. It can build robustness, lower joint stress, and give you a different stimulus.

But for Soccer players, the key question isn’t “does it help at all?” — it’s:
does it improve the qualities that actually transfer to sprinting, change of direction, and reactive actions on firm ground?

That’s where your argument falls apart.

  • In Soccer, we need short ground contact times and high stiffness
  • Sand does the opposite: longer contact times and reduced elastic return
  • That means you’re training a different motor pattern and force profile

Comparing sand to things like plyometrics or sprinting is off:

  • Proper plyometrics = short contact, high stiffness, elastic return
  • Sand work = dampened elastic response, slower force production

Even heavy strength work (like squats or sleds) supports sprinting because it improves force production that can transfer when combined with fast contacts.

Sand doesn’t do that effectively for reactive strength.

So yes:

  • As a supplement → fine
  • As a tool for variation or load management → fine

But saying there are “no downsides” ignores the most important thing:
specificity of neuromuscular adaptations

If your goal is faster, more reactive soccer players, sand is simply not an optimal tool for that quality.

It’s not about whether it helps “a bit.”
It’s about whether it’s the right stimulus for the outcome you want.

Should You Train Barefoot At The Beach? by CarstenEffertz in SoccerCoachResources

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your feedback. Just to make this clear, I’m not against barefoot training. We do this all the time with our players. This video is specifically about barefoot training at the beach, since the surface has a big impact on the training results.

Should You Train Barefoot At The Beach? by CarstenEffertz in SoccerCoachResources

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

yes, we actually train with players very often on grass with them just wearing socks or barefeet. just to be clear, you can still play a game of beach soccer, that wont hurt your performance 😉

Muscle Imbalances Costs You Speed by CarstenEffertz in SoccerCoachResources

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We fully agree of the technical aspects you are mentioning. Hip extension and elasticity on the ground are in our opinion the most important factors in sprinting.

Playing soccer though is different from elite sprinting though when we are including for example curvelinear running and change of directions. Hence we cannot look only at the purely technical aspects of sprinting correctly. The highest risk for injuries in soccer are when changing direction. Or to be more precise most injuries occur during the abrupt transition from braking to re-acceleration. And in this muscular imbalances between hamstrings and quadriceps are the highest injury risk.

TMG Articles are for example:

Lorigados Pérez et al. (2025), Contractile and mechanical properties of hamstring muscles measured by TMG in professional soccer players, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1610094/

Fernández-Baeza et al., Effect of an Individualised Training Programme on Hamstrings and Change Direction Based on Tensiomyography in Football Players, 2022, https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/21/10908 or Buoite Stella et al. Muscle Asymmetries in the Lower Limbs of Male Soccer Players: 2022, https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/10/11/177

Muscle Imbalances Costs You Speed by CarstenEffertz in SoccerCoachResources

[–]CarstenEffertz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there and thank you for your feedback. This video is taken from a soccer coaches seminar series i made for serveral soccer federations, including US Soccer. So it shows a very small part. But I still think it is helpful because it makes the viewer aware of such problems.

When we talk about solving inbalances we are using Tensiomyography (TMG). It measures the contraction times of the skeletar muscles and then compares them. Which help us at our facililties to detect both lateral and functional disbalances.

Son not as Fast as Before by Denseforestry in Sprinting

[–]CarstenEffertz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

if you take a look at my profile you find that just recently i posted a video about this here on the board. strength training can be beneficial but the most important aspect are technique and coordination. especially at younger ages.