Lauren Z.

As a certified personal trainer, a physical education teacher, and an experienced Division I athlete, I aim to educate and develop the game of soccer in youth of all ages.

My experience in coaching has not just been limited to private training sessions, but I have also had the opportunity of coaching at collegiate level soccer camps. For the last five years, I have trained a variety of skill levels, from players who are just beginning their journey with the game, to those who are college bound and need help improving specific technical skills. As a coach, I believe that each training session should be individualized to meet the needs of the player. Most of the drills and skill sets used in my sessions are derived from the tactics used by many coaches at the collegiate level.

Personally, I attribute my success in college and even my scholarship opportunities to the individualized sessions I received in my development. The specific attention focused me to my weakest abilities as a player, and I was able to improve on fundamental skills including footwork, dribbling, passing, and shooting. As my game progressed, so did the intensity of the training, and I was conditioned for more advanced instruction including off-the-ball movement, switching the point of attack, defensive positioning, attacking runs, and improving my speed of play. This progression of activities is what I use for training my athletes today.

ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Northern Arizona University Lumberjack Athletics
NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Team-Scholarship Athlete
August 2008-January 2012
Team Captain (2010-2011)
• Lowe’s Senior Athlete Award Nominee (2012)
• Northern Arizona University’s Athletic Director’s Student-Athlete Honors (2012)
• 3-year Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete Recipient (2012, 2011, 2010)
• Big Sky Regular Season Conference Champions (2010)
• Two Big Sky Championship titles (2008, 2009)
• Big Sky All-Conference Honorable Mention (2008-2009)

Lincoln Way East High School Griffin Athletics
Varsity Soccer Team
December 2004-May 2008
Team Captain (2007-2008)
• All-State Athletic Award (2008)
• All-Academic Team (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
• All Conference/Sectional Honors (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
• 8AA State Championship Appearance (2005)

All of my sessions will begin with a dynamic warm-up that incorporates both flexibility and plyometric movements. (8-10 minutes)

The first portion of my training is devoted to improvement of ball control skills. This can be done through a variety of footwork drills that include juggling, dribbling to maintain possession ("moves"), quick footwork, and even 1-touch/2-touch passing progressions. (12-15 minutes)

The next portion of my training makes up the bulk of the session, and is learner-centered. This means that whatever the trainee needs to focus on specifically to improve their game, I will address here. For those who are still young and need to shape all areas of their game, this portion will frequently change, however, for those who have specific goals in mind (or play a specific position) this portion may stay the same. Topics in this portion include (and are not limited to):
-Offensive and Defensive Positioning
-Movement Off-the-Ball
-Position-Specific Training
-Finishing (Shooting, Crossing, Volleys, etc.)
-Passing (For Distance, Accuracy, etc.)
-Speed of Play
-Communication
(20-30 minutes)

One of the last portions of my training is fitness centered. Whether that means improvement of core strength, improvement of cardiovascular endurance, or improvement in quickness, all aspects of fitness CAN be addressed. As a certified personal trainer, I have a firm belief that fitness is ESSENTIAL to a soccer player's performance on the field. For those who are just beginning their soccer journey, fitness will be modified to suit their capabilities.
(5-15 minutes)

The final part of training includes a cool-down that is centered on improvement of flexibility.
(5 minutes)