July 7, 2026, 4:04 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
An explosive start, a quick change of direction, or a sprint to the baseline–in soccer, split seconds often make the difference. It’s no wonder that speed is one of the most important athletic abilities in professional sports. However, if you want to improve your sprint performance, simply running as fast as possible isn’t enough. Laura Stosno-Krohn, athletic trainer for the RB Leipzig women’s team, explains to FITBOOK author Tony Poland why strength, technique, and proper training management are much more important.
To Sprint Faster, You Must First Get Stronger
Most people probably associate sprint training primarily with running exercises. However, strength is actually the foundation for high speeds. “The most important basis is very good basic and maximum strength,” emphasizes Laura Stosno-Krohn. “A professional must not only be able to generate force extremely quickly (explosive strength) but also be able to absorb it again.”
Especially when braking and making quick directional changes, what’s known as eccentric strength is crucial. “The muscles work like shock absorbers in this case,” the expert explains. Equally important are elastic, healthy tendons and a stable core. Only then can the power from the legs be optimally transferred to the field.
Which training content brings the greatest performance gains depends on individual conditions. “Athletes with low strength values benefit enormously from targeted strength training, while stronger players need exercises focused on power development.” Another key area is the technique of starting. “A major focus is on the technique of starting to maximize horizontal force development—that is, to direct the force forward into the ground.”
Properly Train Stop-and-Go
Soccer consists of constant changes in load: sprinting, stopping, accelerating again, jumping, or sliding. For muscles, tendons, and joints to withstand these demands in the long term, intelligent training planning is crucial.
“The magic word here is smart load management,” says Laura Stosno-Krohn. When training stop-and-go movements, one should “not start at 100 percent right away but gradually increase intensity and volume.” She also advises patience with jump training. “Before performing high-intensity jump exercises, the basics in strength and coordination must be in place.”
A training tip from the professional field is isometric strength exercises. In these, the muscles generate tension without the joints visibly moving. This means the muscle works, but its length changes very little. “Isometric strength exercises build enormous strength and are excellent for maintaining tendon health without dynamically wearing out the joints.”
The Biggest Mistake in Sprint Training
According to Stosno-Krohn, those looking to improve their speed often make the same mistake. “The biggest mistake is that the breaks between sprints are too short,” she emphasizes, adding, “This way, you only train endurance or repeated sprint ability, but you don’t get faster at the peak.”
For effective sprint training, complete recovery phases are indispensable. “True sprint training requires maximum intensity with full recovery.” Additionally, a soccer game rarely runs in a straight line. That’s why professionals don’t train exclusively linear sprints. “Professionals also specifically train curvy sprints,” the athletic trainer notes.
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How to Reduce the Risk of Injury
It’s clear: Sprinting places enormous stress on the musculoskeletal system. That’s why injury prevention plays as big a role as performance enhancement in professional soccer. “Clean technique training can prevent muscular injuries,” the expert says. Additionally, eccentric and isometric strength exercises help prepare joints and ligaments for the high stresses of landings and braking movements.
Since soccer is an unpredictable contact sport, professionals also rely on what’s known as perturbation training. “In this, the athlete is slightly thrown off balance during movement,” she describes. The nervous system learns to “stabilize unexpected force impacts in game duels quickly.”
Conclusion
More sprinting doesn’t automatically make you faster. To sustainably improve speed, one should focus equally on strength, technique, and recovery. Or as Laura Stosno-Krohn makes clear: Only the interplay of explosive strength, eccentric training, sufficient recovery breaks, and clean technique leads to faster starts, more effective directional changes, and a reduced risk of injury.