Running For Soccer

I currently play futsal and also indoor, but will be trying out for my University’s team in about a year’s time. Obviously, outdoor requires much more running and I would like to increase my endurance.

I have no problems finishing games on the smaller fields that I play on now, but while talking to some of my friends that have played for professional teams as well as some of the better UC (Cali) teams I’ve realized I can be expected to run 5-9 miles per game depending on my position.

I currently run ~4 miles around 3-4 times a week (less or more depending on how I feel) and would like to be able to run around 8 miles at a time.

I’m wondering how I would progress to get up to around 8? Should I add a quarter mile every month? Every 2 weeks or so?

I have worked with a few soccer player over the last 12 months so here’s my suggestion.

As soccer is predominately an anaerobic sport, it is essential for you to focus more on this aspect rather than overall endurance.

I beleive if you improve your anaerobic capacity, therefore your increasing your bodies ability to perform at higher intensity for longer, which equals greater running distance. Another area to focus on is your running ecomony. How fast are you running the 4 miles?