Last year I was training some middle school aged players that are honestly severely behind. They brought up during training how during their middle school soccer season they would have "Fitness Fridays" where the entire day was all fitness.
Now, when I was with varsity programs, at the NCAA Division 1 level, ECNL and DA teams, and at the professional level ABSOLUTELY we would dedicate days to fitness. But these players were middle school players that are behind. They cannot control the ball whatsoever. They have a hard time keeping the ball inbounds. Accidental touches all over the place and the inability to clean up the mess quickly. And yet, a coach will waste an entire training session dedicated to fitness. This is a major problem all over the USA.
Now, when I was with varsity programs, at the NCAA Division 1 level, ECNL and DA teams, and at the professional level ABSOLUTELY we would dedicate days to fitness. But these players were middle school players that are behind. They cannot control the ball whatsoever. They have a hard time keeping the ball inbounds. Accidental touches all over the place and the inability to clean up the mess quickly. And yet, a coach will waste an entire training session dedicated to fitness. This is a major problem all over the USA.