Thoughts.

So I think a lot of the best gains I got from summer training came from strength training…simple lifts like the deadlift and squat with a couple different rep schemes–5 sets of 5 reps, 3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1 for maxes. I’d only do 1-2 days of strength work in a given week, though. Those are the simpler movements to do, they don’t need as much coaching to do well (just make sure your brace your core so you don’t hurt your back), I’ve dabbled a bit in olympic lifting too–the barbell stuff is difficult; doing snatches or cleans or swings with a dumbbell (1 arm at a time) is pretty manageable though, and works very well. Let me know if you want clarification on any of those movements.

A lot of my other workouts followed crossfit’s sort of setup, usually 3 exercises in rounds, 21-15-9 rep scheme. The general idea for these ones is basically to bust ass, moving as fast as you can doing and between exercises. It makes for a good condiitoning effect, but depending on the exercieses it’s just great for general fitness. You could probably work out a few on your own. I’ll just write a few of the ones I’ve done and liked as examples:

3 rounds, for time:
1000m row
20 pull-ups (in as many sets as necessary)
30 box jumps

As many rounds in 20 minutes as you can:
5 Handstand pushup (I’d do them up against a wall, you could maybe substitute a pushup derivative)
10 1-leg squats, alternating legs (so 5/leg)
15 pullups (i moved onto the assisted machine fairly quickly to keep moving instead of taking a long break)

As many rounds in 10 minutes as you can (I made this one up, it’s pretty killer on the legs so I halved it from my original 20 minute goal)
5 pushups
10 split jump (you know, where you’re in a lunge, jump, switch in midair, land in lunge)
15 squats (just with your bodyweight–butt bounces are a pretty equivalent burn)

That sort of thing. Doesn’t take very long, you get your blood pumping. I usually do a warm-up including some hip stretching, jumproping, situps, back extensions, and maybe pullups and dips or some other pushing/pulling movements with the arms, depending on what the workout is for the day, as well as some extra stuff for my knees/ankles, and usually follow my workouts with some grip work or some extra core work. For a while in the summer I would also do some light plyos, maybe like 15-30ish box jumps, in my warmup, too, and I felt like it had pretty good benefit on the field. Obviously in your offseason that’s less of a concern for you.

I’m starting to go off the deep end here writing stuff, but I wanted to add that I think a lot of my benefit from training came from identifying what I needed to improve (my hamstrings and glutes are a lot stronger now) and tailoring my workout plan around fixing my weaknesses. Having at least some plan will help add structure, and try and keep balance in your training (ie, don’t go doing a ton of squats and neglecting your hamstrings like I did in high school). Those are pretty standard caveats, but I figure they always bear mentioning.