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Warm Up Tips & Tricks
- Stay warm. If there’s a break in activity during the game or practice, do not let your muscles relax too much. Jog in place, do a few jumping jacks, and stretch to keep them pliable.
- Watch your time. A good warm-up should take a total of 10-15 minutes, once a routine has been established. Any less is simply not enough to warm up, and any more will consume more energy that should be saved for the actual practice or game. In colder weather, however, you might need an extra 5 minutes of warming up for your body to reach a good playing temperature.
- Bring the goalkeeper into warm-ups. Keepers need to get their touches on the ball, too, and require special considerations given their role in the game. In a possession game: Allow the keeper to use his or her hands. Often, keepers will want to and should play possession with their feet. It’s critical for the keeper to be able to use their feet when a defender or a ball is played back to them and they must use both feet to clear the ball. Set up a small goal in the center of the playing area and teams can take a shot once they reach a certain number of passes.
- Cool down. It’s just as important to stretch after training and have a short cool down (light jog). A total of two laps around the field or four around half the field with stretching mixed in is sufficient. To some experts, stretching after training is almost even more important than stretching before. It’s an ideal time to stretch since your muscles are really loose and warm. Essentially, stretching after training helps the muscles relax, ensures normal resting muscle positioning, improves blood flow to joints and tissues, and reduces soreness and stiffness—the killer after a long, strenuous training session.
Extra: Learn to work well under pressure. Tim Howard (when he was loaned out to Everton by Man U) said: "When you're at Manchester United, everything is scrutinized, every little thing. There's a pressure to perform every day that is greater [than in MLS]. Pressure can bust pipes or make diamonds. I turn that pressure into something I can enjoy."
Warm Up Videos
Sample Soccer (Football) Warm up 1. As players arrive, start off with a light game of keep away. (until 15 minutes before game or practice begins)
2. All players jog around half the field and slowly pick up the pace. They then jog the ends and add in some skipping, high knees, kicking up behind and shuffling. Finish off with sprinting. (3 minutes)
3. Static stretching held for 10 seconds in each position, each position held twice. (2 minutes)
4. Soccer tennis or obstacle course. (4 minutes)
5. Second round of stretching held for 15 seconds in each position, each position held once. May incorporate dynamic stretching if appropriate. (2 minutes)
6. Three-man weave or man in the middle. (4 minutes)
Learn more soccer warm up tips:
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