Soccer Training Tips: 4 Action Ideas On Stretching
July 30th, 2010 Posted in Outdoors
What if I told you that stretching as a part of soccer training tips is highly recommended by professional soccer coaches and is widely practiced by players in almost every sport? Soccer is one of such sports that is always growing and developing in its complexity.
There are two kinds of stretching; static and dynamic, that are slotted in planning training for the soccer season.
In static stretching, players stretch their muscles to a certain point of resistance and then hold for some period of time. When it comes to dynamic stretching, recurring motions, rhythmic bouncing, and rebounding is what the player does. In comparison with static stretching, it is more risky and less useful.
This article discusses some benefits of stretching that go a long way in making a good player great.
Stretching reduces injuries: Constant stretching by players during the day and continuing it over a period of time helps the growth of their muscles, thus diminishing the risk of injury. Stretching provides a way of growing the muscle mass and strength as well.
Stretching shapes flexibility: Stretching puts a stop to any loss of flexibility. Still, the effects of stretching are way better when it is done for a long period of time than for a shorter duration.
Stretching a few minutes prior to any event is likely to increase flexibility. One of the most important soccer training tips is to focus on enhancing the player’s range of motion by spreading out the stretching program over a period of months together.
Stretching betters’ performance: When the stretching program is planned after considering the player’s soccer specific needs, their performance improves.
Make sure that the kids enjoy stretching: Make stretching fun for the kids by including a variety of soccer drills into your session. Keep changing the type of warm up exercises that you perform before stretching. Try tag games, ball tag, and keep away.
Focus mentally on stretching exercises, feel and recognize each stretch, whilst checking for body soreness.
One 15-30-second stretch for each muscle group is sufficient for most players, but some kids require longer stretches and more repetitions as well.
The reason for this is that when the temperature of muscles is higher than normal, stiffness decreases and extensibility increases. Those players who wish to sustain or increase their flexibility can partially attain this goal by stretching. It is better, safer, and more productive to do stretching exercises when the body temperature is higher than normal.
This is the reason why some coaches make kids stretch even after a workout. If your kids stretch for 5-10 minutes after performing soccer skills, their muscles will not tighten too fast.
Usually, players who practice an active warm-up ahead of stretching get a superior range of motion than those kids who just stretch. So if injury prevention is your aim, stop stretching before exercise and increase the warm up time.
Some food for thought; one of the most important soccer training tips is that hurried stretching is meaningless and boring and doesn’t help your players gain flexibility, so allow them some extra time when they are feeling inflexible or stiff. You can get more such tips and tactics by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community that has several relevant articles, videos, and periodic newsletters.
Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Youth Soccer Drills.