Soccer Coaching Drills

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? As a sport, soccer is growing and developing incessantly in its superiority.

In kid’s training for soccer, there are two types of stretching, dynamic and static stretching that are integrated.

In static stretching, players stretch their muscles to a certain point of resistance and then hold for some period of time. Dynamic stretching involves rhythmic bouncing, rebounding and recurring motions. It is generally considered as more dangerous and less effective than static stretching.

There are some advantages of practicing stretching discussed in this article that improve a player’s ability to become an exceptional player.

Soccer Training

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 also provides a way of increasing the muscle size and strength.

Stretching affects flexibility: Stretching prevents loss of flexibility. Nevertheless, stretching works best when performed for a greater length of time than for shorter periods of time.

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 perks up performance: When stretching program is designed specifically to suit soccer needs of the players, their performance improves.

Stretching can be great fun for the kids: If you include a lot of different types of soccer drills in your practice sessions, it can be a lot of fun. Keep varying the warm-up activities you do before stretching. Try games like the tag game, 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.

This is because when the temperature of muscles is higher than normal, tightness decreases and extensibility increases. Players who want to maintain or increase their flexibility can partly achieve this goal by stretching. When their body temperature is higher as against normal, it makes it safer and more productive to stretch.

That’s why some experienced coaches recommend stretching after a workout also. Stretching for five minutes after practicing soccer skills prevents muscles from tightening too fast.

Generally, players who exercise an active warm-up prior to stretching get a better range of motion than those who only stretch. So if injury prevention is your aim, stop stretching before exercise and increase the warm up time.

When feeling stiff or inflexible, the most important soccer training tips is to allow kids to warm up sufficiently, as doing stretches would not help them become flexible, and will become boring and futile. You can subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community and get your way to innumerable 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.

Let me ask you a simple question. Almost all soccer coaches tend to ignore the soccer training tips while designing training programs for kids with the intent of just making up the numbers and going through the motions. Do you fall in the same category?

Set some definite goals for your team before you plan your next training session. Establish what you wish to achieve from the training program and take the necessary steps to achieve your target.

Introduce new, fun, and innovative soccer drills in your training sessions to add variety. It will break the boring routine of performing the same drills every single day. You’ll notice a positive change in your kid’s performance once they begin to enjoy their training sessions.

Make your players understand the value of respecting and listening to you, their coach, no matter what their age or level at which they play. Mutual appreciation creates a friendly environment for both players and the coach.

Soccer Training

Soccer players get an edge over others when they are highly flexible. It has been divided into 3 categories.

Dynamic flexibility: This is known as the capacity of a player to perform quick movements within the full range motion in the joint, for instance; twisting from side to side.

Static active flexibility: The ability to stretch a tough muscle by using the tension within that muscle is termed as static active flexibility. One example is to hold one leg in front of you and keep it as high as you can. The hamstrings are stretched while the quadriceps and hip flexors hold your leg up.

Static passive: Ability to use your body weight or some outside force to hold a stretch is termed as static passive flexibility. For example; you can hold your leg out in front of you and then rest it on a chair.

Now let’s go to the next in line of soccer training tips. It requires you to check that kids are wearing an appropriate gear, depending on the weather conditions.

Training for soccer needs to be supported with a fitness program that will help the areas where your team needs most help. When designing this training program, keep the following factors in mind.

Player’s age: Decrease in the flexibility of soft tissue with aging is directly related to the reduced range of movement as one grows older, irrespective of the gender. However, decrease in flexibility can be significantly slowed down if we keep active.

Gender: Girls exhibit a greater range of movement, independent of their age.

Motion: It is natural for kids with an active lifestyle to showcase better soccer skills and a greater range of movement that the ones not so active on field.

Injury: Injuries also get in the way the range of motion in a joint.

Pain: With an increase in pain, flexibility decreases resulting in muscle spasms. On the other hand, strength training does not affect flexibility if you are doing the exercises correctly and in full range of motion.

Genetics: A player’s genetics also decide the amount of flexibility that his or her body has.

So, there should be no reason why you should not include soccer training tips into your training program for better productivity. You can perk up your coaching skills by joining our youth soccer coaching community that has a lot of articles, newsletters, and pertinent videos.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Drills For Kids.