Did you know that soccer training tips has an important feature; stretching, that is highly recommended as well as practiced by almost every sports person? Soccer is a sport which is continuously growing and developing in its intricacy.
In kid’s training for soccer, there are two types of stretching, dynamic and static stretching that are integrated.
Static stretching requires players to stretch their muscles to a point of resistance and hold for a given duration of time. Rebounding, rhythmic bouncing, and recurring motions are involved in dynamic stretching. In general, it is not considered as effective as static stretching and more dangerous than static stretching.
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. However, the support is more convincing for a long-term stretching line up than for shorter periods of time.
Performing stretching for a few minutes before starting any playing activity is likely to enhance flexibility. But, of all the soccer training tips, the best is where stretching program is extended over a longer period of time that constantly improves the player’s range of motion.
Stretching betters’ performance: When the stretching program is planned after considering the player’s soccer specific needs, their performance improves.
Stretching can be a lot of fun: For this, you need to add variety in your soccer drills and focus a lot on performing them. Keep changing the warm up activities that are performed before stretching. Try games like the tag game, ball tag, and keep away.
Focus mentally on the stretching and feel and understand each stretch, checking for stiffness or 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. Kids who feel like to keep up or enhance their flexibility can realize this goal to some extent by stretching. It’s advisable to perform stretching exercises when the body temperature is higher than normal as it is safer and more useful.
That’s why some experienced coaches recommend stretching after a workout also. After practicing soccer skills, if kids are made to do some stretching for 5-7 minutes, it’ll prevent their 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.
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.
