Youth Soccer Training Warm Up

What your child does before practice will directly affect their play!

Does this scenario seem familiar?  You have just arrived to your child’s team practice about 20 minutes early.  While you stand around talking with all of the other parents about who did or did not get enough playing time in the last game, you look over and notice everyone is kicking the ball in the goal at soccer practice.  The coach then starts with jogging a lap around the field, has the team do a few stretching exercises, and then play begins. There may even have been times when you have noticed that your child has looked a little sluggish into the start of a game or practice.

The role of warm-up is extremely important in preparing an athlete to perform.  Long gone are the days of low-level cardio work right before play begins.  In fact, it is this period of activity that will directly affect how your child will perform.  So let’s take a look at just a few principles of warm-up that your child can implement into their routine.

1. Warm-up to play, don’t play to warm-up- This timeless principle came from Steve Myrland, creator of the ABC Ladder.  While too many players immediately begin practice playing small sided games or shooting, instead take a methodical approach to preparing the body to perform.  Gradually increase the intensity of movement over time building up to game effort speed.
2. Proper Warm-up will help to prevent injury- What would happen if you were to take a rubber band out of a freezer and try to stretch it ten times really fast?  It would break in half!  Your muscles are no different.  Raising the body’s core temperature and loosening the muscles are critical to help prevent muscle strains.  Include some simple dynamic movements such as jogging forwards and backwards, lateral shuffles, and straight leg marching.
3. Activate the body’s nervous system- While muscles are important, it is the nervous system that serves as the main control of efficient movement.  Include exercises such as skipping, hopping, rapid-fire butt kicks, and even jumping rope to really excite the body to move.
4. Warm-up should be mindful…not mindless-  If you want to make sure that your team starts their game out flat, just have them jog a lap or two and then stretch.  Why?  Because this takes no mental energy at all.  So then when the whistle blows and your players are required to be alert and ready, they will be sure to be a step slow!  Instead, include drills that incorporate balance, coordination, and reaction such as juggling a ball into a short sprint or a small sided game.
5. Ideal time to work on agility, balance, and coordination movement skills- Youth coaches are all about maximizing their practice time.  Therefore, the best time to include fundamental movement skills is in the active warm-up itself.  This is an opportunity for both teaching and training of skills that will improve speed, flexibility, strength, and power.  Ideal equipment to use during a warm-up include a speed ladder, hoops, mini-hurdles, mini-bands, and even medicine balls.

Applying these principles to your warm-up will help your team prepare to play the right way! 

(For a specific team warm-up template be sure to visit www.fitnessforsoccer.com.)