Kids Soccer Drills: 4 Big Reasons To Warm Up
It’s sad to know that people fail to appreciate the importance of warming up in kids soccer drills. As a coach, I just cannot emphasize enough that warming up before sessions is not just mandatory but also a great way to kick start your training sessions. Coaches in youth soccer drills do not take this factor into consideration. This has a direct affect on the health of players in form of injuries while practicing.
This article gives you some nice tips on how to get the team warmed up. The team should be guided to use such body movements that have the effect of warming up all muscles. This is the most effective way to liven up all muscles in the body. Rigorous sessions can result in stiffness and cramping of the muscles.
Tip 1: In this make the players go for a light 5 to 7 minute jog. It’s advisable to begin with a light jog and then move on to sprinting. In this, the pulse rate should reach 120 beats per minute. Still, measured growth is preferred. After this, the players should move their legs back and forth for around 10 minutes each. Lastly, have them actively stretch their body over 20 yards.
Tip 2: When we talk about this active stretching over 20 yards, a few warm up exercises of its own must go along with it. For example, make the players skip forward and backward. Teach the players cross stepping as well. High-knee carioca can also be taught to players. These must be carried out just like sprinting.
In soccer drills for kids, running towards the back is also a very useful warm up exercise. Still, in order to perform it, the proper way to do it is to jerk up the heels to the butt. No doubt, it is a little difficult to practice it this way but there’s no other way of correctly doing it.
Tip 3: There are other essential warm up exercises in kids soccer drills that build up the momentum to the actual session. You can direct your players to play with circles and hoops. The skipping exercises get an additional length form these. Also have your players do the cross-over hopping. Quick Hip Swings, though it’s slightly complex, can also be used to warm up the body intensively as it’s a very valuable and tested means.
After that, have the players do the long shuffles along with twists halfway. The players should be made to practice moving their legs backward and forward. This is a highly effective and useful body toning activity. High leg forwards and backward is just as efficient in toning the body.
Tip 4: Stretching should be carried out properly and sufficiently. What works best for the legs is stretch hinging. Ensure that every kid works out hamstring, quadriceps, groin and calf without exceptions. Stretching has the benefit of preventing injury along with increasing the muscle range.
Also ensure that in soccer drills for youth, kids are discouraged from overdoing anything. They tend to get carried over by enthusiasm and injure themselves unnecessarily.
Because all the relevant information on kids soccer drills is shared with you, please see that training sessions are always followed by warm up sessions. You’ll find lots and lots of articles and news like this on our youth soccer coaching community. Sign up now to benefit from it.
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Youth Soccer Drills.
