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. In youth soccer drills, coaches fail to take this aspect 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. Train the team to use the body movements in a way that all the muscles get worked up. This is the right way to wake up the entire nervous system. 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. A few minutes of jogging and then moving on to sprinting is the best proposition. Check that the pulse rate in this reaches 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. To conclude, the players should vigorously stretch their body more than 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 instance, the players should practice hopping forward and backward. Also teach your players to do cross stepping. They must also be taught high-knee carioca. 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. It is a little hard to practice this but it is the only correct way of doing it.
Tip 3: There are various other warm up drills in kids soccer drills that build up the energy for practice sessions. Have your players bounce with rings and swings. These give an added element to the skipping exercises. The players can also be told to do cross-over bounce. 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.
Next, make the players do long shuffles with turns in the middle. Have the players move back and forth using their legs. It has the effect of toning the body in an effective and easy way. High leg forwards and backward is just as efficient in toning the body.
Tip 4: Stretch adequately and complete it in the approved manner. For the legs, stretch hinging works the best. Ensure that every kid works out hamstring, quadriceps, groin and calf without exceptions. The players not only avoid injuries but also get to increase their muscle range by stretching.
Also ensure that in soccer drills for youth, kids are discouraged from overdoing anything. The kids may get injured needlessly because of this, as they tend to do so only in over excitement.
Now that you are armed with this information about kids soccer drills, ensure that kids do warm ups before performing the drills. You’ll find lots and lots of articles and news like this on our youth soccer coaching community. Join today and enjoy the advantages from them.
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.
Tags: kids soccer drills, soccer drills, soccer drills youth, youth soccer coaching, youth soccer drills, youth soccer practice