Youth Soccer Players Can Learn About Fitness
Soccer is a great team sport that kids love. It raises confidence, improves fitness and well being, while promoting teamwork and responsibility. But it is a sport with high demands on the body in terms of fitness and endurance, so players have to be properly prepared.
Soccer involves running, a lot of running. Players need to able to run comfortably for periods of time without needing to stop. A background level of running stamina is needed to withstand the pressures of a game, though this is not all.
Soccer consists of many short bursts of speed depending on the demands of the situation.Is this new to you? Catch up here Sprinting stamina, that is the ability to recover immediately after a sprint, has to be developed. Interval training, interspersing sprints, jogs and walking in quick succession will help condition the body for this.
On top of running attributes, players need to have good core strength. The power and drive for most of the skills needed in soccer are driven by the abs, the glutes, quads and hamstrings. All exercises that work these areas are going to improve your soccer effectiveness. But upper body strength is needed too! Soccer is a contact sport and strength is needed to withstand challenges and keep possession of the ball.
Being flexible is also important. Soccer players are constantly changing direction and this puts strain on the joints and muscles. Proper stretching and exercises will lessen the chance of injury while preparing the body for those changes and bursts that typify the game.
As with any sport, with soccer you need to warm up and warm down. Light jogging followed by active stretching should proceed any training or match, while a warm down of a little jog followed by static stretching will help the muscles to recover more quickly and again lessen the chance of injury.