Soccer Drills – Stretches

Hey! Everyone does ‘em. No one’s excused. Go ahead, grumble and moan. Check it out, even Brandi Chastain and David Beckham aren’t exempt. In fact, STRETCHES helped make them champions.

Why stretch, you may ask? Stretching is VERY (say it again – VERY) important when preparing to play soccer, or any other sport for that matter. Stretching guarantees that your muscles are warmed up and ready to go. In fact the purpose of stretching includes improving your game, earning more player time and, most significant, reducing injuries.

There are LOTS of areas you need to focus on when doing stretches: neck, back, shoulders, arms, quads, calves, ankles, groin and hamstrings. Can you name any others?

Start by warming up muscle groups and then s-l-o-w-l-y extend the muscles’ stretch to the point of tension but not of pain – ouch! Be sure to avoid bouncing. Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds – is it time yet? Slowly release the stretch and then repeat it 3 to 4 times for each muscle or muscle group. (Be sure to stretch all muscles in key muscle groups.)

Hey, no one said this was going to be easy but you’ll FEEL THE BENEFITS every time you go out on the field. Then you’ll know it was all worth it.

Here’s an interesting fact that you can pass on to your family and friends The bones of young players can grow faster than soft tissue such as muscle. That means that because of bone growth spurts, the muscles can become too short for the bones they are attached to. Wow!