The Art of Pre-Game Soccer Stretches
Many youth athletes don’t think much about stretching. Even when we’re older, we know we should stretch our muscles before exercise, but that doesn’t mean we do it. Mutiny players may perform better on the pitch and be more likely to avoid injury if they add some of these simple pre-game soccer stretches to their warm-up routine.
If you’re a punctual player, which is a good idea, you may often arrive early to practice or games. At a tournament, that can mean getting to the field even before the training time Mutiny builds in before matches. When you have an extra few minutes before your coaches have plans for you, take the time to loosen up your muscles. Just be sure to do it the right way!
Why Stretch Before Exercise?
Flexibility is going to serve you well now and into the future. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends stretching each major muscle group at least two times a week for 60 seconds per exercise.
Yet static stretching — standing or sitting and holding a muscle stretch for that minute — isn’t great for soccer players before a game. WebMD reports, “Static stretching before exercise can weaken performance, such as sprint speed…The most likely reason is that holding the stretch tires out your muscles.”
So, a soccer player stretching pre-game needs to prefer dynamic stretching. That means you’ll be moving, but at a low intensity. For instance, you’re probably already doing a brisk walk, walking lunges, leg swings, high steps, or "butt kicks" (slowly jogging forward while kicking toward your rear end) before you sub in. Those are all examples of dynamic stretching.
Dynamic Pre-Soccer Stretches
A dynamic stretching routine should also be intentional and focused. This is not lying on your back and putting a leg up in the air while you trade Pacybits players with your teammates on your phone or iPad.
Let’s consider the muscles you particularly want to focus on as a soccer player:
Hip flexors — these help your powerful kick
Quads — used in sprinting and kicking.
Calves — when you’re running up and down the field, you’ll be fatiguing your calves
Hamstrings — need to be loose to accommodate soccer’s quick starts and stops
IT band — these fibers running along the outside of your thigh help stabilize your joints
Shoulders — will make a difference to your throw-ins but also help to open up your chest and release tension (since many of us store tension in our shoulders).
So we’ve mentioned the high steps and butt kicks already, but let’s add a few more ideas to your arsenal.
Frankensteins, sometimes called Toy Soldiers, see you standing on the end line and holding an arm out in front of you. Now, kick it with the opposite foot. Walk forward, switching the sides: left hand/right foot, right hand/left foot, until you reach the 18-yard box. Turn around and return to the touch line repeating your monster-like or wooden step kick routine.
In addition to high knees you might try the slower, more controlled knee hugs where you move forward bringing one knee up to your chest and back down, and then repeating on the other side.
Front-to-back hip and leg swings see you standing in place but moving one leg forward and back, then the other, in a pendulum-like movement. You can also do this laterally by swinging one leg from side to side before switching to the other. You may need to hold on to something for balance! If it’s a person on your team, give them a heads up and try not to cleat them in the leg.
Another good one for range of motion sees you stepping into a shallow forward lunge and then stepping out of it. Move forward to the 18 alternating the foot you are lunging forward on. When you are returning, don’t turn around, simply lunge backwards, bringing one knee up and around and lunging with the leg stretched back. Keeping the back leg straight and tilting your pelvis forward can help. Plus, remember that this is not about getting into a low lunge. You want to focus instead on stretching out your hip. Check out this video!
We’ve seen this one called Birdfeeder, but it’s more reminiscent of Superman, so let’s go with that. You step forward on your right foot and bring your left leg straight up and out behind you. While your leg is straightening you also bend at the waist and stretch both arms forward. You’ll end up looking a little like Superman, only you need one standing leg to keep you grounded (because you can’t actually fly). Ypu would alternate sides until you reach the 18.
Ankle circles and forward and backward arm circles are also a good idea after you’ve done this work on your leg and hip muscles and loosened up your back.
Don’t let this article dissuade you from post-game stretching too. You’re more flexible after you’ve been running around the pitch for a game or practicing for 90 minutes. So, this is a good time for static stretching to increase the circulation.
Queen City Mutiny values your physical fitness. While you’re thinking about being proactive, take a look at our previous posts about eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and curbing negative self-talk.
