The need for proper rest and recovery is currently one of the hot topics in the football world, with top-level players and clubs facing an expanded Champion’s League format, more international games (in the Nations League) as well as other tournaments such as the Club World Cup.

The need to warm down (and warm up) properly after any form of physical activity is something that can be instilled at an early age – for example, at one of SoccerKidz’s football coaching for kids’ courses in and around London.

Here are our top tips for ensuring that young players stay fit and get the most out of any physical activity – including one of our own sessions.

Warm Up First…

Before any form of exercise, it’s important to warm up properly, as this increases the body’s core temperature and prepares it for more strenuous activity. A proper warm-up improves the flow of oxygen to the muscles, making them (and the associated joints) more supple, meaning a higher level or performance and decreased chance of injury.

Jogging and light cardio can be part of your warmup, along with some dynamic stretching (this means stretching while moving, such as leg swings and knees-up exercises). This can be done independently of any warm-ups SoccerKidz organise as an integral part of the session

Along with the physical benefits, a good warm-up can also help focus minds (as well as bodies) for the session ahead, helping participants to forget about outside distractions and focus on the task(s) ahead. This can apply whether it’s a regular training session or a match and is a good practice of mindfulness.

…Then Cool Down

It’s equally as important to do some exercises once the session is over – this is because you don’t want the body’s temperature to reduce too quickly.

Static stretching (as opposed to dynamic stretching) will help here – this will stretch your muscles to their furthest point and help realign muscle fibres, speeding recovery after exercise. This especially applies to muscles in your legs, such as calves, hamstrings (both of which are crucial for football), and muscles in your arms such as your biceps and triceps.

The end of the session is also a good opportunity to rehydrate and replace lost carbohydrates with a drink (water or a specialist sports drink), although ideally you should try to refuel during the session, especially if it’s warm.

It’s also worth showering or having a bath after the session (at home if necessary) – this will remove the lactic acid from your body. If this isn’t removed, then sometimes the muscles can be sore for a day or two afterwards (the NHS calls this Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).

When it comes to nutrition, professional advice is to eat a meal rich in carbohydrates and protein within two hours of the session being over – again, this will replace the body’s lost carbohydrates in particular.

However, for parents, this should obviously be tailored to meals your son or daughter has had already that day, and the time of day the course is being held. At SoccerKidz we offer after-school, evening and weekend youth soccer coaching courses in London and Hertfordshire, held at various times of the day.

Wear the Right Kit

It’s also important to wear the right kit for the session depending on the weather and the time of year. At SoccerKidz we recommend T-shirt and shorts for sunny weather, with some extra layers just in case it turns colder.

For colder weather, you should be wearing at least two layers – a tracksuit on top of a shirt.

And if there’s likely to be any contact during the session for instance tackling and practice matches, then we would always recommend wearing shinpads.

For a full rundown of our clothing advice, check out our previous blog post here. Wearing the appropriate clothing (including caps as well as shinpads, and also applying sun cream to exposed skin when it’s particularly hot) should reduce the risk of any health problems such as sunburn or any coughs and colds.

Football Coaching for Kids in London from SoccerKidz

We run our courses in Barnet, Epping, Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Haringey, Waltham Forest, Welwyn Hatfield and the surrounding areas – to check out our latest dates and venues, follow this link and click on the associated drop-down lists.

All our coaches are FA or UEFA qualified, insured, DBS checked, trained in child protection and Emergency First Aid. We also follow strict guidelines regarding parental attendance and supervision. This means you can be sure your child will be well looked after and will benefit from a safe, open and positive learning environment – we will teach them the basic skills of football, while never forgetting that sport is supposed to be fun.

If you have any questions, you can also follow this link and fill in the online form or call us on 07946 260945.