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ITN Zone
Game Preparation
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail." Abraham
Lincoln.
We have all heard of this motto. However this is not always applied
when players are getting ready to play soccer. While it's important
for parents to be involved, it is the responsibility of the player to
be prepared for games. In The Net has outlined various types of
preparation in order to maximize performance. Areas that will be
covered will include:
1. Regular matches
2. Tournaments
3. Training
4. Nutrition
5. Injury prevention and awareness
1. Preparing for Regular matches.
All players like playing in matches and scrimmages. They look forward
to
it after a week of practice. But are they as prepared as they could
be?
There are 5 main areas to consider when players are preparing for a
match;
A. Preparation the night before.
B. What time we wake up on the day of the match.
C. What we eat/drink before the match.
D. Time we arrive at the match.
E. Warm up.
A. Preparation the night before is generally overlooked. A player
should:
- Eat low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate food such as pasta, potatoes,
bread, rice, vegetables and fruit, as well as low-fat protein like
grilled or steamed chicken and fish.
- Drink plenty of water (well before bedtime).
- Follow a normal sleep routine, which should give them around 8 hours
sleep.
- Avoid caffeinated drinks they are diuretic and cause you to lose
water. This may cause many more additional trips to the bathroom and
affect sleep.
- Pack your bag to ensure that there is no last minute panic on the
day
of the match.
B. Waking up on the Day of the match, players should:
- Wake up at least 3 hours (if possible) before the match to allow the
body to be functional and alert.
- Allow time for pre-match meals to digest comfortably.
- Avoid lying in bed until the last minute as this can make you feel
lethargic. But do not over exert as this can waste much needed energy
and cause tiredness.
C. Eating the day of the match the player should:
- Consume a low-fat, high-carbohydrate meal, as suggested in Number
One
if the game is at midday or later.
- For morning kick-offs, players should eat things like scrambled eggs
with toast, low-sugar, low-fat cereal, oatmeal and fruit.
- Drink plenty of water before the game.
- Avoid fried and fatty foods, creamy sauces, heavy proteins such as
red
meat and pork, as they can take up to four hours to digest.
- Avoid caffeinated and sugary drinks.
- Avoid eating two to three hours before the game. (This can vary in
some players.)
D. Traveling the day of the match, players should:
- Arrive at least an hour before the game.
- Allow enough time for an extensive warm-up.
- Allow time to settle nerves and get mentally prepared.
- Listen to the coach and ask questions about things they're not sure
of.
E. To warm-up, players should aim to:
- Raise core temperature
- Include both static and dynamic stretching
- Rehearse soccer-specific movements with and without a ball
- Prepare mentally. One method is visualization. |