pre game warmups

I designate 4 defenders who wear pinnies, add in the keeper, and then have the rest of the boys set up a half field offense, 6 at a time, for two balls only. When the first ball is knocked out of bounds or is cleared by the defense to me, I play in the second ball to the most weakly defended side, trying to catch my backs napping. Once that ball has been played out or scored then the next six attackers come on, but my defense stays for the duration of the warmup.

 

for me, the keys are stretching, getting touches on the ball, and getting some (but not too much) full speed activity.

an easy half lap (it's most classy if done as a group in two lines), followed by stretching. then, maybe another half lap or two, including some side stepping, skip jumping, and eventually some short sprints. the point of all of this is not to tire them out, but to loosen them up -- that should (in my opinion) include a full out sprint or two at some point.

3 v 1 is a good drill for getting touches, as well as some activity. make sure no one gets stuck as the "1" for too long if you kids have ball skill.

breaking into groups of 5 or 6, i'll also use the simple drill where you pass from line A to line B about 10 yards away and then run to the back of the line you just passed to. then line B passes back to line A and follows the ball. with a group of 5 or 6, you'll have only 2 or 3 in each line, so there won't be much standing around. start with 2 touch, and then go to one touch, and you'll basically have them in constant movement just knocking the ball back and forth.

i'd avoid any kind of shooting drill - pass to the coach, and then shoot - and definitely don't have your regular goalie in there for this. he should be warming up separately.

 

As the boys begin drifting in, they do their 1000 touch drill and stretch. Generally, we pass and move in groups of three, then I organize a possession game (7v7 or 8v8) in a 30x40 yard space, while another coach warms up the goalkeeper. After that, the boys stretch and drink water while I give last minute tactical assignments. As I said to one of the guys yesterday, "We want to get all the bad touches out of your system before the match, so you can play your best."

 

Most youth teams, if you let them alone, will just go out and take shots on goal. This is one of the worst things they could do. They need to stretch and build up to shooting. What has been suggested here sounds good.

 

I am not sure if 20 minute warm up is enough time especially if the weather is cold.

On the warm up start off slow, get a lot of touches so you get those stinking bad touches out of the way that schmuckatelli talked about.

Get some low impact plyometrics into each warm up before games and practices because the more you do them in general the better.

A list of some to choice from

1. Skipping
2. Striding
3. Side Shuffling Right
4. Side Shuffling Left
5. Back Peddling
6. Skipping for Height
7. Skipping for Distance
8. Sprinting
9. Bounding Right
10. Bounding Left
11. Backwards Sprinting
12. Bounding from the left foot to the right foot
13. Broad jumps
14. Sprinting
15. Walking Lunges
16. High Knees
17. Butt Kicks
18. Straight Leg Run
19. Sprinting

When you finish the warm up your guys should be at game speed. Because when you start the game you go right into game speed.

Your ready to play the opponents isn't may go up 1-0 fast better then having them go 1-0 on you because your not ready when you step on the field.

Don't forget to hydrate before the start of the game.

 

I agree with most everything so far--especially about the (not) shooting beforehand.

Unless they are playing at a basic rec level, 20 minutes is definitely too short of a time for warmup.

Choose a variation of the jogging, stretching, running and touches with ball as mentioned previously.

The one thing I would add is that I like to pull my starters aside and have them go 5 v 5 two-touch possession (switch to one-touch if they have the skill to execute) for about 10-12 minutes. I usually use end line/touch line/outside edge 18-yard box and adjust length accordingly with cones.

This seems to get the players into game rhythm.

Also, I schedule this so that the players finish, have a short rest and then get right to the field after a short reminder about assignments. If you're not careful, a team can warmup physically but then spend so much time waiting for the game to start that they are not ready psychologically.

 

Pre-game warm-up

Pre-game warm-up

Field time is 45 min prior to game time. Starting at field time, every player is to work the 1000 touches warm-up. That should take 7-10 minutes. Then 5 minutes freetime & dribble around (I like to call it "show-off time" because I encourage them to use their best stuff and try to impress each other). After show-off time I have the captains choose any 4v4 form and get the team working for about 20 min mixing stretch in along the way. The team's favorite tends to be keep-away and 4v4 line soccer (less time wasted chasing balls after a goal or shot inherent in the other forms. I approve). I monitor and try to make sure that everybody is building up to game readiness and intensity.

Then with about 10-15 minutes left I'll gather them in, set down the 2 or 3 focus points for that match, assign positions and then send them off with the captains for the "ceremonial" team stretch. Then the 2 GKs warm each other up, everybody else breaks off into pairs & triples to work on whatever they want/need 'til the ref calls them for check-in (some choose long services, some choose the collection & volley series, others choose combination work – its all their choice).

From there it's any last questions. Then team cheer. Then captains have their own huddle with the starters as the subs and I take the sideline.

Hopefully we're game ready… and it's "game on."

This pattern of warm-up has evolved over time and found it's present form the last 2-3 years. Interestingly, at no time prior to the match do I have anybody aside from the GK's shooting balls at the net. I used to, but now really shy away from it. I have conditioned my team to scoff at “lining up like a bunch of lemmings” and to take great pride in “real” warm-up. I’ll tell my players to consider what the other team is doing (usually just showing up 10-15 minutes prior to game time and lining up in 2 lines and shooting at the goal) as compared to what they are doing. I ask them things like "how many touches do you suppose any one of those players will have on the ball when the whistle blows? How many will you have? Who is more prepared to play this match? Who is placing themselves in a better position to win today?”

They have really learned the value and importance of the preparation and more & more seem to take great pride in it. I encourage them to use their warm-up as the 1st step in winning the mental game; to take pride in the fact that by the time the 1st opponent shows up they are already competing hard in a 4v4 game; to take pride in the fact that they have 1or 2 thousand touches on the ball when their opponent probably has a few dozen or maybe a hundred; to take pride in the fact that our captains show up to the coin toss with a sweat on; to use their warm-up as an intimidation factor - use that pregame time to show the other team that you have out-worked them before the match and that you will out-work them during it as well.

Nobody on this current team has ever complained about not shooting at the goal as part of warm-up, and I truly believe we are better prepared for the match without it. Happily, the results are following the theory. So maybe I'm onto something here or maybe I'm just getting lucky. As ever, and as with all things – soccer and otherwise – this routine is subject to adjustment, change and evolution. But for now, it’s working very well for us and I like the routine the way it currently stands.

I try to be careful about not overly-choreographing warm-ups, and based on this model, I believe I have achieved that. You will note that this warm up model, while it does have form and a natural buildup to game-preparedness, most everything aside from the 1000 touches and the ceremonial team stretch (which can be skipped if time gets away from us a bit) allow for extreme flexibility, variety and players’ ability to address their own requirements as they see fit.

regards.

k