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How many of you believe that soccer warm ups are important? Most parents and to some extent coaches believe that young players do not have the need to warm up. But I’m here to tell you otherwise. By creating a structured training session with plenty of time for your players to warm up, you give them a gift that will last a life time. Young players will develop a great habit and reduce the risk of injuries.

Never allow your players to stretch before they have warmed up. The warm up should involve a light jog around the park until their bodies warm up and start to sweat.Once the body core temperature has risen a few degrees, only then should you allow your players to stretch. Once the core muscles are pumping with blood they become more elastic and have greater flexibility.

Once your players have finished their light jog you can proceed to the stretching phase of the warm up. Static stretching is a thing of the past and has been replaced with dynamic warming up and stretching. This simply means that the warm up and stretching will be done using the same motions and movements that are needed during the heavier loads of the session. Basically same movements but at a slower more controlled pace.

For this drill each player takes hold of a ball. They hold the ball slightly away from their bodies while trying to hit the ball with their knees. They continue this exercise for about 30 seconds changing and using alternate knees. This drill is great for warming up the quads which are used to power your knee lifts. The motion is also great for stretching the quads, groin areas and hamstrings. The required knee lifts also ensures the players heart rate increases preparing the players for the rest of the session.

This drill requires the players to work in pairs. One player holds the ball in front of him while the other player tries to kick the ball with his toes. The sequence of the drill requires the player to change legs after each contact with the ball. Left toe followed by right toe and so on. This drill should last about 30 seconds and players should change positions and roles.This drill gives your hamstrings a good work out. Not only does it increase the blood flow to the legs but it also gives your hamstrings a great stretch and increases your stretching range.

This drill is a continuation of the second drill. Now each player will try and kick the end of their fingers with their toes. Just pretend to kick a ball and follow through reaching up towards your fingers. Right leg will follow through to the left hand and vice-versa. This drill gives your hamstrings are greater stretch and also replicates the motion of kicking which will be needed later on in the session.

Once your players have warmed up and spent some time stretching, introduce some balls into the training session and continue to increase the pace and the work loads of the training drills.