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For seven-year-olds:
- Warm
up should be fun – light activities like tag or knockout.
- Get a ball to each player as soon as possible.
- Stretching is not important at this age and there is no need to
introduce it as “something for the future.” Perhaps some “body
parts” for balance and coordination, but no formal stretching.
- Cooling down is important. This brings kids down from their
‘heightened state’ and gives everyone a chance to help collect gear,
review and talk – parents are more likely to listen now. A good time
for a little parent education by the coach. The cooling down period
is also a time to give homework.
For ten-year-olds:
- With
slightly older kids the warm up sets the tone and pace of training;
mental
challenges can be introduced too.
- Starting in pairs is a good idea for kids at this age – for
balance, teamwork and
communication. The players ‘start as a team.’
- Coaches can bring brief, simple coaching points into warm up; the
implicit message is that this is a learning environment, an
instructional activity – as well as pure fun.
- Playing various forms of keep away in the beginning of practice is
a good, consistent
way to begin. It puts together the four elements of soccer right
away.
- Cooling down is short; review, look ahead, praise them, go home.
For thirteen-year-olds:
- Warm
up is very important now to set tone, rhythm and climate at training
sessions.
Coaches should pay close attention to body language, attitude,
alertness, posture and
getting the heads up.
- Fun is still really important, but coaches can adopt an
instructional approach from the
beginning: easy tactical ideas (like body shape, footwork, changes
of direction), isolated technical activities or keep away. As an
example of a way to put together the technical and tactical early
on, in the warm up play keep away with the constant reminder: don’t
stop the ball. This is now physical and mental preparation.
- These are adolescents, growing fast with changing bodies, so
stretching is important.
Rhythmic, integrated stretching is good – interjected into warm-up
activities – individually or in pairs, as opposed to bringing
everyone together or getting into a circle, etc. Stretching is quiet
time, no group chants or anything like that.
-
Cooling down for these players is easy movements and light running,
some talk and
more stretching. At the very end it could be lying down, breathing
deeply, relaxing – that’s also time for the coach, with a lowered
voice, to ask about injuries, talk tactics, give homework and
reflect on the training session.
- This cooling down period is also time to reinforce habits such as
drinking plenty of
water. The players should be encouraged to drink water before,
during and after training sessions, so while they are cooling down
they should be replenishing water.
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