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The Coach Diary

Stretching and it’s benefits..

Currently I coach a u12s team and from memory this is the age group where kids start to get injuries. Already at this early stage we have 2-3 players with groin and hamstring strains. I would never do any static stretching before training and/or a match. I have always done a warm up with the ball followed by dynamic stretching and finishing with static at the end. When FCB’s Albert Benaiges came to Dublin in 2011, he spoke about the benefits of Dynamic Stretching before a game and Static after it.

Warming Up

It’s important to warm up your body before any physical activity. Warming up goes a long way toward preparing the body for exercising, both physically and mentally. It also helps prevent injuries. Dynamic stretching is an important part of this process.

The term “warm-up” describes many light-aerobic and cardiovascular activities, which are separate from stretching. (Stretching works best when performed after warming up.) When you warm up, you are literally warming up the temperature of both your body and your muscles. Never stretch if you haven’t warmed up first.

Warming up helps with many things:

  • Increases your heart and respiratory rate.
  • Boosts the amount of nutrients and oxygen delivered to your muscles.
  • Prepares the body for a demanding workout.
  • Makes it easier to burn calories.
  • Extends your workout and match fitness.

Different types of Warm-Ups

You can use many types of warm-up activities to prepare your body for a match. Often a warm-up activity is simply the activity you are about to do but at a slower pace. For example, if you’re about to go for a brisk run, warm up with a light jog, and if you’re going to go for a swim, do a couple of slow freestyle warm-up laps, if you’re about to play a football game do game related exercises and pre match drills.

Only after this light warm-up, which should last about 5-10 minutes, should you attempt to stretch and I don’t think static stretching is any use before a game. Stick to Dynamic before and static after.

Stretching

Stretching used to be considered the main activity before a workout and you would always see teams do stretching before a game. That has all changed now. Stretching is still a beneficial activity prior to working out, but only after you have sufficiently warmed up and studies have shown that DYNAMIC is better than STATIC before a game. The reason for this is that stretching cold muscles can directly contribute to pulled and torn muscles. It’s also now known that stretching is very important after a workout as well and players/teams should always do at least 5-10 minutes cool down. This is the answer to reducing injuries throughout the team.

Stretching properly may reduce muscle injuries and provides these benefits:

  • An increase in flexibility and joint range of motion
  • Correct exercise posture
  • Relaxed muscles
  • Better sports coordination

Stretching has to be done right to have benefits, though.

Here are some common tips on stretching properly:

Stop if it hurts. Stretching should never hurt. If you have reached a point in your stretch where it hurts, relax to where it feels comfortable and hold the stretch.

Maintain each stretch for 1030 seconds. Holding a stretch for any less won’t sufficiently lengthen the muscle. Stretch the muscles gradually and don’t force it. Avoid bouncing. Bouncing while stretching may damage the muscle you are stretching. This damage may even cause scar tissue to form. Scar tissue tightens muscles and can get in the way of flexibility.

Remember to breathe. Breathing is a necessary part of any workout, including stretching. Relax and breathe slowly.

To increase flexibility include all muscles groups in your stretching routine: From shoulders, back, thighs, calves and arms.

Practice equality. Even if you are a righty, it doesn’t mean that you should neglect the left side of your body. Make sure you stretch both sides equally, so all of your muscles are evenly ready for action.

When playing soccer, the warm up should be game related. Include all the actions of kicking, striking, passing, jumping, shorts bursts, side steps, moving backwards etc. The same is true for stretching. These types of stretches are known as sports-specific stretches, and they focus on the muscles that are used for your particular sport.

Children under the age of 10 merely need to do light jogging and stretches to get ready to play. However, players above U-10 who don’t prepare to play with warm-up drills before a game risk poor play on the field and even injury.

Cooling Down After Your Workout

The same way you have to gradually slow down either your bike or your car, you need to slow down your body after a workout or exercise: 5-10 minutes of slowed-down, easy activities will go a long way in helping your body recover from a workout and will almost certainly prevent you getting a muscle strain.

Cooling down and stretching at the end of a workout help to:

  • Slow your heart rate to a normal speed.
  • Return your breathing to its regular pace
  • Avoid stiffness and soreness of the muscles.
  • Reduce any risk of dizziness and lightheadedness.
  • Relax the muscles.

Keep in mind that players should never be tired after warm-up drills. Players should spend at least twice as much time resting as they do working prior to a match.

Adding a good before-and-after routine to your workout will give you the best chance of avoiding injuries and may even help improve your performance, it will also allow you to play sports for as long as you are injury free and stretching will go along way to helping you stay in Sport. Anyone playing soccer or any sport for that matter should always cool down after any activity.

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The Coach Diary

Dog dirt on our pitches is causing a mess..

I know is not a subject related to what I usually post, but I find myself getting increasingly annoyed by the amount of dog dirt on our pitches. I’m sick of having to move a session after setting it up, due to dog dirt. As far as i’m concerned Dog owners have no consideration for the kids that play sport on green fields and even more now that alot of pitches aren’t lined. But this is no excuse as most bring their dogs to the same locations every week.

Here are the top 5 things you should know:

  1. The eggs from roundworms, Toxocara Canis, are deposited with the feaces and embryonate (becoming infectious) 2-3 weeks later. They can be viable for up to 10 years in the soil and are resistant to disinfectants and to the frost. Each toxocara canis female can lay 700 eggs per day and are only visible under a powerful microscope. If ingested by humans and untreated can cause infections to your organs most commonly the brain (nervous system), liver, lungs and your eyes causing tumours and detached retinas and can lead to blindness. This can easily be transferred from a football to kids hands and into there mouth or eyes.
  2. Dog poo does not act as a fertilizer, when it breaks down it leaves toxins in the ground which are harmful to other animals, humans and the environment. In the past farmers have been blamed for poisoning the land and rivers but it has now been proved that leaving dog waste on farm land can lead to sheep being infected with Canine worms, which doesn’t have an adverse affect on the sheep but if humans then eat the infected meat can lead to cysts on the liver and lungs which have to be removed surgically.
  3. Dog poo being left to wash into rivers and seas is the equivalent of pumping our raw sewage into the water.
  4. It is estimated that 20-30% of stream pollution is caused by the toxins from dog waste being washed in to the water system causing a build up in algae which is harmful to fish and by infecting the water with E-Coli, leading to the closer of some beaches.
  5. It has been estimated that for watersheds of up to 20 square miles draining to small coastal bays, 2 -3 days of faeces from a population of 100 dogs would contribute enough bacteria and nutrients to close a bay to swimming (US EPA, 1993)

In America and Canada scientist are investigating ways to get a useful end product from dog waste, be it fertilizer or energy, a much better option than landfill. As one learned journalist said “If you think stepping in it is bad, try drinking it!”  Makes you think doesn’t it.

It’s never good to leave dog poo, use a bag, the complete dog fouling solution and spread the word to dog owners world wide.

Get informed about your dogs mess..

I think if dog owners were better informed they would think twice about leaving dog dirt in areas where kids play. Local councils and club should be doing more, I plan to put up my own signs and hand out notices at our pitches to inform dog owners.

This is an article about a toddler who feel on dog dirt and then wiped her eye with the mess. The young girl is better now, but she still has to have antibiotics even now because her eye still flares up! She could still be on them for the rest of her life and, if left untreated, could still lose her eye.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11012044 

From news.discovery.com: Mexican Internet portal Terra is tapping into the online pulse of the modern era and has come up with a truly contemporary way to inspire dog owners to get out their plastics bags.

The company has teamed up with ad agency DDB to create a pilot program in 10 parks in Mexico City and it definitely gets my seal of approval. After pet owners pick up their dog’s turds, they can place the bag in a special box that calculates its weight in exchange for a few minutes of free Wi-Fi.  Welcome to 21st Century.

Of course, that didn’t stop park habitués from dropping bags of garbage in the box to claim their free Wi-Fi, but DDB said they didn’t mind. In their opinion, if people want to pick up trash — so be it — that just means a cleaner park.

A very innovative idea!

We urge you to PLEASE worm your dogs and pick up after them. Its totally unfair on kids and the coaches you volunteer there time to have to put up with this mess!

Research: dickybag.com, news.discovery.com

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The Coach Diary

Swedish Talent Coach Doesnt Believe in Elite Selection Process

I wrote about this before and I don’t understand the benefit of elite football, with so many late bloomers going onto become professional footballer and the kids who showed so much promise at a younger age fading away into the distance. In anyone team there are only ever 2-3 stand out players so why pick the best and forget about the rest. I recently took up the option of training a u11s team who are 3 division behind the so called Elite or Premier league. With them my intention is to to prove that with the correct coaching any team can make it to the premier if that is the aim.

Anyhow the kids just want to play, of course they want to win but that will come from them and not my will to win. I will install a winning attitude and mentality with humility and most importantly they will learn how to lose. The manager and I are singing from the same hymn sheet, we are all about player development whilst trying to play a football not longball!!

Mark O’Sullivan is footblogball a UEFA B coach living in Sweden. 

He recently posted an Article about Elite selection process….

Recently Swedish national newspaper: http://www.dn.se/sport/fotboll/talangutvecklaren-tror-inte-pa-tidig-elitsatning

“It is impossible to predict who will become an elite footballer” says Thomas Westerberg who has written the highly recommended book “Talangutveckling eller Spelarutveckling”(Talent development or Player development). Players such as Henrik Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Johan Mjällby were never selected for the Swedish Football Associations elite youth training camps for 15 year olds. They werent even selected for their district representation team.

Elite Selection is not good

“The elite selection process is not a good  indicator as to who can become a fulltime professional footballer”says Westerberg. One reason being the influence of both physical and mental development.” Far too often talent is mixed up with early physical development, kids that develop earlier naturally perform better than those who develop later. This is all of little consequence and meaning in relation to who will be performing best as an adult.

Today Westerberg

is the development officer at Swedish  Premier League club IFK Norköpping where he works against the early elite selection process. Westerbergs aim is to create a safe and positive enviroment that will stimulate many to play football, focus on performance instead of results and let players develop at their own pace.

” I believe that everyone can find their own football path. It is important that the young player realises that it is never over or too late. Players develop at different tempos and they should never be stressed” says Thomas Westerberg.

This article was taken from footblogball

 

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Radio Time The Coach Diary

My Radio Debut on 2fm

This Saturday 27th August I make my radio debut on 2fm Ballbusters, doing a slot discussing European Football. Tune in from 12 to 2pm every Saturday. The show is presented by Andrew O’Connor and Fiona Looney assisted by Diarmuid Byrne. I have to say I am very excited about this!!!

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The Coach Diary

Tip….

let the kids be the decider of who wins and who loses; all kids want to win, all kids are competitive…..Kids learn by doing, not just by listening, and they learn by being spontaneous, creative and by taking chance. Thus, training and games do not serve children’s needs if they discourage those natural instincts and create fears about making mistakes.

“Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.”

“If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not taking risks, and that means you’re not going anywhere. The key is to make mistakes faster than the competition, so you have more changes to learn and win.”

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The Coach Diary

Dyspraxia Charity Golf Classic at the K Club 24th JUNE

Liverpool & Manchester United Legends Charity Golf Classic at The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare on Friday 24th June 2011.

Last few places available to Play golf with Liverpool and United Legends for Dyspraxia Ireland –  to get involved in what is going to be a fantastic day and evening click on this link for more details → http://www.dbsportstours.ie/?p=641 or Contact David at 085 8192288.

If you are an individuals looking to play that’s no problem we can put you with a legends team or a four ball.

Gala Dinner Ticket also available includes:- Dinner, Band, DJ, prizes and Raffle, Q&A with Legends

Transports: Available to and from Dublin to K Club (must book in advance)

All proceeds will be donated going to Dyspraxia Ireland and to bringing 35+ kids with Dyspraxia, Autism and Down Syndrome to the UK to train with Manchester United.

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The Coach Diary

Visit to Our Ladies Children’s Hospital – Crumlin

Just back from a visit to Our Ladies Children’s hospital, where we dropped some tickets off for the match tonight, just waiting in the reception was hard enough, the amount of children coming in and out with various conditions made it hard not to be emotional.

To then be told of the problems this man and his family have had over the last 2 years with sick children was unbelievable, I was lost for words. I can say I have no problems in comparison to this man and his family. I hope they can laugh and smile tonight at the game.

We really should appreciate these bundles of joy more, I know sometimes I get cross over the smallest of things with my girl and should really chill-out more. The same goes for the players we coach, they entered into this sport to primarily have fun and be around their team mates, many adults take that fun away and spoil it for the kids.

So the next time your screaming at the top of your voice, kicking every pass for entire game, take a step back and let them play, let them make decisions for themselves, let them be kids and most of all let them have FUN! Observation will tell you more about your team than screaming or shouting can ever.

I hope everyone enjoys the game tonight.