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footy4kids recommends:
For new coaches:
For experienced coaches:
For coaches of kids aged 5-8:
For coaches of kids aged 9-11:
For coaches of small-sided teams:
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Warm-up preparation before a match
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Before a match, always give yourself time to warm-up your players. If your players arrive five minutes before kick-off and run straight from their parents' cars onto the pitch you shouldn't be surprised if you're losing 1 - 0 within a few minutes of the kick off.
So ask the parents to bring their children to the field at least thirty minutes before the start of a match.
Tip: don't forget to provide parents with written directions to unfamiliar grounds or you could find yourself starting with half your team still searching for the ground!
As your players arrive you should greet each one by name and make sure that they:
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Are properly dressed, (shin pads, boots, waterproofs or an extra layer or two in cold weather),
- Are not carrying any injuries,
- Have a drink, (take a spare bottle of squash for the one child who always forgets to bring their drink),
- Are not wearing any jewellery.
Now it's time to get them physically and mentally ready to play the game.
To stretch or not to stretch?
Young children (up to the age of eight) hardly need to warm-up at all - some jogging, swinging of the arms, twists of the hips or other movements to loosen up will suffice.
Older children will need some easy stretches, interspersed by some gentle jogging to warm their muscles and raise their heart rate.
Tip: it's important not to do any stretches before your players' muscles are warm. So if you are going to do some stretches (and don't do any stretching exercises if you're not sure how to do them properly) do some gentle jogging first.
As soon as your players are warm, move onto some ball work. Don't wait until they get cold again!
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