| Warm-Ups: Thinking Outside the Penalty Box |
By Kara Walters
The dilemma
Here they come again – Suzy Straggler and Brian Burnout. Each strolls into practice five, 10 minutes late with all the focus of a puppy at a carnival. They have to suffer the consequences, of course, but a thousand laps around the field don’t seem to make a difference. They persist in their mediocrity without any sign of repentance.
Suzy is talented, and you need her until the playoffs, but her laid-back personality pushes your tolerance to the limit. She just doesn’t seem to have the motivation or discipline to get to practice on time. She is the classic mule player – the more you push, the more she digs her feet into the ground.
Brian has been playing for 10 years and has recently discovered girls. His parents want him to have the best coaching to be eligible for scholarships, but he has spent too many Saturdays at all-day tournaments and no longer loves the game. He is the classic horse player – he’ll go where you want him to, but you have to give him a good kick.
The solution
National team coaches and recreational league coaches alike can relate to the frustration of unenthusiastic players dragging themselves onto the soccer field for practice. Drills are seen as drudgery, and the game is appealing only if the player has the ball. In a perfect world, every player would show up excited and raring to go, but we live in the real soccer world, where for whatever reason, we must deal with these situations. No matter what the age or skill level, players desire fun and excitement, and we must provide more than just good instruction to motivate lackadaisical players and prevent others from burning out.
Warm-up games can provide not only the variety needed to spice things up, but also a motivation for players to be on time for practice. When players know they will miss one of the best parts of practice if they are late, coaches do not have to waste time making phone calls or assigning laps to get them there on time.
Keys to good warm-ups
Everyone participates. Robert Klatte, Purdue University women’s soccer coach, hit the nail on the head when he said, “We all know it is far more enjoyable to get a hold of the ball regularly in positions where you can shoot and score than to chase it around with a pack of 19 other children on a field the size of a landing strip for the space shuttle.” Players need to touch the ball as much as possible when practice begins. Line drills in which players have to wait for their turn allow players to get bored and don’t do a good job of warming up muscles. Elimination games should be used sparingly and with enough repetition that all players have adequate warm-up time and ball touches.
Get away from the ordinary. Small changes in routine activities can capture the attention of unenthusiastic players, especially those who think they have done it all. Using undersized or oversized balls, bringing in stuffed animals as targets or adding any silly element to a game can make players forget how much effort they are expending.
Introduce the training session. The purpose of warm-ups is to get the muscles ready for activity, but they also enable a coach to assess players’ skill levels before focusing on that skill. Another benefit to coaches is that when players have just attempted a skill, it makes it much easier to explain the mechanics.
Warm-up games
The following games can be used either as a starting point for coaches to incorporate fun warm-ups into practice or as a reference for seasoned coaches to combine with their existing programs. The size of your grid and the number of players may vary depending on the age level of players.
PASSING
• Freeze Tag One player is “it” and attempts to tag or “freeze” players in the grid. Those trying to escape pass the ball around and can unfreeze a player by passing it between her legs.
• Ball Tag One player is “it” and attempts to tag the other players who are passing one ball around. Once a player is tagged, she is out until the next round. The ball is a moving “home base” so players can pass the ball around to help players escape, but they are forced to stay moving and to communicate.
• Four Corners Players pass on a 40 x 40 grid and attempt to score by passing to another player inside a 5 x 5 box at each of the corners. Players may not score in the same box twice in a row.
• Guard the Castle Players attempt to knock a ball off a cone sitting in the center of the grid. This is a 4 v. 4 small-sided game on a 12 x 12 grid. Use one designated defender to “guard the castle.”
RECEIVING
• Red Rover Similar to the children’s game except the players attempt to get the ball through the other side. If a player kicks too far out or over the players’ heads, they must go to the other side. If the ball gets through the line, players decide which player in the line must come to their side.
DRIBBLING
• Musical Balls Players dribble balls around a grid, while one player runs without a ball. When the “music stops” or the whistle is blown, players must find another ball or be eliminated from the game.
• Sharks and Minnows Players line up on one side of the field. Each player must dribble to the other side without the “shark” taking away her ball. When a player’s ball is taken, the player then joins the shark and attacks the remaining minnows.
• Kick It Out! Each player dribbles a ball in the grid and tries to kick other players’ balls out to eliminate them.
THROW-INS
• Swedish Handball Players throw the ball to teammates on the grid and attempt to score by bouncing the ball through the goal. Only players without the ball can move around the field.
• Powerball Similar to Swedish handball, but players use a medicine ball and cannot bounce it on the ground. The goal is in the middle of the grid and players must successfully pass the ball through the goal to score.
BALL CONTROL
• Soccer Tennis Two teams face each other on a grid divided by high cones serving as a “net.” The ball may touch the ground once during a serve or a pass to a teammate, but otherwise, must remain in the air. Each player is limited to three touches before the ball exchanges sides.
• Simon Says Players juggle the ball with different body parts depending on the command given (head, knee, foot or combinations). A player is eliminated only if she does something Simon doesn’t say to do.
SHOOTING
• It’s Alive! Two players hold a 6-foot rope that serves as the goal and move around the grid trying to prevent players from shooting between them.
• Kill Barney (or other lovable stuffed animal) Small-sided game with a target strapped to a high cone or tied in the goal.
Making it work
Any of these games can be modified to fit different age and experience levels. Remember – it is the variety that interests the players, and even adults enjoy child-like games. The best way to determine if these will work with your team is to try them. A game may need just a slight adjustment to fit your players. Talk to coaches of other sports and adapt games they use as well. Be creative. Ask players for ideas. The possibilities are endless and the players will appreciate your efforts – especially Suzy Straggler and Brian Burnout.
Kara Walters has a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science from Texas State University. She is an English teacher and soccer coach in San Antonio, Texas.
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