| Reaching Peak Performance |
Plenty of fluids and carbohydrates is a start, but there is much more
By Thomas Rongen
The U.S. Under-20 National Team that I coach is very different from other youth teams. Every player on the roster is extremely talented and motivated. We travel around the world instead of around the state, region or country. Plus, we have great resources to draw from. Our equipment is donated by a major manufacturer. Our staff includes a trainer who travels with us everywhere we go and a physician when we travel for competition. And, of course (I hear you!), my budget is probably different from yours.
But, when we do play tournaments, my job is fundamentally the same as that of any coach of teen soccer players: make sure a bunch of unruly 17- and 18-year-olds are physically, emotionally, technically and tactically prepared to perform their best when playing as many as three games in five days. Here’s how I deal with each of these four components of preparation.
The physical
Endurance is a major element of success in soccer. It is well known that a disproportionate fraction of goals are scored in the final 20 minutes of games when one team’s fatigue leads to mistakes that the fitter team can capitalize on. In tournaments, the endurance factor becomes even more important.
Of course, there’s nothing you can do to improve your players’ conditioning once you’ve arrived at the tournament site. That is your responsibility ahead of time. But, by correctly managing what your players eat before, during and after games, you can give them an endurance advantage over opponents who may pay less attention to this critical element of athletic performance.
The first step is to make sure your players are well stocked with fluid and carbohydrate before each practice and game. A meal of healthy whole-grain cereal, low-fat milk and orange juice eaten at least two hours beforehand is perfect. Avoid feeding your players foods that are high in fat, such as whole milk, luncheon meats or fried foods and gas-producing foods like beans. Your players should also drink water or a sports drink right until the practice or game begins. I have heard that team members of Manchester United, probably the most well-cared-for team in the world, were tested for their level of dehydration and nearly all the players began practice dehydrated. This is easy to prevent. Drink lots of water or sports drinks throughout the day, more than you think is needed. A player’s urine should be no darker than diluted lemonade. Players need to know this.
During practices and games, your players should consume a sports drink at every opportunity. During training, water breaks are easy to schedule. It’s harder during games, but there are plenty of times to drink in soccer — during injury timeouts, ball far out of play, bookings, etc. The ball is in play for only about two-thirds of the total game time. Keep water bottles in each goal and place them every 15-30 yards along both sidelines and make sure the players know where bottles are placed.
Sports drinks contain the water, electrolytes and carbohydrates that are needed to keep muscles fueled during exercise. And some of the newer sports drinks, such as Accelerade, also contain a little protein. Recent research has shown that sports drinks that combine carbohydrate and protein in the proper ratio (about 4:1) prolong endurance more than conventional sports drinks that contain no protein. Many youth players drink fruit juices at half time, but this should be avoided. Fruit juices are high in fructose that can cause stomach upset when combined with high-intensity exercise. Besides, fructose is not incorporated into muscle fuel quickly.
After exercise, you need to replenish water supplies and start preparing your players for the next match. This means lots of fluids for rehydration, carbohydrate to restock glycogen stores and a little protein to help repair muscle damage that occurs normally during intense exercise. Research has shown that athletes who take in these nutrients immediately after a hard workout recover faster and perform better in their next workout than athletes who wait, or who eat foods high in fat, which slows the uptake of carbohydrate and protein. The body is most ready to do all this in the first two hours after exercise, so you have to plan that first meal to be soon after a match or training.
The simplest way to kick-start the recovery process is to have your players continue drinking the sports drink used during the practice or game (as long as it’s one that contains some protein). Fruit, sandwiches, jams/jellies and low-fat energy bars are also good recovery foods. A great postgame meal might be peanut butter and jelly on a bagel and fresh fruit washed down by a sports drink. That is almost all carbs.
As I travel around the country I see teams having carbonated sodas and junk food like potato chips after games. These, and other similar combinations, are no good. Both have to be diluted before they do any good and that dilution happens in the intestine, meaning that water is being sucked out of the circulation, where it is needed most.
Your job in preparing your team is not over when the final whistle blows. Once that game is over, you have to shift your thoughts to the next game. Those first thoughts should be refueling your players. Besides, if your team is doing the right things, chances are the other team isn’t, meaning your team has an advantage over your next opponent.
The emotional
Your players will perform best if they stay loose and relaxed between games, then becoming focused and “all-business” a couple of hours before each game. If your players remain too serious and game-focused throughout a tournament weekend, they are likely to become emotionally drained and lose their focus when they need it most. Fortunately, teenagers being what they are, you can generally count on them to take their own minds off the game during the 18 or 20 hours of each day when this is appropriate.
During games, too, your players are on their own, but in your team meeting before each game, your role is to use the right language to focus their minds on what they need to do and guide them to what sports psychologists call a state of optimal arousal: excited and eager, but not rowdy.
After games, you should have another brief meeting. In these meetings, your goal is to constructively review your team’s performance in the game, whether they won or lost. You want to keep your players on an even keel — neither too high after a victory nor too low after a defeat. The best way to temper their emotions is by delivering your comments in the form of what is known as a “constructive feedback sandwich”: positive remark, constructive criticism, positive remark.
The technical
As with conditioning, your players’ technical skills will not improve measurably during a tournament. Technical preparation happens in the training program you have designed for your players, but there are two things you can do during a tournament to maximize your team’s technical performance.
The first is the “quick fix.” During games, take note of any obvious technical flaws in individual performances. For example, perhaps you notice that one of your forwards keeps shooting balls over the net. In this case, between games you’ll want to find an opportunity to give this player a quick review of proper technique for delivering shots to the low corners of the goal.
The other thing you can do is observe which of your players are performing well technically and which ones are struggling, then shift the balance of playing time in favor of those who are performing well. I realize you may have less leeway to keep players on the bench than I have as a national team coach, but I think you can still use this strategy effectively while still being fair to everyone.
The tactical
On the tactical side, there are three strategies you can use to improve your team’s performance in tournaments. The most obvious one is learning from each game played. Behind every goal allowed, opportunity allowed, failure to capitalize, etc., there is a cause. As a coach, you can help your players avoid repeating tactical mistakes by noting these lapses and pointing them out, along with their solutions, in the postgame meeting. Remember the constructive feedback sandwich.
You may have less opportunity and resources to scout future opponents than I do, but I highly recommend exploiting the opportunities and resources you do have. If you get a chance to watch tomorrow’s opponent play today, do it. Study their styles of play, tactics, top players, etc., and pass along useful information to your team. If you can’t watch them yourself, ask others about a particular team. You won’t learn as much this way, but sometimes even one piece of information can make a difference.
The third tactical strategy I recommend using in tournaments is almost the opposite of scouting. The ultimate goal of scouting is to adapt your team’s play to that of your opponent. But there’s just as much to be said for taking your style of play to your opponent’s. Every team has a style of play that’s based on player strengths, weaknesses and the coach’s (your) philosophy. Being conscious of and discussing your own style of play helps your team strengthen its identity and helps players better serve the roles they play. This is especially true for youth players.
Going into tournaments and before each tournament game, make sure your players are on the same page regarding how your team wins games. Yes, you’ll feel a little like a broken record, but this is an area where constant repetition is good.
Summary
I can’t pretend that what I’ve outlined will optimize your team’s performance in tournament situations, but I have given you some key strategies that work for me in the physical, emotional, technical and tactical components of preparation. As I said, my team and my job are not so different from yours.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the November-December 2002 issue of Soccer Journal. Thomas Rongen played professionally in his native Holland and in this country. Before taking over the U.S. Under-20 National Team, he coached D.C. United and the New England Revolution.
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