Strømsø fotballklubb

Uke 18:

Ski advice for soccer players‏.
“Bend ze knees, five dollars please”.
But the advice is still true for all
athletes, especially soccer players.
Watch any professional or high level
contest, and you’ll notice the players
all have their knees bent.
This is true even at the age-group
level. The best kids will have their
knees bent the majority of the game.
When you’re knees are bent, you are
able to react quicker, move faster
and change direction efficiently.
Your body will be able to move as
soon as the brain processes what the
eyes see.
If the legs are straight, they have
to bend before the body can move.
In a fast game like soccer, the
fastest player to react is going to
make the plays.
Keep your knees bent while practicing and
playing.
It takes practice to make it a
habit, but once accomplished, it
will make you a much better
player.
The following exercise is to teach
the an athletic stance. This is the
first step to learning how to be
an athlete.
Athletic Stance:
1) Stand straight, with ears, shoulders
hips and knees all in a line.
2) Bend the knees slightly. The
weight should be on the balls of the feet.
3) There will be a slight bend at
the waist. The greater the bend in the
knees, the greater the bend at the waist.
4) The head should be up and alert. A
major problem is slouching the shoulders
and neck.
A good visualization is to tell yourself that you are little bunny rabbits.
You have to be alert for predators like
hawks from above, and coyotes from
behind.
With this kind of visualization, you
will learn to be ready to move all
the time.
Practice the stance alone, and also with
moving. For instance, practice the
athletic stance, do an Airplane and then
go back to the stance.
Remember, we love to get feedback from our
readers. Let us know how we can help
you and your child have success.

Coach

Uke 17:

Core Fitness
You’ve probably heard or seen the commercials
for the latest ab exercise phenomenom. It
“targets all the muscle” and builds “rock hard
abs of steel” in only minutes a day.
First, do me a favor. If you’re going to go out
and purchase that equipment, please don’t.
Send me the money, and then throw some clothes
in the corner where it was going to go.
You’ll get just enough use from the clothes and
your money will go to a better cause.
Strong core and abs are very important in athletics.
They are needed for:
a) Correct running form
b) Quick changes of direction
c) Powerful kicks
d) Injury prevention
As Bruce Lee said, “The stomach is the window
into the soul of an athlete”.
Kids today and many adults are really lacking in core strength.
They sit in chairs far too long.
You don’t need any fancy machines, and you
don’t need to do hundreds of sit-ups.
Indeed, most kids aren’t ready for sit-ups.
Worse, I see a lot of coaches do “suicides”
with their athletes.
That’s where the exerciser grabs the ankles
of their partner, and brings their legs up
quickly.
The partner then throws the feet down to
the ground.
This is a horrible exercise for many reasons.
Perhaps the most persuasive argument against
it is that is very difficult for the
lower back.
My favorite ab exercise is the plank.
1. Start on your hands and knees.
2. Place your forearms on the ground.
3. Bring both feet back so the body is
supported only by the feet and forearms.
4. Your body should be straight. Head, neck
and hips are all inline.
Hold this for ten to twenty seconds. Take
a break and then repeat.
A good goal is to do it for forty to
sixty seconds.
If your posture starts to go
then stop and rest.

I hope you’ve learned a lot about exercising
with your child. I hope you’re both having
fun and improving.
I’d love to hear of your fitness success and even
some of your disappointments. Feel free to
email me and fill me in.
If you have questions, I’d be glad to answer
them as well.

Coach

Uke 16:

It’s how you see it‏:
Vision.
Vision is so critical to being a good
athlete, but it’s never taught. At least
I’ve never seen it taught.
Sports require multiple uses of our eyes.
We have to be able to focus intently on
one item. In soccer, it might be the exact
spot you want to kick the ball to get it
to bend.
In basketball, it might be focusing on the
rim.
Of course, you can focus on the wrong thing.
Frequently, a player will get tunnel vision
and only see the opponents. They don’t see
their open player or other options.
We also need peripheral vision as well.
We need to see not only our defenders, but
the entire field.
This vision can be taught and improved. Here
is a great drill that takes only a few minutes
to do, but gets you realizing there
are other ways to see.
Vision Drill #1
1. Hold your index fingers together approximately an arms
length away.
2. Focus on the two fingers
3. Slowly, move the arms apart.
4. The eyes remain focused on where they were
5. Observe that as the fingers move out, they
can still be seen.
6. Move them out until they can no longer be
seen. Then slowly bring them together till they
touch.
Repeat this exercise a few times every day and
you will soon have incredible on field
vision.

Coach

Uke 15:

Thats Knot Funny‏
Have you ever watched a great athlete and wonder
how they can do such amazing feats of grace
and beauty?
How are they able to run so gracefully, catch
the ball in the air with their foot, flip it
over their head and then kick the ball in for
a score?
The obvious answer is practice.
The not so obvious one is coordination.
Soccer requires a lot of foot-eye coordination. I
think we are doing our kids a disservice if we
don’t focus on hand-eye coordination as well.
Coordination takes a great deal of communication
between the left and right sides of the brain. These
sides are connected by a part of the brain called
the corpus callosum.
The more practice we get using both sides
of the body at the same time, the faster, stronger
and more numerous the nerves of the corpus
callosum become.
A great activity to develop this is learning
to juggle. Juggling not only develops incredible
coordination, it develops; strength, balance, focus,
vision, and rhythm.
Other activities that can develop coordination are to
combine different exercises. For instance, performing
leg swings while alternating catching a ball.
Another example is tossing a tennis ball from
one hand to the other while kicking a soccer
ball to a friend.
A simple one for to learn is the “Knot” drill. Here
is how to do it.
1. Place your left hand on your nose.
2. Place your right hand on your left ear.
3. Remove both hands and switch. Your left hand
will touch your right ear. Your right hand will
touch your nose.
Once you and your child learns to do this, run in place. It’s not only challenging
it is very fun to do and watch.
Try it!

Coach

Uke 14:

Balance and Soccer‏
You don’t need the balance of a circus performer
to play soccer.
Yet, improving your balance may have
some unexpected benefits.
Balance will improve your skills, strength
and may even improve your ability to
focus and concentrate.
First, a brief description of the
two types of balance.
The first is static. This is the balance
of standing on one foot.
The second is dynamic. This is the balance of
running at full speed, spinning, turning,
changing direction, and then doing a flying
scissors kick.
Both are important, especially to kids. Static
is fairly easy to improve. Dynamic, not so much.
Whenever you are kicking a ball,
you have to stand on one foot. Strong balance will
give you a powerful and accurate kick.
If you are wobbly how will you be able to control
the ball?
Here are two of my favorite exercises for improving
balance. They also build leg and core strength.
Exercise #1. Airplanes
Stand on your left foot.
Bend at the waist and bring your leg straight
out behind you, trying to get your body and
leg parallel to the floor.
Hold the position as long as possible and be sure to
switch legs.
To see how long you can hold this position. Try it just before sitting
down to dinner.
Exercise #2 Leg Swings
This is a more dynamic exercise. It is great for leg
strength and for warming up.
Start by standing on one leg. Swing the leg forward
and backward at moderate speed. Do five to ten
repetitions with each leg.
Next, swing one leg side to side, across the body.
Most kids will need to hold on to an object
at first. As they improve they will be able
to do this with no support.
Of course, feel free to try these with your kids.
You may be surprised to find out they can do
it better than you!

Coach

Uke 13:

The Surprising Secret to Learning and Performing
If there is one unknown secret technique to
learning and performance, it can be summed up
in one word…
Relax.
Too often we tell our self and kids to try harder.
We tell them to push the ball.
We tell them to “Go! Go! Go!”
Instead of always getting them to work harder
we should be teaching them how to relax and
be loose.

Be able to relax isn’t only great for performance.
It enables kids (and adults) to learn faster
and easier.
Here are two techniques that can be used to
teach your self and child how to relax while performing.
They are simple, yet powerful.
1. Breathing. Breaths should be slow and deep. Teach them
to count breaths. Try inhaling for four counts, holding
for two and then exhaling for four.
2. Shaking of limbs. Standing still, shake your arms
and hands. Let the muscle tension go. Swing the arms
side to side and let the hands go limp.
3. Running with loose hands and face. Let your eye lids flutter when
you run.

The face should be relaxed and loose.  The hands should be open and relaxed, not
clenched.
By spending a few moments teaching yourself how to
relax you will learn a live long skill that will not
only help you in sports but in many other areas of
life as well.

Coach

Uke 12:

Strength and Soccer‏
Most people don’t have the strength they used too. And soccer
players need strength.
Not only leg and core strength, but upper body strength
as well.  This issue will teach you how to teach your
correct modified push-ups and why.
Why Does a Soccer Player Need Upper Body Strength?
Upper body strength is required for powerfull kicks
It’s needed to run fast. It helps deliver the power and
timing of the arms to the legs.
It’s needed handle the close contact work of tackling.
A strong upper body will prevent injuries and help your
child be a better athlete.
And kids today, need it.  They are not as strong as
they used to be.
They don’t work as hard to develop strength.  They aren’t
playing outside as much.
Unless they are growing up on a farm, they aren’t
doing heavy manual labor.
Watch a group of eighth graders do push-ups and
you’ll see what I mean.
Here’s how to teach push-ups. Learn them on a carpeted
floor or on the grass. Yoga mats are acceptable too.

Modified Push-ups
1. Begin with modified push-ups (on the knees). Most kids
aren’t ready for real push-ups.  I’d rather they be done
correctly and safely.
2.Start the push-up on the ground. The hands are under the
shoulders. The elbows are against the ribs.
3. Lift the feet off the ground. The knees remain on the ground.
4. Keep the back straight and lift the head, shoulders and hips
up at the same time.
A broom stick can be used to make sure that everything
stays in line. Lay the stick along their back, touching their
head, spine and hips.  The stick should remain in contact with
their body.
5. Lower all the way down and repeat. The elbows should remain
close to the ribs and not flare out at the shoulders.
6. Only do a few at a time. It is better to do too few
than too many. Also, it is better to stop while it is easy.
Exercise should never be used as punishment.
When you or they can do twenty good modified push-ups, then it is time
to learn real push-ups.
Try performing a few before dinner every night. Or if you go
out and practice kicking, then start off each session with
a few.
Not only will your upper body get stronger, but so will your
core. You will be faster, kick harder, and be less likely to
get injured.
In the next issue of Soccer Secrets, we will look at some
different ways of establishing an exercise routine.
To Fit and Healthy Strømsø FK Players

Coach.

Uke 11:

Welcome to the second newsletter of
Soccer Secrets.
The focus on this issue is continuing
on improving running technique.
The second most common running error I see
is most people do is trying to take super long
steps.
They believe that if they take longer strides,
they will cover more ground and go faster.
It’s a good idea.  It even makes sense.
It doesn’t work.  What happens is their stride
length improves, but their stride rate slows
way down.
Also, every time they reach out with their feet
they slow down.
Imagine driving your car this way.  You
accelerate to twenty miles and hour and then
slow down to ten.  Repeat.
Not only is it slow, it wastes a lot of gas!
Here’s how to correct it.
Running Tip #2
Feet land under the hips.
As the knees and feet are moving forward,
the foot quickly comes down and lands
underneath (or even behind) the hip.
It feels as if the stride is short, but it
is much faster and easier, once learned.
Use the words, “Short steps” as a reminder.
Just as before, when learning something new
keep the distances short.
Begin at an easy pace and then increase
the speed.
There’s no need to go at maximum speed.
80% is plenty.
You can even practice this while you’re doing
your family walk.
Walk a bit, then practice running for a short
distance.

Coach.

Uke 10:

Tip #1: Improving your running (or your kids!).

Running is a skill like any other. It can be improved.

Run Tall!
Imagine a string attached from the top of
your head all the way up the sky.
That string lifts and pulls you forward
as you run.
To practice, start off with short distances
and slower speeds.
As it becomes easier and habitual to run
taller, increase the speed.
Don’t increase the distance.
Soon you’ll find you are running not only
faster, but easier too.
Soccer success is so dependent on running.
A few minutes today working on improving
technique will reap huge rewards tomorrow.

Coach.