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 Parents Guide |
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12 most important reasons why kids play
BOYS:
1. to have fun
2. to improve skills
3. for excitement of competition
4. to do something I'm good at
5. to stay in shape
6. for the challenge of competition
7. to be part of a team
8. to win
9. to go to a higher level of competition
10. to get exercise
11. to learn new skills
12. for the team spirit
GIRLS:
1. to have fun
2. to stay in shape
3. to get excercise
4. to improve skills
5. to do something I'm good at
6. to be part of a team
7. for the excitement of competition
8. to learn new skills
9. for the team spirit
10. for the challenge of competition
11. to go to a higher level of competition
12. to win
The Key to Peak Performance
The role that parents play in the life of a soccer player has a tremendous impact on their experience. Below are some helpful reminders as we approach the new season.
Let the coaches coach: Leave the coaching to the coaches. This includes motivating, psyching your child for practice, after game critiquing, setting goals, requiring additional training, ect. You have entrusted the care of your players to these coaches and they need to be free to do their job. If a player has too many coaches, it is confusing for him/her and their performance usually declines.
Support the program: Get involved. Volunteer. Help out with fundraisers, car-pool; anything to support the program.
Be your child's best fan: Suport your child unconditinally.
Support and cheer for all players on both teams: Foster teamwork. Your child's teammates and opponates are not the enemy. When they are playing better than your child, your child now has a wonderful opportunity to learn.
Do not bribe or offer incentives: Your job is not to motivate. Leave this to the coaching staff. Bribes will distract your child from properly concentrating in practice and game situations.
Encourage your child to talk with the coaches: If your child is having difficulties in practice or games, or can't make practice, ect., encourage them to speak directly to the coaches. This "responsibilty taking" is a big part of becoming a big-time player. By handling the off-field tasks, your child is claiming ownership of all aspects of the game - preparation for as well as playing the game.
Understand and display appropiate game behaviour: Remember, your child's self esteem and game performance is at stake. Be suppportive, cheer, be appropriate. To perform to the best of his abilities, a player needs to focus on the parts of the game that they can control (his fitness, postitioning, decsision making, skill, aggressiveness, what the game is presenting them). If he starts focusing on what he can not control (the condition of the field, refereeing, the weather, opponents, even the outcome of the game at times), he will not play up to his ability. If he hears a lot of people telling him what to do, or yelling at the referee, it diverts his attention away from the task at hand.
Monitor you child's stress level: Keep an eye on the player to make sure that they are handling stress effectively from all the vaious activities in their lives.
Monitor eating and sleeping habits: Be sure your child is eating the proper foods and getting adequate rest.
Help your child keep his priorities straight: Help your child maintain a focus on schoolwork, relationships, and other things in life besides soccer. Also, if your child has made a commitment to soccer, help him fulfill his obligation to the team.
Reality test: If your child has come off the field when his team has lost, but he has played his best, help him to see this as a "win". Remind him that he is to focus on the "process" and not "results". His fun and satisfaction should be derived from "striving to win".
Keep soccer in it's proper perspective: Soccer should not be larger than life to you. If your child's performace produces strong emotions in you, suppress them. Remember your relationship will continue with your children long after their competitive soccer days are over. Keep your goals and needs separate from your child's experience.
Have fun: This is what we all be trying to do! We will try to challege your child to reach past their "comfort level" and improve themselves as a player, and thus a person. We will attempt to do this in environments that are fun, yet challenging. We look forward to this process. We hope you do to!
(This article came from a soccer site.)
Sunscreen - Are you applying it properly?
Recent studies report that only 1 out of every 10 parents are applying sunscreen to their children properly. What do the other 9 parents need to know?
80% of sun damage occurs before the age of 18, due to exposure to the sun's ultra violet rays. This damage can cause premature aging of the skin and cancer. To help protect your children, follow these guidelines:
Choose a broad spectrum sunscreen - such sunscreens protect the skin from both UVB and UVA rays. UVB rays cause sunburn. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply and contribute to the development of skin cancer.
Be sure the sunscreen you choose has an SPF factor of at least 15. The SPF factor determines how long you can stay out in the sun before you burn (if your unprotected skin burns in 10 minutes, an SPF of 15 will protect you 15 times longer - 10x15=150 minutes of sun protection). Those with fair skin and light hair should use an SPF of at least 30.
Use at least one ounce of sunscreen on your children (this is about the amount you could fit in a shot glass). Be sure and apply the sunscreen to these commonly overlooked areas: tops of ears, hands, feet, lips, and nose.
Sunscreen should be applied at least 20 minutes before going outside and should be reapplied every two hours or after swimming or perspiring.
Nutrition and Soccer Performance
You wouldn't put low octane gasoline in a race car, would you? Yet, even today, with all the research on nutrition and athletic performance, athletes still fail to realize the connection between the food they eat and their ability to compete in sports. The time for a reminder is now.
Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are the main components of your diet. Protein supplies amino acids for many processes in the body, but supplies little energy for exercise. Despite all the bad press, fat is a necessary ingredient. Fat insulates nerves, carries substances in the blood, packs organs and serves as a warehouse for energy, some of which is used to play soccer. Carbohydrate is the main source of energy in your diet. How much carbohydrate you eat will directly affect your ability to run and is the subject of this article.
Carbohydrate is found in many foods like vegetables, fruits, breads, grains, pasta, and dairy products. When eaten, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and stored in your liver and muscles as a string of glucose molecules called glycogen. If your ability to run far and fast is related to how much gas you have in your tank (glycogen in your muscles), then the more you have stored, the farther and faster you can run. In addition, if you eat properly after heavy training, you can actually store more glycogen than if you ate improperly. So you could cover even more distance at a fast pace. Is fat used for energy in soccer? Yes, during low intensity work like walking and slow jogging. You won't run out of fat for fuel, but you can run out of glycogen. You need glycogen to go fast - remember, soccer is not played at a walk.
Do we know anything about muscle glycogen and soccer? Plenty.
1. Most soccer players make poor food choices (too much protein and fat) so they enter games with less than a full tank of gas (less muscle glycogen than most athletes should have).
2. Most the glycogen in the muscles is used in the first half of a game. By the end of the game, glycogen levels are almost zero. Your sprints get shorter and less frequent as the game goes on.
3. The more glycogen, the further and faster players run. A research study showed that players who ate lots of carbohydrate ran the most and only walked about 25% of the total distance. Players who ate a "normal" meal covered about 25% less distance and covered most of it at a walk. Can you guess who won this game?
Any suggestions for soccer players when choosing foods to eat?
Choose foods with the highest carbohydrate and lowest fat count. Carbohydrates should make up 55-65% of the diet. Choose, for example, bagels over sliced bread, baked potato over french fries, a high carbohydrate cereal over a low carbohydrate cereal (read those labels!).
A teenage or adult athlete should eat 450-600 grams of carbohydrate a day (spread it out over 24 hours-think you can eat that amount of spaghetti in one sitting? That's over 2 dry pounds of spaghetti!). Younger players would eat less because they are smaller. The rough formula is 7-10 grams/kg/day.
If you make poor food choices and train regularly, you can't refill your glycogen levels before tomorrow's practice. Thus, glycogen levels stair-step down as the week goes on. It is important to eat plenty of carbohydrates during training, not just for matches.
Your muscles are the most "thirsty" for glycogen right after exercise.
So try to eat a good supply of carbohydrates within the first 2 hours after play. Don't wait. Have carbohydrate rich foods available right after a game. This is especially important if you are playing in a tournament with many games in a short time. Give yourself every advantage and refuel for the next games. Choose fruit juices, carbohydrate replacement drinks, bagels and jam, fresh or dried fruit, uncooked "Chex Mix" types of finger food. If candy is acceptable to your parents, choose "clear" candy like "gummi" candy, jelly beans, etc. (chocolate-based candy has too much fat and calories). Stay away from the chips, burgers, fries, nachos, etc.; too much fat and not enough carbohydrates.
The smart athlete will try to give himself or herself every advantage to help their team to win. Knowing you are going into a game with a "full tank of gas" means you are ready for the highest demands of the game. Also, if you have eaten properly and are playing a team who played yesterday (who likely hasn't eaten properly), you know you are at an advantage and will be fresher in the second half.
This sports science article comes from the Sports Medicine Section at the Duke University Medical Center and UNC Hospitals. The authors are members of the US Soccer Sports Medicine Committee including from UNC Dr. William E. Garrett, Jr (US National Teams Physician and Committee Chairman), and John Lohnes. From Duke are Dr. Don Kirkendall (exercise physiologist) and Patty Marchak (athletic trainer for 1996 US Women's Olympic Team).
Heat & Its Affects on the Body
Please check the USA Today web site for the heat index chart and additional information about heat and its affects on your body.
www.usatoday.com/weather/wheat3.htm
The following are "recommended" minimum guidelines when there is a possibility of dangerous high heat index:
Heat Index Recommended Guideline
Up to 80 - Normal play
80 - 89 Mandatory 2-minute water breaks per half with running time. Game is not extended.
90-99 - Mandatory 2-minute water breaks per half with running time. Each half shortened by 5 minutes
100-105 Mandatory 2-minute water breaks per half with running time. Each half shortened by 10 minutes.
Above 105 Suspend play.
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