Warm up routine before football match

Football CoachCoach

Tika Taka is good keep the ball mving with one touch

Football CoachCoach

Dear Chris, 

Warm up routines are extremely vital whilst going into a game and ensuring that the correct pre-match warm up drill is carried out is very important.

Firstly, give a pre match team talk inside the changing room with the tactics, advice, opposition info, motivation etc and then send them out in their kits to inspect the pitch. Once that is done and everyone is ready in their kit, get the entire squad together and commence the warm-up, which should have the following excercises:

General Warm Up (approx 6 mins)
{15 yards between cones}
1. Jog (3 mins, around the field)
2. Forward skips with arm swings
3. Bent leg swings across body
4. Neck roles
5. Diagonal shuffle forward and backward
6. Side shuffle with arm swings
7. Linear Skip
8. Power skip
9. Pop and float
10. 11. High knees
11. Butt kickers
12. Straight leg skip
13. Straight leg shuffle
14. Carioca
15. Carioca with leg drives
16. Hip swings
17. Straight leg swings

Activation (2 mins)
{One line going across sideline with miniband at Knee, 1x10reps/leg with each exercise}1. Miniband staggered forward and backward
2. Miniband single leg hip abduction and flexion

Dynamic Stretching (4 mins)
{Group in circle, start with ground based stretches and progress to feet. Aim for 5+ reps per exercise}
1. Half kneeling quad/Hip flexor stretch
2. Half kneeling straight leg front and lateral
3. Leg cradle (ground)
4. Scorpion (stomach and back)
5. Elbow to instep
6. Backward lunge with rotation
7. Knee hugs
8. Heel to glute
9. Inverted hamstring
10. Wide base hamstring with arm swings
11. Drop lunge to lateral squat 

Movement Skill - 2 mins
{One group going across sideline}
1. Resisted march
2. Resisted skip
3. Resisted run

Plyometrics - 2 mins 
{One group going across sideline}
1. 45 degree noncountermovement
2. 45 degree bounds with double contact

Movement application - 2 mins
(One group going across sideline}
1. 7x15-yard stride outs with 30-yard recovery (intensity 80-95%)

This is the end of the warm up routine and now we move on to pre-game drills. Separate the goalkeepers and keep the outfield players together.

For the goalkeepers, give them the following training:
Catch and throw on the move
Collect
Diagonal Throw
Low Saves
Move and throw
Square Shooting
Straight saves
x Shooting (place goalie in shot stopping positions)

Now coming to the outfield players... 
Make them start with a 5 mins piggie in the middle session so that their heart starts pumping, they get more touches on the ball and increase concentration. After that is done, set them up in vertical groups facing each other and do different types of passing for 5 minutes, and once that is done make them do some shooting from outside the box at the goalkeeper. After that, to end off, make them do two sprints from the half line to the goal and back, to activate their heart rate. There you finish off...

If you would like any additional guidance or information or would like to contact me, my email address is [email removed to prevent spam] and Facebook page link is [link removed] Drop me a message.

Kind Regards
Ryan Roy
Head Coach, PRS Football Club

* Sportplan edit:

If you would like to keep the conversation going you can just reply to this message.

Football CoachCoach

In an ideal world, Ryans Warm Up would be a good start. However, most coaches have 101 things to do and might have just one assistant if they are lucky.

The playing environment must also be taken into account. In cold weather, static warm ups should be avoided going straight into dynamic work with a ball each. I used to run warm ups like Ryans, but I have found that over the decades of coaching all ages, the pre match experience is like a performance and must be timed to the virtual second technically, physically and psychological so they are ready to start and sometimes a structured warm up can mean missing vital elements due to lack of time.

I tend to look at the main elements the team will be involved in the most during a match and mirror those in a diluted warm up. I will get players doing their initial movement using a ball and passing to a 'free' player and then looking for a ball themselves - then 3 balls with the main group with one of two 'challengers' who can only tag a player with the ball who they swap with if successful.

Then a simple finishing drill but where players make runs with the ball played in front of them before the shot while the GK has already completed their specific warm up routine before coming in to have some last minute shot stopping top up.

You must involve the ball often the nearer you get to the match. So, using Ryans list above, think of ways to repeat each item but using a ball to so so.

Kev

Football CoachCoach

If these boys are under 18 i think Ryans way (in theory) is better, theres no way 17 year olds should be turning up on a saturday 15 mins before a game and expect to play well need to get them in early and sort it out more professionally and set a good precedence. Theres no reason why you cant discuss with get your captain to sort out the warm up.

However i would start with dynamic stretching > static stretching > ball work > drink > quick huddle and recap over tactics

Football CoachCoach

Here's one pre match drill that players like. The variety of exercise that can be performed are only limited by the coach.

In 4 groups, each by a corner.

A                                                        B
x                                                         x
x                                                         x
o

*                            *                          *

                                                         o
x                                                       x
x                                                       x
C                                                      D

15m long by 10m wide rectangle with 4 corner cones, 3 cones spread across the middle. A & D have a ball
On signal, first at A & D touch the ball forward towards the cone in front of them.
On the third touch (by the cone) they pass to the opposite player, run backwards to start cone then sprint to touch the centre cone before sprinting back to the start to await their turn to repeat.
Meanwhile, the player receiving the ball (C & B) repeat by taking two touches towards the cone in front of them and then on the third touch passing to the opposite player.

The variety comes from what the players with the ball do.
They can repeat the 2 touches then play but now side step to the centre cone before running backwards to start.

This lasts for around 4 to 5 minutes and then move on to one touch passing...
A                                                        B
x                                                         x
x                                                         x
o

*                            *                          *

 
                                                          o
x                                                        x
x                                                        x
C                                                       D

A, long to C, A follows as C passes 1st time back to mid cone, A 1st time back to C from mid cone. A backwards to start and then sprint to centre cone and back.
At the same time D long to B follows to mid cone. B 1st time to D
Meanwhile, C & B repeat the sequence the opposite way.
This continues for 2 minutes.

Kev