Soccer games are usually high intensity, and can be stressful on any athletes’ body. The best way to reduce most of this stress and keep yourself feeling good during the game, is by stretching before the game, and practice. Stretching before a soccer game, and practice is important, and can be beneficial to a player’s game. Stretching or doing a warm-up can help a player prepare mentally, and physically for the game.

Athletes competing in soccer should stretch before a game or practice, because of the quick bursts of movement needed to play the sport. In soccer there is a need for the body to be explosive, and stretching can reduce the risk of injuries. There’s a lot of starts and stops, and quick bursts of sprinting, and you have to be able to move from left to right at a fast pace, and stretching will reduce any muscle strains that can be caused by the fast pace, and keep up with all the quick movements. For stretching to be effective, it must be done routinely, and not just when the coach requires it to be done before a game. Stretching is something players  must do on a regular basis on their own. It should also be done in the off-season, if players want to see the maximal benefits.

Warming-up or stretching before a game helps soccer players maintain or obtain high performance levels. The aim of stretching is to allow players to gradually adapt and prepare themselves for the physical exercise. Proper stretching before a game can make soccer players faster, and more effective on the field. If players maintain a stretching routine before games, and practices, their flexibility will increase gradually. Players should also stretch after games; a cool-down period may put players in better shape for the next game or practice. 

Evidence shows that improvements in physical performance after a decent warm-up are related to an increase in muscle temperature. The higher the muscle temperature, the better the performance. A player should always be capable of producing 100% in terms of effort at the beginning of the game. An increase in muscle temperature allows the muscle to better produce energy and flexibility can be improved by 20 percent, and reaction times will also be improved. When stretching or warming-up, the circularity system slowly prepares the body for exercise, and the body’s chemical processes involved in physical activity, slowly but begin to work. The energy necessary for exercise is immediately available while better sparing that necessary for the end of the game. Stretching can also relieve muscle tightness from previous matches or from a long journey. When muscles (which are naturally quite rigid and resistant to sudden increases in tension) are cold they can easily rupture. Warming-up decreases rigidity. Good technique warming-up and stretching techniques are important at the beginning of games and being physically ready allows better practice and use of these skills.

There are also some mental benefits to warming-up or stretching before a soccer match.  A pre-match warm-up is useful in helping to increase a player’s motivational levels. Often players are tense and a good warm-up session will reduce their anxiety levels and get rid of excess tension (adrenaline), and at the same time mentally fire up players. Warming-up also helps players get used to the atmosphere in the stadium, or on the field. It also allows them to rehearse their technique before the game. This is especially important and effective for away games. Finally, soccer is a team sport and if a team warms-up together; it will strengthen the player’s sense of belonging to the social structure of the team.

Players at all level of the game disregard stretching before a game, but it should always be taken seriously. Warming-up helps players prepare themselves mentally and physically. Sometimes a game can be decided on whether or not a player stretched before the game. Stretching before a game can get a soccer player focused, and makes them more durable on the field. Soccer coaches should encourage their team to always properly prepare itself. Giving players a stretching routine can make a soccer coach’s job a lot easier, and will make their players much more reliable.

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