Stretching: Before or After playing?

There has been much debate recently about the effects of stretching and whether it is necessary. Studies done seemed to have insinuated that what we learnt in school about stretching BEFORE games have not prevented injuries.

http://m.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/should-i-stretch-before-or-after-my-runs?adbid=10152487494631987&adbpl=fb&adbpr=9815486986&cid=socTP_20141224_37557287 

I came across this article today and felt the overwhelming need to give my 2cts worth. 

Before the game/activity

I was educated by the old school method of stretching before exercising. It didn't take me long to realise that trying to stretch cold muscles seemed a futile attempt. Jogging a little before stretching seemed to make more sense. A short jog around the field became my preferred warm up sequence, followed by 10-15mins of static stretching, starting from the neck muscles down all the way to the ankles. 

Over the last 2-3 years, I got re-educated again. This time after I got involved in football coaching for kids. It seemed agility exercises and drills were more important in the warm up phase, especially in a sport like football, where the nimbleness of your lower body is needed. In came the ladders, the cones, the slaloms with the ball.... etc

When I started to receive football coaching myself, I noticed we barely did the standard army style static 'head rotation clockwise 3 counts of 4'. It was just jogging up and down a 10m lane, doing knee lifts, arm swings and stuff like that. Much more dynamic and in my opinion, a much better way to warm up the body for football in particular. 

Even at the gym, my trainer never start with a stretching session. It was always straight off to the specific station, start with manageable weights and light reps. Once that part of the body is warmed up do we proceed to the what I call the 'pump the living daylights out of your damn muscles' kind of regime. 

After the game/activity

After the game, is where I feel stretching is useful. When the body is weary, all warmed up, we sit down and stretch the leg muscles. I feel this prevents the muscles from cramping up later and at the same time, gradually improve your range of motion. 

Even at the gym, we seem to do this. My trainer spends 10-15mins at the end of the session, turning me into some kind of pretzel. He knows I play quite a bit of football and he spends time making me do the sit-n-reach kind of stretching, as well as the lower back twisting one. 

So in a nutshell...

after this unusually long post, I feel that the warm up you do before the activity should be tailored specifically to the type of activity you are embarking on. The standard static ones we used to do is much better post activity as a form of recuperation and injury prevention, as well as for improving your range of motion. 

3 tips all defenders should know

Was at training the other day and while we were doing attacker vs defender drills, the coach gave a tip. One that really struck a chord with me. He shared, after witnessing some really calamitous defending, that when defending against a 1-on-1, a defender has 3 priorities:

1. First priority: Slow the attacker down. 

2. Second priority: Shepherd the attacker to the side of your choice. 

3. Third priority: Dispossess him

Defender #21 is doing a good job keeping #20 at bay, allowing his team mates to track back to support

Most of us make the mistake of trying to do point 3 first. Especially for Centrebacks, slowing down the attack and allowing your defence to regroup is priority. A mistimed tackle with inadequate backup will give fleet footed attackers the opportunity to get past you and a free shot on goal. 

I like point 2. It differentiates an elite amateur footballer from the rest. Identify the attacker's master foot, as well as your own. Then decide if you want to show him the outside channel, or the inside channel. Conventional teaching tells us to always show the attacker the outside. But experience tells me forcing the attacker to utilise his non master side can be just as effective. 

Chip is seen here getting past his marker on the latter's inside channel and onto his master foot

 Eg. As a right footed LB marking a very right footed winger, instead of letting him charge down the byline to cross with his stronger foot, close down that option and make him cut inside you. With the ball on his weaker left, his options are limited due to his lack of mastery. It's also easier for you to cut in between the attacker and the ball, using your body as a shield, then take the ball away from him using the outside of your master foot. 

Some of these practices come instinctively to those gifted with natural footballing brains. But for the rest of us, remembering the sequence of the 3 priorities will help us become better defensive players. 

Fat as Duck

After almost a month of feasting, celebrating & basically gorging myself, I'm finally back at the gym. The tipping point came when I put on my tee shirt and it suddenly felt like one of those compression tops. 

It's really not easy maintaining fitness. A disciplined regime has to be strictly adhered to and at the same time, food intake must be watched carefully. After all, you are what you eat. So if you eat crap...

So here's the long road back to competitive fitness. It's a good thing the football season is going into a 'winter break', so I can arrange a few friendlies to up my match fitness, as well as resume my weekly gym sessions to burn the damn fats away.

Anyone else suffering from pre-holiday fattyness?

Congratulations Joseph Schooling!

This morning, I woke up to the news that our very own Joseph Schooling has won his pet event 100m butterfly in a new Asian Games record time of 51.76m. 

Amazing stuff!

He was quoted as saying, that at the 3/4 mark, he felt his muscles tightening, but continued to push even harder. Coz 'they're gonna have to die trying' if anyone wanted to take his first place away from him. 

That's the kind of mentality needed to succeed at the top. More so in an individual sport. The NEED to be ahead! No settling for 2nd best. Wanna take my gold medal? OVER MY DEAD BODY!

Too often in amateur sports, particularly in football, we tend to lose heart easily whenever we line up against a good team. (I will do an article soon on how best to prepare your team to look good in front of your opponents. Like they say, look good win 50% liao! 😆) Or when we go a goal or 2 behind. That's when a good leader, or leaders, have to stand up and display the 'Joseph Schooling' attitude. Wanna win the game against me? You gotta die trying! (It sounds more macho in hokkien. HAHAHAHA)

Damn I love his attitude. 

Here's a clip of his winning race. Enjoy!

https://sg.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fit-to-post-sports/asian-games--schooling-wins-first-gold-for-singapore-101523614.html

Why 4 Short 1 Long?

The name 4 Short 1 Long actually refers to an advice given to me when i attended training recently. The coach explained that after every 4 short passes, you should look to do a long pass to spread the play, especially since the opponents have already started to crowd around attempting to regain possession during the 4 short passes, thus giving other players more space and time on the ball.

It also prevents you from getting yourself into a sticky situation where you pick the easiest short pass all the time, unknowingly playing yourself into a corner and having to turnover possession. 4S1L keeps you on your toes, always looking to switch the play, whilst still keeping possession with short and quick passes.

I like this advice.

What advice has your coach given to you that resonated with you so much it stuck in your head all these years?