Soccer State/National Cup are here -Preparing your daughter for performance
Depending on a girls age, State Cup starts as early as January and for older girls (14-18), they start closer to May. Girls have trained over nine months, most since May of the previous year. Not to mention the time, financial commitment, and energy that goes into practice, games, tournaments, and showcases. I know this all too well with two of my own daughters 100% committed and from my own experience playing soccer throughout my childhood and into college.
I don’t want to overshadow the time and financial commitment because it deserves it’s own blog not to mention the level of competition compared to my days playing soccer. What I feel needs attention and conversation is how are we getting our daughters, our young athletes, ready for competition in their bodies. And how are they preparing for the intense competition and their future outlook in sports and in themselves.
Most soccer players run..
on average 6 miles a game with pros running up to 10 miles. Most of this running is at jogging pace with midfielders doing the majority of the running. Regardless, soccer players are switching directions constantly, running backwards, laterally, and full out sprints. And when stakes are high during the state/national cup (or even CIF Finals) you know these girls are not walking!
Here are a few tips to help your daughter be on her A game. I am hosting a parent/daughter session on Sunday, March 8th to go deeper into these topics - to sign up or learn more click here.
Conditioning - your child will be playing, most likely, 2 games in a weekend which is not uncommon for soccer families; but most soccer leagues and tournaments haven’t been played in awhile. Get your daughter to run (not fast) 2-3 miles over the weekend leading up to competition. This will help with her stamina and help her finish a game strong. To help with her speed and strength, running in the sand or hill repeats can help along with a strength training program. If your competition is coming up soon (less than a month), don’t change too much too soon.
Nutrition - what you eat before, during, and after your game will affect your performance and your next game (if you are playing back to back games). You will want to have good complex carbohydrates and protein - think whole foods and lots of colors. Hamburgers and fries are not ideal although this tends to be a cultural go to. Depending on your daughter’s position, she may need a banana or apple gusher during half time. Although this may not be culturally accepted (yet), 90 minutes is a long time without refueling.
Mindset - This is probably the toughest since most parents have invested passion in the sport as well. There’s a lot that goes into each game and into your daughter’s soccer ‘career’. Take a big picture look at your child’s emotional health and well-being and help her know she is valued despite her performance on the field. Ultimately, I believe most parents want their children emotionally and physically healthy and sports can offer many opportunities. And I’m not talking college scholarships, I talking about friendships and community and sports gives us a chance to express ourselves in our game. I know I LOVED playing soccer - it didn’t matter if it was for competition, scrimmage, or with friends where the soccer goals were our sweatshirts. Soccer shows us that we can be resilient which can also help in future challenges in life.
I will continue to revisit this topic over the next month as most girls will be heading into competition. Best of luck and remember to check out our event on March 8th at 3pm at the Pizza Port in Bressi Ranch.
It’s go time!