By nature, coaches like to be in control. We spend our time developing practices designed to prepare our teams to be ready for anything that could happen on the field. We spend countless hours trying to prepare our team technically, tactically, and physically to be ready to go out and dominate a match. However, sometimes no matter how well prepared you think your team is, some days they just don’t have it and you are left wondering what in the world happened? Even as a parent, there are times we are watching our kids play and wondering, “Who is that kid in my son/daughter’s uniform and where did my child go?” As a coach, one thing we do not always have control over is how our players fuel their bodies in preparation for the match.

Soccer is an endurance sport by nature. At the highest levels, players are logging a 10K during the match. However, unlike a 10K that we might run on the weekend, this 10K also requires changes of pace, cutting, jumping, pushing, and maybe a few other things as well! While youth players may not run quite that much during the match, it does not mean that properly fueling your body for a match is not equally important.

For those days when we finally do get back to playing matches again, we spoke with Dr. Kate Machado at the University of San Diego. She put together helpful materials for SDSC players that will be helpful for your child prior to their next match.

We hope you find these tools useful and see results on the field!

- San Diego Soccer Club Coaches