Recovery Sessions
Help your players return to training quicker and stronger.
Hello everyone! I apologize for the hiatus in my writing. Things got busy with the holidays, moving into a new place to live, going to the United Soccer Coaches Convention, and returning from my coaching sabbatical. But! I’m back and am looking forward to sharing some more articles, interviews, and trying out some new ideas in this new(ish) year!
After a year off from coaching I’ve finally returned to the field and I’m working with high-school aged players again. So I figured that now would be a good time to write about a session that I’ve had to run a lot in the last few years: recovery sessions.
I’ve written about physical microperiodization before which looked at how individual training exercises can be structured to ensure players are getting fit without increasing their risk of injury. But recovery session fall more under the lens of macroperiodization; after particularly grueling practices or game days, players can participate in recovery sessions to increase their rate of recovery.
There’s lots of ways to run recovery sessions, and even more exercises to run within them, but here’s a structure that I like to use. It takes about 60 minutes to run.
Warm-up 🌡️
The session begins with a simple warm-up but without any explosive or high-resistance movements i.e. sprinting, squats, ball-striking, etc. The objective is to raise the heart rate, increase blood flow, and activate the muscles without over-stressing them. This can be done through jogging, stationary biking (not that any youth coach has access to those), or running players through other low-impact movements.
Static Stretching 🛑
Following the warm-up, players should engage in stretching routines. Stretches should be used that gently elongate key muscle groups as opposed to constrict them. For example, soccer players perform a lot of diagonal changes of direction thus their groin muscles receive a high share of physical toll. To aid this muscle group’s recovery, players should engage in the traditional “open the gate” dynamic stretch as opposed to “close the gate”.
Here are a few key stretches that I always use in my recovery sessions:
Quads
Groin (“open the gate”)
Gentle high kicks
Calf stretches (toe-touches)
Hamstring stretches
I also run the players through a few exercises to stretch the muscles in their lower back as tight quadriceps and hamstrings can cause lower back muscles to stiffen up.
I like to use the seal stretch where players lay face down on the ground, place their palms under the shoulders, and then push up and lock out their arms. Players hold it for 15-20 seconds, return to the ground and relax for a moment, then do it again with their hands about 6-8 inches farther out to the side. On the last repetition of this stretch their hands should be all the way out to the side when pushing up so their chest is only a few inches off of the ground.
For another lower back stretch, players lay with their backs on the ground and their arms spread out to the side so they’re in a T-position. They then bring their right knee up and across their body towards their left hand. Then they bring their right hand up in front of their body, as if they’re pointing to the sky, touch their left hand, then return their hands to the starting position. 10 reps of that on each side. (I’ll look for a video of this stretch and update this page when I find it.)
Rolling ⚽
I am a little unsure about the hard science surrounding rolling out muscles but I know players like it so we do it. Using a foam roller, lacrosse ball, tennis ball, or even a soccer ball, players should roll out their glutes, hamstrings, calves, quads, IT bands, and the bottom of their feet.
Functional Activity/Tactical Review 💡
After stretching, I like to spend the next 15 minutes or so reviewing a tactical problem or concept that presented itself in the last match or was discussed in the last training session. Coaches can run players through shadow exercises or passing patterns to explain alternative solutions, and depending on how players are feeling, you can even add defensive pressure.
Fun Game 🎉
Lastly, I think it’s always good to end with a fun game. I’ve used different variations of rondos which are always fun, different juggling games with winners and losers, and simple competitions where players have to exhibit different skills. It’s always good to end these sessions with a laugh after a short review of whichever tactical concepts you presented. I think that goes a long way in abiding by the first two Principles of Good Coaching.
Wrapping Up 🎀
As I stated before there are lots of ways to run a recovery session and lots of variations you can have within them. The big thing is just have the players go through some light exercises to stimulate blood flow and muscle regeneration, teach something that reinforces their proficiency on the field, and do something fun to bring the team together. However, if you prefer to do things differently on your recovery days, let me know! I always want to learn more and I know that players like to mix things up as well!