Flexibility refers to the ability to bend and move easily without injury or damage. Flexibility of muscles and ligaments is integral to overall athletic fitness because it improves range of motion, allowing for an athlete to throw, kick, jump, run, or swing with more strength, power, and speed. Athletes who lack flexibility tend to have an increased risk of injury and a decreased ability to execute fundamental athletic movements, thereby compromising their overall performance. Athletes who have flexibility tend to perform basic athletic functions and skills better than those who lack it.
Flexibility plays an important role in many aspects of sport. Flexibility allows football players the ability to bend and stretch in the many ways required to get into a proper stance, tackle, block, throw, catch, and run in multiple directions. Without flexibility, we could not become fit or execute many basic football techniques, yet we often glance over this important developmental aspect, or sometimes ignore it all together.
During childhood, most physically active kids develop the flexibility they need naturally. That said, early flexibility training helps young athletes develop good habits that will benefit them once they reach adolescence. It's a good idea to begin flexibility drills when children are younger and have a relatively easy time executing them. During their teenage years, kids begin to lose their natural flexibility and have a more difficult time with beginning flexibility training.
The incorporation of proper warm-ups into an athlete's overall training regimen provides an optimal opportunity to enhance performance. Without flexibility, athletes cannot reach their full potential in any area of athletic fitness. For example, when training athletes to improve in their movements for any field or court sport, you would not place a singular focus on linear speed and movement. Rather, you would spend time on multiple-direction speed and agility, with flexibility being integral to the athlete's successful execution of the skill. The suppleness required to efficiently stop, go, and change direction is enhanced through flexibility training.
The three main stages in which flexibility is included in youth athletics are the initial warm-up, the increase in overall range of motion, and the cool-down. Let's look at each of these stages in detail.
Warming Up
Before the start of any practice, game, or activity that involves athletic movement it's important to slowly heat the body up and begin to generate energy throughout the muscles. Getting the blood circulating to all the major muscle groups does this. Generally kids arrive at a practice or game after either sitting around all day or just getting out of bed in the morning. A proper warm-up before activity allows muscles to wake up and get ready for movement. Warming up is also a great way to get athletes quickly into the right state of mind for the start of an activity, practice, or game. In addition, a proper warm-up assists in the prevention of injuries by working out the stiffness that might have occurred throughout the day or over night.
When they hear the phrase "warming up," many people think of stretching, but this is incorrect and outdated. In fact, athletes should not begin stretching before they have adequately warmed up. To begin to increase flexibility, athletes must first get their circulation flowing throughout their body by raising their body temperature. The warm-up should begin with an emphasis on large muscle groups (thighs, hips, back, and shoulders) followed by a progression to the smaller muscle groups specific to football. The focus is on the larger muscle groups at first because they require more energy to warm up. The initial period of warming up should run no longer than 8 to 10 minutes. When done properly-with limited time standing around-there's usually no need to extend a warm-up beyond 10 minutes. You don't want to tire athletes before the actual activity begins.
You want to gain your athletes' interest from the start, so the warm-up period should be fun. If your athletes seem sluggish or stubborn about warming up, try disguising the warm-up routine. For instance, you might design creative obstacle courses that are a little different each time. By changing the looks of your warm-up routine, you'll help your kids look forward to new challenges, which keeps things from getting stale. The obstacle course should emphasize the large muscle groups and is best used as the first activity in a warm-up because it immediately engages athletes and starts the training session on a positive note. When designing your obstacle course, try to incorporate all the following movements.
*Stepping over. These movements energize the thighs and hip flexors. You'll need an agility ladder, hurdles 6 inches and 12 inches high (6 of each), or bleacher stairs. Laid flat on the ground, the agility ladder is used to get your athletes' legs moving. Athletes place each foot quickly into every space as they progress "up" the ladder. The 6-inch and 12-inch hurdles are set up about three feet apart for athletes to leap over, with the front leg driving forward. If low hurdles aren't available, set up your obstacle course close to a set of bleacher stairs. Climbing stairs replicates the movement you want. Be sure that athletes drive each leg forward when climbing the stairs or leaping over the hurdles.
*Moving laterally. Moving side-to-side replicates athletic movement, stretches out the groin, and loosens the ankles. Again, use an agility ladder, this time having kids execute lateral movements from left to right and then right to left, placing one foot in each square of the ladder. You might eventually add a tennis ball, basketball, or baseball and ask athletes to toss the ball back and forth as they move through the ladder. You might also use agility balls (odd-shaped balls with six knobs that make balls bounce in unpredictable directions) to add fun and an extra challenge once kids start to find this segment of the obstacle course too easy. The erratic bounces of the balls keep athletes on their toes as they try to catch balls bounced to them as they move across the ladder.
*Moving low and under. Remember that the reason you incorporate a warm-up at the start of a workout, practice, or game is to wake up the major muscle groups and get the circulation flowing to these areas; you want these muscles to be prepared to perform when called on in a particular drill or activity. Low-and-under movements get thighs, back, hip flexors, and shoulder muscles firing. If available, include four to six adjustable track hurdles in your obstacle course. Instead of using these hurdles for leaping over, use them to make athletes bend and go under. If hurdles are unavailable, have someone hold a rope or stick at varying heights for athletes to pass under.
*Jumping. Jumps energize the ankles, hip flexors, and thighs. Use six-inch hurdles set up about three feet apart in a straight line. Athletes perform consecutive jumps with both feet landing simultaneously. Each time feet hit the ground, athletes immediately jump, without stopping, over the next hurdle until they have jumped over all six. Watch closely and remind athletes to land and explode off the balls of their feet.
*Running. A run gets the blood flowing to the heart and muscles. Traditionally a warm-up includes running for an extended period of time or conducting a series of short wind sprints. Because running is an overused warm-up technique, incorporate a fun-chasing element as part of the obstacle course. Place three Frisbees at one area of the course that has about 30 yards of open space in which six athletes can run. As athletes go through the obstacle course in assigned pairs and arrive at this station, one partner (A) takes a Frisbee and tosses it downfield. The other partner (B) chases and attempts to catch the Frisbee before it hits the ground, while A also runs downfield 30 yards and waits for B to catch or retrieve the Frisbee and toss it upfield for A to catch or retrieve. Both athletes end at the original spot where the exercise began and repeat it twice before continuing to the next obstacle course element.
*Tossing. Tosses engage and loosen the shoulder, stomach, and hip muscles. Tossing is best executed with a two-pound medicine ball for 8- and 9-year-olds or a four-pound medicine ball for 10- to 14-year-olds. Partners stand about nine feet apart from one another. Athletes gently toss the ball back and forth three times with both hands, similar to a basketball push-pass. They then toss the ball back and forth another three times using an overhead pass (the ball is placed behind the head and thrown gently while taking one step toward the partner and extending the arms), followed by three underhand tosses (starting from between the legs), and concluding with two tosses from each side of the body to the partner (stand with right side of the body facing partner, arms extended back; take a short step toward partner and toss ball; repeat on the other side) before moving to the next obstacle element.
*Tumbling and rolling. Tumbling helps athletes become more aware of their body and their control. On a tumbling mat or soft surface about six to eight feet in length, have athletes perform one forward tumble and then immediately get to their feet and sprint five yards to a cone on their right. They then return to the mat and repeat, this time running to a cone five yards away on their left. Repeat again with athletes rolling on their right side down the mat, getting to their feet and sprinting to the cone on their right, and then rolling on their left and sprinting to the cone on their left
Obstacle courses are effective warm-ups for any sport. Execute each warm-up session as a course that they must complete three times at a comfortable pace. Remember that the objective is not to tire them out but to energize them, increase their overall flexibility, and warm up their muscles by getting their blood flowing.
Position Specific Warm-Ups:
After warming up the large muscles, your athletes should also do football-specific warm-ups in their particular positions. This warm-up, though often overlooked, is vital to an athlete's performance. If an athlete begins a training session or competition by immediately executing skills and techniques without first introducing the body to the movements that make up the skill or technique, risk of injury increases and overall movement potential is compromised.
During the sport-specific warm-up, athletes prepare for a game or practice by replicating the movements they'll be performing on the field. For example, defensive backs should perform a routine that mimics all the movements that might occur in the field. Properly running backwards, pivoting on the correct foot and quickly exploding in different directions. The first step of this warm-up should be first walked through, then jogged, and then progressed from half to full speed. These drills should be done first without a ball and then with a ball thrown in their direction. Continue the warm-up by combining the wide receiver warm-up drills with the d-backs, by having them run actual patterns paired with d-backs covering and following their routes without a ball. After several minutes combine the quarterbacks with the receivers and d-backs and have them throw passes. All three phases of this position specific warm-up can be completed within a total of 15 minutes.
