Dynamic Football Warmup

1. Initial Warm up (football) ( this part ~5 to 10 minutes)
Purpose
Increase heart rate and muscle temperature
Increase range of motion
Sharpen handling and kicking skills and get them ready for use
Increase alertness and awareness of teammates
Sample
Players move randomly around trainer using a basic skill e.g. solo and handpass.
Change the movement frequently.
Solo left then right hand hand-pass,
Switch feet …Switch hands
Two solos one left then one right then pass.
Solo and roll the ball for lift.
Handpass right catch, left switch hands
Throw and catch.
Now settle to one movement e.g. solo and handpass
Introduce trigger words during the movement ( one or two at a time )
Drop..Player with the ball drops to the ground while keeping hold of the ball, players without the ball go
to him in support and call for the ball, player gets up fast.. then carry on with basic movements
Hunt Player with the ball tries to keep it players without the ball hunt him down and dispossess him
Reset ..to restore to normal movement after hunt
Shoot player with the ball shoots for a point , players without the ball stops him.
After each trigger movement get back to normal movement promptly.
Wide Players continue the movement but widen the area used
Close Players continue the movement but reduce the area used
Burn( fast)… speed up the basic movements to high pace and alertness ( keep this short < 10 secs)
Cool (slow).. slow down the movements.
Notes :
It’s not prescriptive ..make your own changes
Watch for safe drop .
Encourage fast support.
After a player releases the ball encourage him/her to look for another pass
Compliment with kicking and tackling warm up
Have water available
Allow players to step out if they feel tightness or injury
Observe their movements ( another mentor if available) to assess game readiness
Dynamic football warm up
Pat Naughton
June 2014