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Chapter Game Day

“Injury prevention starts with your warm- up. It’s always so important to get your muscles ready. It’s a combination of running exercises, agility and balance exercises, and it really helps you get the full warm-up before you go out there and play 100 percent with your friends or teammates.”

Generally speaking, athletes like structure. They are used to following a set routine, especially on game days. It is a good idea to develop and practice good habits that will have you prepared to perform your best when it is time to kick off. Be Well Rested The first step in game day preparation happens the night before. Planning to get plenty of sleep is one of the most important steps a soccer player can take to be well prepared to play a match. Ideally, players should sleep about eight solid hours the night before a match, but that should be part of a long-term pattern of healthy sleep habits. Getting four hours of sleep six nights a week and then getting eight the night before playing defeats the purpose. In this scenario, the body will still be tired. Getting regular sleep should be an ongoing practice that includes pre-match nights. Be Well Fed When players wake up on game day after a good night’s sleep, it is time for breakfast. What and how much to eat at each meal can vary depending on the time of the match. The idea is to give the body the proper fuel to ensure players’ legs still have plenty of

– Alex Morgan, U.S. Olympic and World Cup champion

Starting game day with the proper fuel will help ensure your legs have energy to spare late in the second half. 7