Stretching is a big help at SoccerFit (by Cate Cahill Guest Blogger)

Soccer involves a lot of powerful and unique movements. Whether jumping for a header, changing direction or sudden sprints, the body is constantly moving in a way that is potentially damaging to muscles if the body has not been properly conditioned. This is why we take the time to warm up for SoccerFit.

An important part of the warm up is stretching. This is when we loosen stiff muscles and try to expose them to movement. Recent studies have favoured dynamic stretching over static stretching as an effective preventative to injury for sports that involve powerful movements.

Dynamic stretching involves movement whereas static stretching is standing still, typically, and leaning into stretches. For soccer some of the best dynamic stretches involve skipping (for calf muscles), ankle rotations, gentle changes of direction while jogging, swinging or kicking the legs from small arcs and gradually increasing, swinging legs sideways, walking lunges (hamstrings, hip flexors), running with high knees, running with butt kicks, and not to forget the rest of the body - arm circles, body rotations, neck circles ad so on.

Static stretches still have a place especially for relaxing the muscles. They should always be done when the body is warmed up. They are useful for the end of training or after a game. Some people prefer a mix of static and dynamic stretches before exercise. If it works for you...!

The beauty of Dynamic Stretching is that it can be incorporated into the warm up phase, keeping constant movement of the body, without having to stop completely to stretch. Dynamic Stretching is the most effective "wake up" for muscles before more intensive exercise and soccer games.

(Picture SoccerFit Randwick - Ankle Circles)

Passing to a Player on the Run (by Cate Cahill Guest Blogger)

If you are passing to an open player who is moving into an open space, it is crucial to play the ball in front of her. If you play it toward where her feet are at the moment you strike the ball, by the time the ball gets to her a second or two later it will be behind her.

So play the ball ahead of the player on the move. The faster she is moving, the further ahead she will need the ball to be. Always try to play a ball so that the player receiving it will not have to break or adjust her stride pattern to receive the pass.

Two-Touch Soccer – great for fitness and teamplay (by Cate Cahill guest blogger)

Towards the end of a SoccerFit fitness workout session, we divide up for the SoccerFit game experience. Soccer drills are good for fitness, and learning skills, but the game experience is where there is some great fitness and team interaction to be had. Applying and practicing soccer skills in "real time" in the game experience also creates a great sense of achievement where we can put what we've learned into practice to further enjoy the flow of the soccer game.

SoccerFit games are devised to be as non contact as possible. One of the ways to do this is to keep the ball moving by limiting the number of "touches" allowed on the ball by any player. A 'touch' is any contact that a player makes with the ball whether a kicked pass or a contact used to control the football. SoccerFit instructors enforce a 'two touch' rule and this very effectively eliminates the need for tackles to change possession of the ball. In an interesting way, it also changes the way that more experienced players influence the game by ensuring that the ball is shared by everyone. If a player touches more than twice, then the ball is turned over with a free kick to the other team.

Two-touch and other restrictions on a game are not just a SoccerFit initiative - in fact they form they basis for training for football teams from top professionals to the amateur clubs around the world.

So why is two-touch soccer an important way to boost fitness and teamplay?

It's simple – two-touch encourages players to 'receive-pass-and-move'. That is, to receive the ball (with a controlling touch), pass the ball (a second touch) and move into space in the hope of receiving the ball again. This continuous movement approach gives all participants an excellent fitness workout as well as teaching them how to work as a team to move the ball as rapidly as possible around the playing area.

Two-touch also teaches players to have vision on the field. It forces them to be clever about where they position themselves and to be ready to respond to help other team-members. It also motivates them to be prepared to pass the ball at the earliest time and teaches them the crucial importance of the first, or controlling, touch. Other key aspects of two-touch include:

· The ability to control the ball at first touch, and its placement subsequent to that touch dictates how the ball will be played.

· Off the ball the supporting players know they need to move quickly into a position of support.

· Decision making that players learn should include whether to pass to the feet of a player or pass into space beyond a running team mate.

It's the flow of the game around the field that creates the beauty of soccer - players linking together as a team to move a spherical object creatively and ingeniously to achieve the ultimate - scoring a goal. Two-touch soccer training promotes and teaches this flow.

Matildas' Joy, Foster's Angst

Well Done Matildas (Australian Womens' World Cup Team '07)

Australian soccer storms on to the global stage yet again. What an excellent high-quality game of football that was between Norway and Australia's Matildas yesterday.

Norway looked so solid in the first half after a well-worked goal gave them the lead just five minutes into the game. Australia battled but didn't look to have the 'something extra' that would get them on the score-sheet.

But that all changed in the second half. There had been much pre-match talk of the 'impact players' that the manager had at his disposal on the bench - Lisa De Vanna and Sarah Walsh. Their inclusion in the second half transformed the Australians from likely valiant losers to real contenders, but the agonising wait for an equaliser took until 9 minutes from full-time. A superb mid-range effort from Lisa De Vanna left the keeper with no chance after dazzling the Norwegian defence with her blistering pace and neat footwork. It was no mean achievement as the Norwegians had up to that point defended in numbers and closed down space very efficiently within the 18-yard area.

Others to impress were Garriock and McCallum - two skillful players with a tremendous work rate and play-making instincts. The team as a whole have a ring of confidence that suggests they will not be intimidated by some of the bigger names in the tournament. One more point from the group and they are through to the knockout stages. Here's hoping...

Ouch!!! Foster dishes it to Arnold

With all the euphoria surrounding the Matildas, spare a thought for ex-Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, who yesterday copped a savage appraisal of his abilities as an international coach from SBS pundit Craig Foster (Sydney Morning Herald Sun 16th Sept - http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/arnold-not-worthy-of-the-socceroos/2007/09/15/1189277042479.html ). Despite the poor performance of the Socceroos in the recent Asian Cup, the general consensus appeared to be that Arnold had contended well with all of the peculiar difficulties associated with being the Aussie manager keeping the seat warm for whatever big gun from Europe would eventually swoop in to save the day (as Guus Hiddink did last year).

Not so, according to Foster. Amongst his many ills, Foster appears to suggest that Arnold was generally out of his depth, was off-side with the players and didn't have the technical or tactical nous to react to unfamiliar situations.

Fair enough, Foster is wholly entitled to that view, but, I find it a curious thing to see such a high-profile soccer spokesperson going so publicly on record to dismiss Arnold's managerial credentials. One can admire Foster telling it like he sees it, but what is his objective with such vehement criticism, especially now that Arnold is officially no longer in the job?

Are we on the cusp of yet another ding-dong SBS/Socceroo coach spat a la Andrew Orsatti and Frank Farina?

It certainly makes for lively reading? Australian soccer is in an interesting and dynamic place right now!

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