|
The Chewing Gum Principle - Cool down and warm-up are important!
All practices must include 5-10 minutes of warm-up and 5-10 minutes of cool down.
Warm-up and cool down times may need to be increased based on the physical demands made on the players and the environmental conditions in which they are competing.
 Warm ups in the beginning should be "dynamic".
"Static" stretching should be used at the end.
Dynamic movements are those with movement such as lunges or "high knees." These movements stretch one muscle group while increasing the heart rate, which increases blood flow to the muscles, which prepare an athlete for activity.
Static stretches increase the range of motion after the activity is completed
Think of a piece of gum in your car in the winter, you chew on it or stretch it out and it breaks, Think of the same piece of gum in the sun, when you chew it or stretch it, it expands easily. Athletes’ muscles are the same way. Muscles have to be warm to effectively stretch, that is why coaches should use dynamic in the beginning and static at the end.
The downloadable workbook from the Level 2 online course contains a list of dynamic stretches. The static stretching performed at the end of practice should include hamstring stretch, quad stretch, and typical static stretches can be utilized. There are many books and resources that can help you develop your own static stretch routine.
This tip was excerpted from the US Lacrosse CEP Level 2 online course and was contributed by Drew Bodette, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is currently an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach on staff at the Air Force Academy. We really like the videos of warm up exercises on their web site: http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/ot/afa-strength-conditioning.html.
Course Requirements
Browser: Internet Explorer (5.5 or higher), Mozilla Firefox
Plug-ins: Macromedia Flash, QuickTime
Note for Apple/Mac users: The online course works best with Interent Explorer. It is not compatible with Safari, however, many Apple users have been able to access the course by downloading the Mozilla Firefox browser.
Please report technical difficulties by e-mail to support@uslcourses.com.
(Please note that this is not a coaching certification or licensing program; the course is designed as an educational resource and is one of several components for Level 1 certification).
Purchase Online Course Gift Cards
Give the gift of coaching! Click here to download an order form to purchase gift cards good for free or discounted access to the boys' or girls' online course. For every 10 cards ordered you get one card free!
Online Course Gift Cards (PDF)
| 
