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Food for footy
Wednesday, 15 September 2004.
You can have all the foot skills in the world but without the proper nutritional support you won’t be as fit as you can be and your performances will suffer.
You won’t be able to train as hard or as long, so you won’t improve your play, and during games you run the risk of getting tired.How you perform during games and training depends on what you eat and drink before, during and after each match or session.
Here are some of the essential nutrients young footballers need to be eating, and which foods they’re found in.
| Nutrient |
Found in |
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Simple carbohydrates
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Sweets, cakes, jam
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Complex carbohydrates
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Rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, cereals, fruit
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Saturated fats
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Butter, margarine, cheese, pasties
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Unsaturated fats
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Sunflower oil, salmon, nuts
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Protein
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Milk, chicken, eggs, fish, yoghurt
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Vitamins and minerals
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Fruit, vegetables, dairy products
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Fiber
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Seeds, peas, beans
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Water
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Foods, drinks, formulated sports drinks
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It’s important to eat a range of these foods.
- Meat and meat alternatives - meat, fish, eggs, beans and nuts
- Vegetables and fruit - root and leafy vegetables, salads, apples, oranges, bananas
- Dairy products - milk, cheese, yoghurt
- Starchy foods - bread and rolls, pasta, rice, cereals, potatoes
Footballers need energy, and that’s most commonly found in carbohydrate. Now, in a healthy diet, 55-60% of it should come from carbohydrate, but for footballers, it’s even higher - as much as 70%.
Of course, players need other nutrients too and it’s not easy to get the perfect intake of carbohydrate from eating a regular three meals a day. The way to do it is by snacking - snacks play a crucial role in a footy player’s diet, especially if eaten immediately after training or a match. That’s when the energy stores in the muscles which have just been working are best refuelled.
Snack attack! These snacks are high in Carbohydrate but low in fat:
Banana, jam or honey sandwiches
Muesli bars
Fruit cake, currant buns, scones, American muffins
Crumpets, bagels, English muffins, scotch pancakes
rusks and cereal
Jelly cubes
Jaffa cakes,
Low fat rice pudding, bread pudding
Yogurts and milkshakes
Fruit and dried fruit
We’ve done good food and bad food, and we’ve looked at what snacks can boost the body during and after a match or training session. Now lets look at what you should drink.
The water lost from the body during sweating needs to be replaced to stop you getting tired quickly, and also speed up the recovery process – that means feeling fitter and sharper a lot sooner.
These checks will help players:
- Weight – 1kg of weight lost during a training session is equal to 1 liter of fluid lost.
- The ‘pee test’ – If your urine is dark colored, it means you need to have a drink. Lots of trips to the toilet, producing lots of clear colored urine, shows you’ve taken on enough fluid.
- Thirst – Being thirsty is an unreliable indicator of when you need to have a drink. If you’re thirsty, you’re actually already partly dehydrated so if you finish a training session and you’re gasping it’s a giveaway you haven’t taken enough fluid on board.
What's best to drink?
For footballers, the best fluid to drink is a diluted carbohydrate/electrolyte solution. In plain English, that’s the kind of stuff you’ll find in stuff in energy drinks like Gatorade.
When should I drink?
Ideally, it’s best to drink before, during and after a training session, as well as drinking frequently during a match.
How much should I drink?
Only a little – but often. If you drink too much too quickly, you run the risk of getting a stomach upset.
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PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!
Practicing these moves at home is the only way to get better. They are vital to the game, and need to be continually practiced to become proficient.
Single Lunge
AVI Clip of the Single Lunge
The lunge is a very versatile move that works standing still or at a dead run. Start dribbling the ball forward then abruptly lunge (take a long deep step) with your left foot, to the left of the ball. Plant your left foot hard and take the ball back to the right with the outside of the right foot, on the diagonal. Accelerate away.
KEY POINTS: This move is the backbone of soccer feints. (In fact the "scissors", the "Rivolino", the "Matthews" and the fake kicks are all "lunge-type" moves.) Watch a Premier League game sometime to identify different kinds of moves, and the lunge (or variations on the lunge) will be the most common move by far. For instance, I don't think I have ever seen Michael Owen do any kind of "under the leg" or "spinning" fakes. He simply "faked" left, went to the right with the outside of his foot - and scored. That's the lunge at it's best. Of course it helps to have breakaway speed like Owen, but if you "explode" out of the fake, you will find space.
Double Lunge
AVI Clip of the Double Lunge
Once
the defenders catch on to the "lunge left - go right" concept, they
will not be fooled as often. Then it's time for an occasional "double
lunge". Here instead of lunging left and then taking the ball to the
right you lunge both directions and then "go". So, lunge left followed
by a big step (lunge) to the right with the right foot, but then take
the ball back to the left, with the outside of the left foot.
Accelerate away.
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Pullback "V" or "Puskas"
AVI Clip of the Pullback "V"
Start
with the ball between your feet. Begin with a rapid movement with your
right foot to the top of the ball and stop briefly with your cleats on
top. This motion should make it appear like you are passing the ball,
or taking the ball to your left side, across your body. Instead, keep
your weight on your left foot and "scrape" from the inside to the
outside with your right foot. This gets the ball rolling back to your
right. Then turn your hips to the right and touch it with the inside of
the right foot to deflect it off to the right on a diagonal. Repeat
with the right foot several times and then switch to the left.
Accelerate Away!
KEY POINTS: The
key to this move is turning your hips to follow the ball as you roll it
to the outside and slightly behind. This allows you to take control of
it with the inside of your foot and proceed in a new direction. The
move works best when the defender "bites" on the fake kick motion and
lunges towards the ball only to find that you have pulled it back and
gone away.
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Simple "L"
AVI Clip of the Simple "L"
This
is the simple pullback of the ball with the sole of the right foot and
then a push outside with the outside of that right foot. This is very
similar to the "Fake Kick Push Outside" as described below. Accelerate!
KEY POINTS: The
"backwards L" move takes some practice to pull off at game speed, but
it is well worth it, since it provides an instant change in direction
while shielding the ball, as well. If the defender "bites" on the fake
kick, he nearly falls out of his cleats trying to cover the sudden
change in direction after the move underneath the leg.
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