The importance of fluids in Soccer nutrition has been recognised now for over a decade. Fluids are a vital part of proper soccer nutrition. It’s with virtual certainty that fluids and proper hydration will improve your soccer performance.
First, lets establish and rectify the myth that you only need to think about sports drinks on match day. Fluid replacement is just as important during training as it is during a match. If you are going to use sports drinks during a match, then it’s imperative that you first try them out during training. Why? Simple, some drinks can make you feel bloated and even upset your stomach. Have you ever tried to play with a bloated stomach? Can you possibly play at your peak with an upset stomach?
Another common myth surrounding the soccer fields is that you only need to drink on extremely hot days when you become thirsty. This couldn’t be further from the truth. For starters, you need to drink whatever the temperature. Also if you wait until your thirsty to drink then the chances are you’re already dehydrated and your performance will suffer significantly.
So why do we need to drink?
When training or competing on match day, many metabolic reactions take place in your body to produce the energy required to make your muscles contract. Through these metabolic reactions heat is produced within your body. You might think to yourself so what? But we must remember that our body temperature must be kept relatively stable within certain temperature ranges. When we exercise, the extra heat we produce is released from the body in the form of sweat. Sweating is our bodies defence mechanism and allows our body to somewhat cool down.
The problem with sweating is that it eventually reduces our performance. Medical journals and scientific literature document that a loss of 2% of your body mass in sweat will create a significant reduction in your performance. It’s also worth noting that excessive fluid loss during hot environments can even lead to your death. So don’t be afraid to drink.
During soccer it’s customary to drink fluid during breaks like half time, substitutions or even injuries. Don’t you think its coincidence that when a player goes down injured, all his team mates run to the bench for drinks. When America hosted the world cup I clearly remember watching Greece vs Argentina and the South Americans (staff) throwing little plastic fluid bubbles onto the field from the bench at every stop. Players like Gabriel Batistuta, Diego Maradona, Simeone all the big name players running to them like their lives depending on it. This clearly shows that even the biggest players in the world understand the importance of hydration.
As a player you must aim to drink whenever you can. Little amounts and often is proven to be the best method of hydration.
Although I’ve mentioned sports drinks for hydration, it’s a safe bet to announce to the world that plain water is better than drinking nothing at all. However drinks with small sodium or electrolyte concentrations are the best for soccer hydration. These drinks will not only speed up the rate at which fluids are absorbed, it also increases the amounts of fluids absorbed by the body.
Lets break down the facts a little, a soccer player competes for 90 minutes and performs most of his duties at high intensity. This high intensity level depletes the players carbohydrates rapidly. How do we overcome this? Another good source for soccer players are the drinks that also contain a small concentration of carbohydrates. These drinks can aid in restoring and even protecting your glycogen levels found in your muscles. High carbohydrates drinks can also be great for immediate post training or post game recovery.
To finish up I would like to add this
Never deny the facts and scientific research. All the above has been proven through extensive scientific research.
If you want to succeed in soccer make sure you stay hydrated. Spend a little extra money on the required drinks and resources needed to perform at your peak. The extra money you outlay will pay itself back in performance.
Remember this next time you purchase your sports drinks,
Break even Today and Break the Bank Tomorrow.
Hopefully you can read between the lines.
I think you missed probably the most important and most overlooked part of hydration for young athletes – drinking fluids BEFORE training and matches. All too often players drink little during the day, bring a drink to practice, but wonder why they feel woozy, even though they’re drinking during practice.
Stress the importance of drinking before practices and matches constantly with players.