Your match-day routine
Transcript
Your match starts the night before. Here's the routine. You need boots, shin pads and a water bottle. The night before, pack your kit, eat a normal meal and sleep well. On match day, eat two to three hours before, and drink water. Arrive early, do the team warm-up, then pick one goal you control. Watch. You get there early and jog with a teammate. First, be there before the warm-up starts. Not this. Straight in, cold. Then, do the warm-up your team knows, like FIFA's 11+. Our target is forty five minutes before kick off. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
A match-day routine: pack your kit and sleep well the night before, eat a light meal 2-3 hours before kick-off and drink water, arrive early, do the whole team warm-up, then take one process goal into the game. Normal food and water, no supplements.
Set up
- Boots for the surface
- Shin pads and socks
- A water bottle
How it works
- The night before: pack your kit (boots for the pitch surface, full-size shin pads, knee-length socks and a water bottle, as England Football lists).
- Eat a normal meal and get to bed in time for a full night's sleep: the NHS gives 8-10 hours a night for ages 13-18 (9-12 hours if you are 12 or under). Put phones and screens away for an hour before bed.
- Match day: eat a light meal 2-3 hours before kick-off (the British Dietetic Association suggests a low-fat, high-carbohydrate snack or light meal 2-3 hours before exercise) and drink water through the day.
- Arrive early: our target is 45 minutes before kick-off, or the time your coach asks for.
- Do the whole team warm-up. Then pick one process goal you control, such as "check my shoulder before every pass I receive" (see "One process goal before training"), and review it after the match (see "Review your match").
Coaching points
- Before the warm-up starts. Arrive early enough to settle in and join the whole warm-up, not halfway through it. In one FA Boot Room matchday countdown, players are there 45 minutes before kick-off and warm up from 25 minutes before. Ask your coach for your team's meeting time.
- The warm-up your team knows. Do the warm-up your team uses every week (the FIFA 11+ or your club warm-up, see "The FIFA 11+ warm-up"), from the start. England Football Learning suggests the same arrival time and familiar warm-up activities each week, so everyone knows what is coming.
Not this
Rushing in at kick-off and going straight into the game without the warm-up. Arrive early so you warm up with your team.
Dose
- Our target: 45 minutes
- Before kick-off
Our target: Arrive 45 minutes before kick-off (or when your coach asks), every match (the Football Reach target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
Write your own match-day timeline on a card or phone note, working back from kick-off (meal, leave home, arrive, warm-up), and tick it off each match. After the game, add your review (see "Review your match").
Easier
Start with two habits: pack your kit the night before and arrive in time for the whole warm-up. Add one more step each match (our suggestion).
Safety
- Normal meals and water only: this routine needs no supplements, energy drinks or special diets. If you have a medical condition such as diabetes or a food allergy, follow your own plan from your GP, nurse or dietitian.
- Drink extra when you sweat a lot or it is hot (NHS). If you feel ill or anything hurts, tell your coach and a parent before you play, and never play through pain.
- The warm-up is your coach's: flat ground with space around you, and anyone who feels pain stops and tells the coach.
- A routine is there to help you feel ready, not to add pressure. Nerves before a match are normal. If matches, food or sleep leave you anxious or low for a while, talk to a parent, a coach or someone you trust.
Sources
- England Football Learning - How to create a great matchday experience (routine, arrival, familiar warm-up) (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - Seven must-dos for matchday (opens in a new tab)
- The FA Boot Room - Countdown to kick-off (matchday timeline) (opens in a new tab)
- England Football - Welcome to Football (kit yourself out) (opens in a new tab)
- British Dietetic Association - Sport and exercise nutrition food fact sheet (opens in a new tab)
- NHS - Water, drinks and your health (opens in a new tab)
- NHS Every Mind Matters - How to fall asleep faster and sleep better (opens in a new tab)
- Newcastle Hospitals NHS FT - Sleep for older children (hours by age) (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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