When we enrolled our 4-year-old son in soccer this fall, we had no idea it would be so” intense.
The coaches kneel before the parents at the beginning of every practice and explain drills and remind us to keep the kids hydrated because they’re going to be running. A lot.
I sit on pins and needles ““ trying to keep myself from covering my eyes ““ as the coaches tell the kids to do 20 toe touches (But he just learned how to count to 20!) and time them as they run around the field (It’s OK that he thinks he won because he did it in 50 seconds and the other kid did it in 20, right?).
Next, the kids are instructed to lie on the ground and do pushups, which is” funny.
But even as I laugh and cringe inwardly through every minute of every hour-and-15-minute-long soccer practice (Why are the practices more than an hour long?), I remind myself that the exercise and discipline are good for my son (as long as he likes it), as is learning the value of stretching.
Dr. Matthew Enzweiler, a podiatrist with St. Elizabeth Physicians, agrees that stretching is very important, at a very young age. “Because we’re starting kids so young with athletic activities, it’s never too early to educate them on good stretching programs,” he said.
Enzweiler adds that he often sees kids with pain in their muscles and tendons, which can be contributed to tightness, particularly with kids who are very active in sports. “Muscles and tendons are pulling on bones with growth plates,” he said. “They’re very malleable, so stretching is a must.”
It’s important to know the difference between two stretching exercises, Enzweiler advises ““ the dynamic warm-up and the static stretch ““ so you can teach your kids to use them appropriately.
A dynamic warm-up is a series of movements performed through the length of a muscle without holding for a prolonged period of time. These movements should be used as a warm-up to exercise.
Examples include deep lunges with rotations ““ rotating the upper body from side to side while in the lunge position ““ and “dipping birds” ““ bending forward at the waist and alternating hand to foot without bending the knee.
A static stretch is a position held for a prolonged period of time, either to increase the length of soft tissue or the flexibility of a specific muscle. Static stretches should be done as a cool-down after exercise, in between exercises, or if your child has an injury.
Some examples include the standing hamstring stretch ““ resting one foot on a bench or step while standing and slowly leaning forward ““ and the sunrise stretch ““ crossing one foot over the other while standing.
Now if only I could figure out which category my son’s sorry excuse for a pushup falls into”
