The TACTICAL PLAN - ANOTHER PRE-GAME SWOT APPROACH IN SOCCER PLAY
Abstract
Soccer coaches, fitness professionals, and athletic trainers have long believed and taught that sportswould keep them out of the doctor’s office. Are they right? Researchers recently began to examine how muscles respond to stretching and how this relates to exercise performance and injury risk. Many studies found that reaction time, movement time, and balance were reduced after 20 minutes of standard stretching before exercise. At the elite level, even the smallest reductions in these important variables can have a significant effect on soccer players; therefore, stretching before training is vital.Consequently, many athletes experience feelings of guilt and regret, perceiving a need for more frequent stretching, particularly due to variations in muscle development at the age of 16. These findings suggest that it may be time to update the old rules about stretching. Moreover, this article emphasises that a suitable warm-up program resolves the problem when an appropriate muscle-stretching workout is performed, thereby strengthening muscle flexibility.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Sports Performance and Training
Sports injuries and prevention
Sport Psychology and Performance
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Annals of Dunarea de Jos University of Galati Fascicle XV Physical Education and Sport Management
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 172–182
- Publication date
- 21 January 2026
- Language
- EN