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How practicing yoga can help you become a better footballer

We Make Footballers
27 December 2021

If you were to ask 100 children which part of their training session is the most boring, chances are they’re going to tell you it’s the stretching. When you’re young you don’t really understand why you have to do it, and you can’t even always see what difference it makes. There are times when it can be difficult as a coach to get the group to concentrate on pre and post session stretches too.

That’s why it’s important to explain to children why stretching is so important with both dynamic stretches before a game or training and static stretches afterwards.

Over the years there have been many players and clubs who have looked at cross-functional training and participation in non-football based activities to ultimately improve their performance in the game. One of the key focuses working with players in young age groups is to help them develop transferable skills which can be used later in life no matter which pathway they choose.

As far as extra activities available to improve holistically as a player, yoga is something that has had a much bigger impact on their favourite footballers than they might expect.

A child’s only involvement and exposure with yoga may be that one of their parents does it sometimes, and they’re not really sure why. They may regard it as quiet, non-engaging and even boring! In reality, it’s something that many of the world’s greatest footballers do multiple times a week, so they can play at the highest level for as long as possible.

Football is a sport that can have highly unusual effects on the body. Football is a lopsided sport, so players use each leg for separate tasks. One leg is almost always used for kicking the ball, the other is planted into the ground repeatedly. This means the hip flexor and quadrilaterals are frequently engaged by the kicking leg, but they are not with the planted leg. Most players are now taught to use both feet whilst playing, but many will still have a dominant side. A large focus of modern coaching is to deliver highly technical training to ensure players can develop both legs, however, it is possible that overtime players create imbalances in their body.

As this happens throughout a footballer’s entire career, it can cause imbalances in the spine and hips. Yoga is a way of training muscles that many people don’t even realise they have. For a footballer, this can translate into improved mobility, flexibility, speed, strength, and muscular endurance.

The first footballer to openly champion Yoga was Ryan Giggs, and of course, he went on to play almost 1000 games for Manchester United, retiring at the age of 40. He referred to yoga as his ‘fountain of youth’, admitting that he wouldn’t have come close to that many appearances without it.

Giggs struggled with injuries early in his career, and after being forced out of a Champions League tie because of injury, he decided to do everything he could to maintain and enhance his fitness. His up-take of yoga prompted others within that squad such as Gary Neville and Paul Scholes to join in. Neville managed over 600 appearances for United, playing until he was 35, and Scholes racked up over 700 appearances before his retirement aged 38.

The exposure Ryan Giggs bought to yoga in Manchester didn’t just stay at Old Trafford. Former Manchester City midfielder David Silva ended up using the same yoga instructor as Giggs had during his playing career. Silva became one of City’s all-time greats and is still playing in the Spanish top-flight at the age of 35.

Potentially the two most looked-up-to players in world football, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have both used yoga to keep their bodies at a level where they can play almost 50 games a season, year after year. It’s not just their raw talent that has kept them breaking records into their late 30s, it’s the fact they’ve looked after their bodies impeccably. Their passion for the game, enjoyment of football, drive and dedication are all characteristics that youth players will look up to for generations to come.

Other players who are known to have used yoga regularly include Premier League winner Fabian Delph and World Cup winner Per Mertesacker.
Young children with high footballing aspirations need to understand the benefits that the boring bits at the start of a training session give. Of course, football at a young age is about enjoyment, but effective stretching makes that enjoyment safer. Not only that, it won’t do children any harm to see which world-class footballers have emphasised the benefits of effective stretching during their long careers.

We Make Footballers are all about helping children of all abilities develop in a holistic way with a fun approach to coaching football. Our expert coaches recommend that players try to incorporate stretching into their weekly routine to help them take care of themselves. You can meet our expert coaches at our weekly sessions which take place across the UK in over 50 locations.

Euan Burns is a features editor at Origym Centre of Excellence, which provides high-quality personal training courses and packages.