The days of turning up on game-day and smashing balls at your keeper are long gone. Player preparation (and recovery for that matter) is something that has been heavily ignored in the past. However as Football enters a new era, the idea of a warm-up has become essential at every level of the game we love.

According to the FA’s Audit of injuries in professional football, more than 3,000 injuries are suffered each season in the English Premier League. Each of those injuries keeps a player, on average, out of action for four games. Muscle strains account for 1/3 of these, in which half are accredited as ‘minor’. These ‘minor’ injuries are most likely to be preventable…

So what is a Warm-Up? The following definition provides a brief but adequate summary. ‘Movements and/or movement phrases designed to raise the core body temperature and bring the mind into focus for the activities to follow.’

A warm-up therefore prepares the body for a workout or competition by raising muscle temperature towards an optimum level for performance. On top of that, it can be described as a tool to increase awareness, improve co-ordination, elasticity and contractibility of muscles, all whilst increasing the efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Each of the named presence is essential if a player is to fulfil his potential and perform in a game.

It is therefore clear that a link between a minor muscle injury and a warm-up can be correlated.

Do you think if players went through a Football specific warm-up before every game, the number of these types of injuries would decrease? Of course. However, a systematic warm-up is not only beneficial to a player’s health. It also mentally prepares them for the task ahead, and, if performed as part of a group, encourages togetherness at a crucial time. It is therefore clear that if a team wants to be successful, they should almost certainly partake in an organised list of activities before both sessions and games, thus preventing injuries, mentally preparing players, and forms a sense of how football is a group effort.

With fit, healthy and positive players, what could possibly stop a team from going into a game and getting the result they need? A miss-match in talent obviously. But, it’s 11v11, and with the right preparation, who knows what could happen on any given Saturday?