• Drink water all day, not just the hour before practice.  Bring two water bottles to every practice.
• No solid food two hours before practice.  Players should consume about 400 calories two hours before practice or games, and then only water until practice.
• If practice is more than 90 minutes, players should bring a light snack to eat during breaks.  This can be a sports bar or a bagel.  Many girls are resistant to eating while training, but this is the only way to ensure they can train at the pace required; they have to replace the calories they are burning.
• If possible, eat a light meal 30 minutes following training.  The body is most receptive to calorie replacement the first few minutes following activity, so it is important to get the correct type of calories in your body quickly.
• All players should have a daily flexibility routine stretching for a minimum of 10 minutes daily.  The team does a short routine tonight following practices, but players need more flexibility than we will have time for on the field and it needs to happen everyday - not just on practice days.

The following exercises are designed to supplement the players training throughout the season. The individual plan is modular and all three blocks comprise a total body workout. If a player is unable to attend practice then all three blocks should be done no less than three times per week. If a player needs additional work in a specific area then that particular block should be incorporated into her individual routine. Block 3 should be done daily or as often as possible.  If required the coaches can work individually with a player and parent to tailor a specific training plan.

Day One (Speed Work) 25 minutes
 

            -Warm up: 5 minutes speed rope

            - 6 x 100 meter sprints

            - Flexibility (5 minutes)

Day Two (Strength) 25 minutes

- Warm up: 5 minutes speed rope

-  Circuit Drill (3 to 5 sets with no rest between exercises and 1 minute rest between circuits

o       Hindu Squats 20 reps

o       Hindu push ups 20 reps

o       Crunches 50 reps

o       Leg raises 25 reps

-  Flexibility (5 minutes)

Day Three (Endurance) 35 minutes

-  Warm up: 10 minutes speed rope

-  Jog 20 minutes immediately following speed rope

-  Flexibility

From Coach Walters - April 18th, 2008 - Re: Pre-game / pre-practice food

We’ve talked a lot about post-practice fueling and now we need to turn our attention to the pre-game/practice food.  The LAST solid food the girls should consume prior to training or competing should be 2 hours prior to start.  Players need about a 350 calorie snack in the form of a bagel w/cream cheese or peanut butter, fruit, oatmeal, or a power bar of some sort (Nutri-Grain Bars are okay) and fruit juice.  Think carbohydrates with some fat when you are looking for a pre-workout snack.  Fluids are okay, but at one hour prior and only plain water. Notice what is absent from the list are cheeseburgers, pizza, pasta, tuna sandwiches etc.  These are acceptable foods (in moderation, except for the tuna; eat all you want) post game or practice, but NOT before.  It takes an unbelievably long time for heavy foods to digest and we are training very hard, not to mention when it gets warmer in the spring, summer or early fall.  Some of the girls have had upset stomachs at practice and think we are training too hard when in fact it is their stomachs rebelling against the two pound brick it is carrying. 

Players should go into half-time at a match slightly hungry and replenish what they’ve burned by nibbling on a bar or bagel and drinking a sports drink; no gut bombs for the second half.  If they are properly fueled and hydrated, the weather will have minimal effect on their performance.