With the fall 2007 season winding down for most younger teams, and the high school seasons ending in early November, several clubs teams are preparing to travel to tournaments this winter.  Many of the states top club teams will travel to Memphis, Raleigh, and Orlando to participate in some of the nations elite youth tournaments over the next two months.

Having been with Kentucky Youth Soccer for the last 7 years, I have been able to experience the rapid growth of tournaments in Kentucky and around the country.  Today, you can find a tournament to attend every weekend of the fall and spring season from Maryland to California and anywhere in between.  And now, more than ever before, teams are participating in tournaments as a method of measuring their team’s success.

This newsletter will focus on some lesson plans and articles to help prepare your teams’ for their upcoming tournaments.  There are several components of the game to consider when preparing for a tournament as well as recovering from a tournament that most coaches probably don’t consider.  Pre-Game Nutrition, Pre-tournament training, post-tournament recovery training, in-tournament preparations, etc… can all have a major impact on how your team competes throughout a tournament weekend.  Hopefully this will give you some ideas of ways to give your teams that extra edge.

Best of luck to all teams traveling to tournaments over the next two months!  Represent your clubs and the state of Kentucky well!