[Special Discussion] Soccer Part 1: Good sleep and good food. Daily conditioning builds the foundation of the body

[Interview]
Shigeki Matsuda, Professor, Faculty of Education, Shiga University
Yasuko Nakano, registered dietitian, certified sports nutritionist, and chef

Daily physical training is important so that you can store up enough energy for a game

--Since soccer is a sport that can be played all year round, conditioning is even more important. For example, if you are a high school soccer club member (175 cm, 65 kg, male), what should you be aware of in your daily training?

Matsuda:For high school students, it is very important to first build up their body. At 175cm and 65kg, they are a little underweight. Although this is a little older data, the average height of midfielders at the U-20 (under 20) World Championships was roughly the same as the high school students this time, but the average weight was about 71kg. There is a difference of about 5kg, so it seems that they are not yet physically built up. Looking at the data for the French national team's U-17 to U-19 players from 2005, there is almost no difference in height from U-17 to U-19, but weight increases as they get older. At this age, it is important to train hard and increase muscle mass. As muscle mass increases, weight will gradually increase, so if you are not gaining weight at this age, you may need to reconsider your training, nutrition, and rest.

In your daily body building, muscle training and power training are probably the main focus, but as your training increases, conditioning becomes even more important. Your fatigue level will increase, so you should be conscious of nutrition and rest to recover from that.

Nakano:For example, if you burn 1 kcal (kilocalories) in one game, there is no point in adjusting your calorie intake only on game days. It is important to build a body and lifestyle that can store that much energy on a regular basis. To achieve this, it is often said that "the most important thing is to stay in good health."

High school students absolutely do not get enough energy, considering the energy they need to grow and the energy they need for practice and games. Therefore, the biggest challenge is to eat a balanced diet of staple food, main dish, and side dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and to eat the appropriate amount.

-- Soccer requires many different elements, such as power, speed, and agility. What foods and nutrients are appropriate for players, including those that help improve endurance?

Nakano:Basically, it is important to have a foundation for your body that can obtain nutrients from food, so the most important thing is to pay attention to the nutritional balance of your daily meals. The other thing to consider is the timing and amount of intake. Replenishing your energy with a carbohydrate-based snack before practice will also help you recover from fatigue after training. After practice, promptly ingesting carbohydrates and protein through a snack will allow you to make the most of your training.

For example, after studying the nutrients contained in food and their combination with training, you can learn nutrients and energy that cannot be covered by three meals a day.the amountIt is also important to supplement with supplementary foods. In that sense, I think it is important for trainers and nutritionists to work together to teach the players the knowledge. There are many high school players who skip meals or neglect breakfast and lunch and only work hard at practice, so I think it is also necessary to change their mindset.

Matsuda:Of course, soccer practice is important, but that alone will only improve power and agility a little. To improve performance, you need separate training to improve each ability. I recommend plyometrics, a type of jump training, or training using a medicine ball. It was originally developed to improve the jumping power of track and field jumpers, but recently there has been evidence that it also improves power, sprinting, agility, and direction change in soccer players.

If I could sleep well and grow bigger, I'd be better able to compete on the world stage.

--When high school athletes do strength training, what is the appropriate frequency or anything they should be careful about?

Matsuda:As for frequency, I think it's good to do it 2-3 times a week, with 1-2 days off in between. Many athletes start full-scale weight training from high school, so it's important to get used to the movements at first. The movements are quite difficult, whether it's bench press, squat, or deadlift. At first, I think it's best to use less weight and do more repetitions, and then increase the weight once you get used to it.

In addition, there may be teams that strengthen during the off-season and don't train much in-season, but there is a study that looked at how much physical difference there is between training once a week in-season after pre-season training and training every other week. The results showed that sprinting and strength decreased with every other week, so training once a week helps maintain condition. It's better to continue training even in-season.

Nakano:When a scout came to watch a high-level high school soccer team, he said, "Even if a player has good skills, we don't scout players who are thin and don't eat well." He was probably judging the players' attitude towards working on their body in everyday life.

In fact, increasing protein intake and building muscle is something you can do after your height stops growing in your second or third year of high school. If you don't have a solid body base, you won't be able to build the body you want if you only eat protein and do muscle training. Also, even though they are high school students, there are differences between lower and upper grades. In the second and third years, you will gain muscle, but you will also gain body fat, so we may advise you on the balance of nutrients you take in, such as adjusting your protein intake and limiting carbohydrates depending on the type of training you do.

--Please tell us if you have any other advice on daily life habits to improve performance. In the case of high school students, their height increases and their bodies change, and they may not have enough knowledge about how to deal with injuries.

Nakano:It's important to make sure you have enough energy while you're growing. Once your height stops growing 1cm a year, you start thinking about building muscle or losing body fat, so while you're growing, don't think too hard about it, and just try to be conscious of not cutting back on the amount of food you eat.

There are two types of changes that tend to occur in the body when injured. Those who lose weight and those who gain weight. For those who gain weight, all you need to do is focus on the imbalance between the amount of food you eat and the amount you burn. On the other hand, for those who lose weight, we instruct them to get into the habit of measuring their body composition on a regular basis. If you can tell whether they've lost muscle or fat, you can eat in a way that doesn't reduce muscle mass, and they'll be able to return to the game faster.

Matsuda:Regarding height, I think that nutritional intake during junior high and high school is really important. If soccer players get good nutrition and rest during that time, increase their sleep time, and produce growth hormones, they can make their overall physique bigger. I think they will be able to compete on the world stage even more. Genetic factors are thought to play a large role, but in cases where players eat well, sleep well, eat a lot of food, and take in a lot of calcium, they tend to be taller. I think how well they grow depends on how well they get nutrition and rest during this period.

Nakano:Knowledge about nutrition and training is also important, but at around high school age, it's true that the players who eat well, sleep well, and exercise a lot are the ones who do well (laughs).

In the first part, we introduced things to be careful about in terms of your daily lifestyle habits, attitude towards training, and diet.

In the second part, we will suggest conditioning that will maximize performance before the match, as well as exemplary meal menus that will provide the necessary amount of energy and nutrients for the day.

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