I have developed a certain philosophy that I feel has been very beneficial in keeping my athletes healthy through the long, hot sessions of August.

First, in talking with many coaches and trainers over the years, they have repeatedly told me that we spend more time stretching than the vast majority of programs. I have found that this has produced major benefits in terms of injury prevention. Here is an overview of our approach:

1. Begin with ten minutes of slow jogging, directing the players to pick up the pace slightly every two to three minutes. Finish with two laps of backpedaling. By doing this we make sure the players’ muscles are sufficiently warmed up before stretching. The back peddling helps to loosen up the calf muscles.
2. Our stretching program follows these rules: (Each coach has their own stretches they like to use-so I will simply share our philosophy-it can be applied to any stretching series.)
   • Each stretch is held for 30 seconds and done twice.
   • Begin by stretching the lower back and quadriceps, then the hamstrings and abdomen. This loosens up the core strength area first, allowing the athlete to stretch the rest of the muscles groups more freely since the back is already loose.
   • Progress to the calves, arms, and neck in that order.
   • Finish by using therabands (or some other elastic band material) to stretch the ankle area. We have great success in preventing ankle sprains by doing this on a daily basis. The idea is to lengthen the structures around the ankle joint, producing more flexibility. Often, we have players come down on their ankle in a way that would normally produce at least a mild sprain; but due to increased flexibility, they continue injury free.
3. The total time needed is about 45 mins. (Depending on how quickly the players go from one stretch to another-we stress moving on to the next stretch very quickly without chatting-they have plenty of time to chat while stretching)
4. A senior runs the stretching with a stopwatch. This ensures the correct time is spent on each stretch and takes away the need for the players counting aloud. They like that & I feel I can get more done during this time without the constant counting; I can discuss something with a player or assistant coach much easier and also think more clearly myself when a "challenge" arises that must be solved quickly before the actual practice begins.
5. The team goes through the entire stretching process again at home each night. Sure, not all will comply; however, when someone complains of being overly sore, this is always my first question. Most get the idea quickly that it is better to do the voluntary stretching at home than endure the increased pain during the next practice.
6. When school begins and practice time is shortened, we cut back to 15 seconds, twice. This is a sufficient amount of time once your team reaches playing shape and the amount of work they do per day is cut back.

RATIONALE:

Often I am asked how I get enough done with my team each day when so much time is spent stretching. During the pre-season, before school begins we go four hours a day. This gives us a full three hours to condition and practice; which I feel is plenty.

I also feel it is better to keep the players on the court, rather than on the sides with an injury. Sure, you can go four hours and use only fifteen minutes of it for stretching; but by the time you reach the middle of the second week you’re very likely to have players missing time with one of the typical injuries that always seem to "pop up" as you work your team into shape. So, if you are losing "reps" with your whole unit due to an injury here and there, are you really gaining any more training with the "group" that needs to get their timing together by that first match by using less time to stretch? In addition, each time a player goes down, they are losing valuable "reps" needed to get ready for the start of the season. This also effects other players who need "reps" working with the one injured to hone timing and build confidence. This is most obvious on the offensive side of things if your team is running a multiple-option quick attack.

If you do not feel you can give up 45 minutes of your practice time for stretching, I suggest you add an hour to each day. When I first did this, I explained to my team that we were going to go the extra hour to insure we kept them as healthy as possible, and that this would help us to be a much better team by the beginning of the season. Your team will have a hard time being upset with something you are doing to benefit their physical health during the time of the season when aches, pains, and rubber legs are a way of life. It also sends a powerful, positive message to your team:

Even though you are the "heavy" directing all those wonderfully creative conditioning drills they will never forget, you’re also the one going out of your way to do everything you can to make sure they stay healthy.