How to Manage Fatigue During a Busy Soccer Season: Tips for Staying Energized

Youth soccer presents a notoriously demanding schedule of practices and games. This puts a tremendous strain on the body and mind, so it’s no surprise

that many players struggle to maintain their energy levels throughout the season. Soccer requires a large focus mentally to thrive, and practice after practice while juggling school and a semblance of a social life becomes a real challenge. When an important game rolls around, players are so exhausted from the non-stop grind that they can’t perform at their best. They might even question why they continue playing soccer altogether. 

Fortunately, there are several ways players can avoid this extreme fatigue and ensure they have plenty of energy to perform when it matters most. You just have to give your body and mind time to recharge, and build a mindset that powers you through those tough moments.

Here’s how to prevent fatigue and stay energized during a busy season:

Follow a Pre-Game Routine

Pre-game routines are becoming increasingly prioritized now that more and more players are realizing that the whole point is to conserve energy. You see, everything you do in the last 8-10 hours before a game determines how much energy you’ll have when the game starts So, the idea is to create a routine that not only incorporates the basic fundamentals of nutrition and hydration, but also allows you to make as few decisions as possible during this period. This gives your brain a lengthy rest, ensuring it’s fresh as a daisy when you need it most.  

Let’s say your game takes place in the morning. Since it takes approximately 8 hours for your body to metabolize food into energy, your dinner the night before will have the biggest impact on your energy level. So, your pre-game routine should might include a carb-heavy dinner.

To make sure you get eight hours of sleep, schedule a sequence of relaxing activities like reading, listening to music, or watching your most comforting TV shows. Also, choose exactly what time to wake up in the morning, what time to take a shower, what to have for breakfast (ideally something light), when to start getting dressed, etc. Creating a routine prevents you from having to make these decisions on the go, putting your brain to work. Trust us, you’ll be blown away by how much more mental and physical energy you’ll have when your night and morning are already planned out.

Give Yourself Time to Recover Between Practices

In our experience, a common reason soccer players feel so exhausted in school is because they don’t schedule time for rest and recovery in between practices. No, we’re not talking about taking an ice bath at night. We’re talking about leisurely activities your athlete finds particularly relaxing, activities that allow them to turn off their brains, leave their stress behind and be themselves.

Since athletes have limited free time, it might be helpful to create a mini nighttime routine of your favorite recreational activities. Neglecting to reserve time for activities that are meaningful to you - whether it’s playing video games or watching movies - significantly worsens the mental strain of practice. As soccer mentors, we advise our mentees to think of relaxation as another crucial aspect of training, not just pointless fun. This is something you need for your brain to function properly.

Let Your “Why” Fuel You 

When you’re embroiled in such a hectic schedule, it’s only natural to wake up one morning for practice and think to yourself, “Why the heck am I putting myself through this?”.  It’s much harder to pull yourself out of bed when you can’t immediately think of an answer.

However, the opposite is also true. There’s going to be lots of mornings like this in your soccer journey, so it’s crucial to narrow down what we call your “why,” or what it is about soccer that you truly love. Is it the camaraderie with your teammates? The freedom of movement? Pushing yourself physically during training?

When your “why” is crystal clear, you can find this element of soccer in every practice or game. It gives you something to look forward to and reminds you why you signed up for this in the first place. You’ll get a boost of energy every time you remember that this was your choice, and you wouldn’t want to spend your time doing anything else.

At Beyond Goals Mentoring, we’ve seen the impact that rigorous training can have on an athlete’s mental health. That’s why we’re dedicated to helping young athletes prioritize schoolwork, friendships, and their other passions amid the demands of high-level competition. As former pros, we know that all the success in the world is meaningless if you don’t love what you’re doing.

So, if your athlete is starting to have trouble getting up for practice in the morning, let’s set up a mentoring session today.