Recovery After Game Day

Mondays after youth football game days should be considered as recovery days. A youth athlete’s body has gone through the trials and tribulations of a grueling week of practice and game day, and now it’s time to rest.  Rest simply put allows the body to repair and to replenish.  All of the stresses that went into preparation for the week should dissipate on rest days.

Here are some recovery tips for your child athlete:

• Sleep a minimum of 8 hours each night. 
• Nutrition is an important aspect of recovery, eat nutritious meals that include leafy vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
• Avoid caffeine on rest days.
• Avoid physical exertion, including work outs. It is a day to rest and we don’t want to suffer any setbacks due to over-training.
• Hydration is important, replace all fluids lost during the strenuous exercise of the prior week.
• Allow game day injuries to heal.
• Concentrate on schoolwork. It’s a good time to get ahead of the curve at school by doing extra classroom preparation as you rest.
• Moderate video game play. I’m not a big fan of video games, but I do acknowledge the problem solving skills that are developed with moderate gaming.  On a rest day, an hour of play is ok.

What does your athlete do on rest days? Tell us in the comments below!