Tips for Kicking in the Cold

It is that time of the season where you are battling more than kicking the ball right, but now you have to battle kicking in the cold and staying warm.

Just like every aspect of kicking, everyone has a personal style and there is no one right answer.

What we can do is share our experience from kicking in the cold on the field and staying warm on the sideline.   Personal experience is key because you certainly won’t learn this in summer kicking camps!

Preparing to kick in the cold

The first step in anything is being prepared.  If I knew it was going to be a cold, I over prepared as you can always leave stuff in your locker or on the sideline.

On a very cold night, high 20’s – low 30’s (yea, yea, laugh it up northerners), I would typically only wear a cold gear sports shirt (under armour, nike, etc.).

If it REALLY got cold, I  would put on some leggings, but I didn’t really like the feel of leggings when I kicked…and we all know how much of kicking is being mentally strong.

Now those are the pieces I would wear under my pads, that I could not take off easily. I would also take sweat pants and a hand warmer that I could use on the sideline.

If your high school has heaters on the sideline, do not be shy to take advantage of them.

I know a lot of people will be standing around them, but you need to remind them how important it is to keep your legs warm.

And please note (from experience) that some of those heaters will melt your shoes or burn you if you stand too close…so be careful!

Warming up

You have all of your gear and now you have to put it to use. I would take any means necessary to stay loose and warm, and that can really be a tough challenge on a cold night.

I would wear my sweat pants on the sideline and continuously walk around. Standing around will just make your muscles tighten up.

If you are going to stand still for a little while, make sure you are near one of the heaters (if you are lucky enough to have one).

When it looks like it is about to be your time to kick, I would typically warm up with a few dry runs with my sweat pants still on. Once I felt my legs were warm and stretched, I would take my sweat pants and hand warmer off and take a few more dry runs with only the clothes that I would wear on the field.

Stay Comfortable

I will leave you with the most important aspect of kicking in the cold, or any other part of kicking for that matter…BE COMFORTABLE! If you do not feel comfortable kicking in certain things, simply do not wear them. You do not want to be focusing on your clothes when you are supposed to be kicking a game winner. I personally did not like kicking in the cold with leggings, so I didn’t wear them. Do whatever it takes so you can concentrate on your role…the hero!