I just wanted to share this information with you.

For quite sometime now, I have been hearing that chocolate milk is the best recovery drink after an intense workout or game. On a personal note, I have been using chocolate milk as a recovery drink for the last 8 or 9 months. I can honestly say that I have notice a huge difference in my recovery time. For those of you who don’t like chocolate milk, to bad! For those of you who do, try it out!

Lowfat chocolate milk is the complete package, boasting 9 essential nutrients not found in most traditional sports drinks. Drinking milk after exercising helps refuel muscles with protein and carbohydrates, plus fluids and “electrolytes” such as potassium help with hydration.

Researchers at the university of Indiana found that endurance cyclists who drank chocolate milk after an intense period of cycling were able to work out longer and with more power during a second workout compared to when  athletes drank a carbohydrate replacement beverage, and just as long as when they consumed a traditional fluid replacement beverage.

 The researchers concluded that chocolate milk, with its high protein and carbohydrate content, may be an effective and cost-efficient alternative to commercial sports drinks for recovery from intense workouts.

HYDRATIN IS THE NAME OF THE GAME.

Milk provides fluids for hydration(after all, milk is 90% water!) and may help athletes stay hydrated. In a study comparing the effectiveness of lowfat white milk (with or without added sodium), a commercial sports drink and water for re-hydrating after intense exercise, all beverages promoted rehydration initially. Milk, however, was the only beverage that promoted and sustained adequate hydrationthroughout the four hour recovery period.

WHEN IT COMES TO MUSCLE MASS, MILK PERFORMS.

Along with exercise, the high-quality protein in milk helps build muscle.Studies have found that fat-free milk as a regular part of post exercise routine resulted in greater muscle mass buildup compared to certain soy-protein beverages.

Researchers concluded that the proteins in milk were more effective in promoting muscle growth when consumed after rigorous resistance exercise compared to equivalent amounts of soy protein.

GOT MILK ? THEN YOU’VE GOT GAME.

Not only is milk a winning post exercise beverage choice.  It’s an easy, delicious way to get 9 essential nutrients like protein, calcium and vitamin that teens of all fitness levels need every day.

MLS goals of the week #28. The third goal is my favorite. What a beauty! I have scored many goals like that in my dreams.

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Rachel Givan

Rachel has set the bar extremely high. She dazzled the fans with fancy foot skills and an amazing goal scoring ability throughout her high school career. She scored over 150 goals and was a three time Gatorade Player of the Year.

She was honored twice as the Clarion Ledger Player of the Year and was voted 4A Player of the Year 3 times. She was selected to the All State Team 5 consecutive years. To top it all off, she represented the country at the national level, U15, U16, U17, and U20.

Her strength and speed were major concerns for all coaches. Her ability to score goals was a nightmare for all defender. As a forward she was, in a word, simply unstoppable.

It has been a privilege and honor to work with Rachel over the past years. She is not only an outstanding soccer player, she is also an exceptional person and an excellent role model. Although I have never coach Rachel at the high school or club level, I have worked with her several times on an individual basis.

Rachel Givan

The many things that amazed me about Rachel were 1. Her hunger for success. 2. Her exceptional work ethic, she was never satisfied with just 100% effort; she always tried to give more.

3. Her stamina, She never complained about the heat, the cold or being to tired to train. 4. her self-motivation. This was perhaps the trait that most impressed me. She would spend hours practicing not to please he parents or anyone else, but because she wanted to improve her skills.

Her self confidence. She thought she was better than me at a game we used to play after working out. (cross bar game).

She did win the very first game we played, but that was only because I didn’t know the rules(smile). After that first game, she never came close to winning again. She might have won one other time when I wasn’t feeling too good or I wanted to cheer her up(smile). In my opinion Rachel Givan is probably the best female soccer player to come out of MS high schools.

Presently Rachel is a junior at the University of North Carolina(UNC), the number one ranked team in the country. While there, she has been switched from forward to a defensive left back position where her role is to stop top forwards in the nation. She has responded to the new position extremely well and is having an outstanding season.

So my question again: Who will be the next Rachel Givan to come out of MS high schools?

To read more about Rachel and her team click here http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/unc-w-soccer-body.html

Take a look at some of the goals from MLS week #27.

MlS goals of the week #26

Practice often- I would strongly recommend that you practice for at least 30 minutes per day. You also need to practice at least four to five times  per week . If you can practice every day, that would be great. Practicing once or twice a week or once a month will not assist in you becoming a good juggler.  Juggling must be done consistently.

I am not making this up- Back home in the jungle, I mean Trinidad,  I used to practice juggling and other soccer tricks with the ball every single day. Before school, during lunch in school and after school. Although I am proficient at juggling now I still practice a few times a week.

At age 10 I was already juggling over 2000 with my feet. I felt that juggling with my feet was too easy so I started practicing with my head. Now, I feel like juggling with my head is easier than juggling with my feet. After a few weeks of serious practice you will notice that your juggling skills have improved. Some players will improve faster than others. The main things is don’t give up. Keep working hard. Set yourself a goal and attack it with full force.

Keep your focus on the ball- You must stay focused and concentrate on the task of juggling. Try not to get distracted while juggling.

Challenge yourself- Try to break your record every time you juggle. I always wanted to break my previous record and learn cool tricks which were one of my motivations to keep juggling. Each time you practice your juggling keep a count and always try to beat your old record. Never be satisfied if you juggle 25 or 55 times. Encourage yourself to do your best.

Relax- One of the most important things about juggling is to keep your body relaxed. Try not to be too stiff. The more you relax the better you will be  able to juggle.

REMEMBER-  You will struggle a bunch of times before you improve. So don’t give up.

First Thing: Eliminate the word I CAN’T from your vocabulary. It is too negative.  You are already setting yourself up for failure when you say I can’t juggle.

Patience- It is important to have patience while practicing on your juggling skills. You can’t expect to become good at juggling in just one or two tries or a few weeks. Learning to juggle is something that takes time and effort.  You will mess up a lot, you will get frustrated, and you will want to give up. I speak from experience but I never gave up.

I remember struggling to get to 100 juggles. For days and weeks I would juggle in the 50’s and 60’s and to have the ball drop. But I would pick it up and continue to struggle. After struggling for days and weeks, eventually I was juggling over 300. By the way, that was when I was seven years old(smile).

Perhaps the most important thing to remember concerning juggling is: MESSING UP is a sign of improvement. You will mess up a bunch of times before you improve your juggling so don’t ever think about giving up. Giving up should not be an option.

In an effort to keep updating the site, we at ddemminsoccer.com have created forums where you can share your thoughts about soccer training, ask Coach Demmin questions, or post pictures from your last soccer game!  Visit them by clicking the forums link at the top of the page or click here. Have fun!

Juggling in my frontyard

Since I am going to be attempting one of the most tiring, difficult juggling task ever tried by a human being, it seems only fitting to start talking about juggling. I know you are wondering what juggling task I am talking about. In two weeks I will let you know.

All of the great players can juggle, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, Mia Hamm, Marta(The best female player in the world) Dwyane Demmin(from the jungle) and the greatest player of all times, Pele.

Improving your ability to juggle does not guarantee you success on the field, but it will help you improve your first touch on the ball, your coordination, ball control, your concentration and confidence when dribbling.

As a parent or as a coach, how many times have you heard someone say:”I am not good at juggling, I just can’t juggle, I am terrible at it. I don’t know how to juggle.” I have heard it over a hundred times. While all of this may be true, it can be fixed.

As a coach and a player, I strongly believe that each player can improve their juggling skills. One of the problems that I have noticed with players is that they are not willing to put in the time and effort to practice it on their own. Consistent practice is essential to respectful juggling.

As a kid growing up in Trinidad, I remember the countless hours I spent each day working on different soccer skills in my front and backyards.  I spent a lot of time on my own with the ball. I always enjoyed watching and appreciating someone with great soccer juggling skills and tricks. For me, juggling was fun and challenging. Learning new juggling tricks, or beating my previous record was a great accomplishment. All you need is your front yard or back yard. Beating your old juggling record can keep you entertained and can give you bragging rights over your friends. So get started!