In so many sports, men’s teams get all the focus. However, in recent years the US women’s team has had some exciting success, and ever since winning the 2019 Women’s World Cup has become increasingly popular. This popularity has not only made many curious about the team in general, but also what they do to feel, play and be their best.
How They Stay Healthy
Staying and shape and taking care of their bodies is a big part of the job for any athlete, and the US women’s soccer team is no different. Not only is working out and training important, but so is making sure that they get the right kind of nutrition to support all the things that they put their bodies through. When it comes to diet, foods high in protein are often important, like eggs.
They also make sure to get plenty of greens, like salad and kale. For something sweeter, many of them might opt for something like a green superfoods powder smoothies or yogurt parfaits. However, even though eating well on a regular basis is a priority many of them do take breaks from their diets and enjoy other, less healthy foods as well. No matter who you are, balance can be important and trying too hard to stick to a strict diet can backfire in the long run.
When it comes to training, the US women’s soccer team has special goals. Not only are they trying to stay in shape and have great endurance, but they also need to consider their speed as well as abdominal and leg strength. This means that in addition to basic conditioning, there are other kinds of exercise they need to do to reach their specific goals.
Additionally, they often need to consider timing, and do workouts of different intensities at different times during the season. Typically, they spend between 2 and 6 weeks doing basic conditioning and strength training before they take their workouts to the next level and increase their focus on things like power lifting to create strength and sprinting, to improve speed. Also, they place a lot of importance not just on performance abilities, but on protecting themselves from injury as well, as too many players sustaining injuries can have a negative impact on the team’s overall ability to perform.
How They Deal With Pressure
For professional athletes, it isn’t just their body that undergoes a lot of pressure out on the field, their mind does, too. For some, the mental challenges may even be worse than the physical ones.
That being said, many of the athletes have come up with ways to help manage the mental pressure and keep stress at bay so that they can perform like they need to. Some women on the team have mentioned that focusing on the positives is important, as well as being patient especially when things aren’t going so well. Others have remarked that honesty is key when it comes to looking at themselves and how well they do or don’t play, that way they can make the changes they need to to play their best.
How Much They Earn
How much athletes earn has always been a highly discussed subject, especially when it comes to the differences in the pay between male and female teams, and the US women’s soccer team is by no means on the outside of this discussion. Since their recent success this topic has gained even more of the public’s interest, and has shined a brighter light on the differences between the ways that male and female soccer teams get compensated.
Last Thoughts
In recent years, the US women’s soccer team has had a lot of exciting and history making successes. Because of this, now more than ever fans have become curious not just about how the US women’s soccer team stays in shape or what they eat, but also how they approach the game, and success itself.
