OUR GAME: The cold, wet truth about weather and soccer

goalWA.net Archive

Special goalWA.netSoccer Health feature

Most of the world plays its professional soccer (football) during the winter months. In the northwest that time of year sees college soccer, the end of the Major League Soccer season, high school soccer, and plenty of youth soccer. Don’t forget to add in various adult leagues, too. All of the players suit up knowing they could be in for a cold, perhaps even rainy match. It’s part of the sport around here.

(See more “Our Game” entries here.)

But how does weather affect the soccer player and the soccer itself?

Even if the temperature isn’t all that cold at the start of a match, if it is raining, uniforms get soaked and halftime becomes danger time. The body starts cooling down in wet clothes and needs to be stretched again before the restart of play.

SoccerPerformance.org has posted an article that looks…

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