Ali Krieger Quotes

Some players like to practise right up to the start of play. But for me, whatever warming up I did was only going to be followed by cooling down again.

I like to look after myself, so that's stretching or ice baths, and as soon as I get home, I just sleep anyway; it's all part of recovery.

When I'm about to play in a big match, I take things easy.

I relax completely when I'm at rest. I don't think of numbers; I don't think of work.

I try and have a relaxed attitude and stay quite switched off until about an hour before kick-off.

I think players tend to get anxious if they've not really done things properly - like eating, resting or training. If you're fully prepared you've got nothing to worry about - it's just a game of football.

A lot of times, the press guys ask why I take an hour and a half to come to the interview room, but if you don't do the massage and the ice baths and the stretching and the cooling down and the eating, and your opponent is doing that stuff, they already have an advantage.

My routine prior to a big game is the same for any other match. Eat, sleep, chat with teammates during the day, and then, as the match draws near, I listen to my music on the trip to the stadium and zone in.

You want to play a whole game, but in the preseason you've got to be smart.

My biggest thing I've learned is just putting time into getting ready. When we're young, you just go on the court and just hoop. But I think as you get older, it's more about, making sure everything is firing and making sure everything is ready to go and warmed up.

The organized person ... makes the most of his time and goes to his bed for the night perfectly relaxed for rest and renewal.

I spent the nights before the Jets' two biggest games last year - for the AFL championship and the Super Bowl - with girls. But I don't consider that bad or foolish of me... The night before a game, I prepare myself both mentally and physically for the next day. I think a ballplayer has to be relaxed to play well; and if that involves being with a girl that night, he should do it.

I think, over the time that you're in the league, you learn what your body needs: you learn the amount of soft tissue work you need, the amount of dry needling, or the amount of sleep or your nutrition. You also understand that you have to pull back.

You can never come back fresher after the all-star break. I always try to do what I do, try to take care of my body, get some weights in, feel a little bit stronger and ready to push through 25 games.

I don't like rushing, just like to sit down and rest before a match. Half the time I don't even look at the draw.

I am pretty chill before games. Have a go-to routine that keeps me busy until we are ready to take the court so I'm not just sitting around anxious for the game.

At the beginning of the season, you're still getting your fitness levels up, and those first few games are quite tough.

There is too much cricket being played. You need time away to get your mind in order to reach the optimum level.

It's tough to find time to get rest.

I've taken two weeks off before I've played a major, and I've played two straight weeks before a major as well. I definitely feel it's important, whether I've taken time off or played right before, that I take necessary rest time in the weeks before the tournament.

I like to get on the court three hours before the game. That way, I can get out of everybody's way, and I can do what I need to do for me and get up the shots that I need and then be in the locker room and getting my stuff taken care of physically - if I need treatment or whatever may be.

A player needs recovery time, and it isn't possible to recover from one race in an hour.

I think recovery is around the clock. Are you sleeping enough? Are you hydrating enough? Are you stretching? Are you eating well? Pretty much everything that I do is a reflection of how I'm going to feel on the field. I take great pride in getting in an ice bath after training and just taking care of myself.

Certain players need twice the recovery time of others because they run much more - not because they put in more effort but because they're playing different positions.

When we're not on the practice field, I'm watching tape, and when I'm not watching tape, I'm doing body work or something like that.