Soccer players use a wide variety of muscle groups to carry out the complex motions involved with kicking, running and jumping. Hip flexors are a particularly important muscle group because of their relationship to a soccer player's leg movements. Stronger hip flexors mean faster running and more powerful kicks, but you should always pair strengthening with stretching to maintain flexibility and prevent injuries.
Hip Flexion
Your hip flexor muscles include your rectus femoris, psoas major and iliacus. These muscles work together to create hip flexion. Hip flexion is when you raise your leg toward your chest, as in a kick, or when you pull your chest toward your legs, as in a situp or crunch. Exercises that strengthen these muscles improve the speed, power and endurance of the hip flexion movements in soccer.
Endurance
In soccer, you are almost constantly running, jumping and walking. Each step you take requires a contraction of your hip flexor muscles. In the same way your strengthen your calves, hamstrings and quadriceps to meet with this long-term endurance demand, you should also strengthen your hip flexors. If your hip flexors are weak, they will tire easily. Fatigued hip flexors make you more prone to hip flexor injuries, which are very debilitating -- especially for soccer players.
Power
Stronger hip flexors can also increase your power and speed in running, kicking, jumping and heading the ball. When you kick a soccer ball, your hip flexors, along with your quadriceps, are the primary muscles used. Stronger hip flexors mean harder kicks. When running and changing direction, your hip flexors dictate your legs' ability to move fast. Strong hip flexors allow for quick changes and direction and fast sprints. When you head the ball, you rotate your torso toward the ball, similar to the motion of a situp. Strong hip flexors will make your headers more powerful and accurate.
Considerations
Equally important to strong hip flexors is maintaining flexible muscles, especially when training to strengthen them. Strong hip flexors have a tendency to be tight and stiff. Stretching them allows for more range of motion and lowers the chance of injury due to pulled hip flexors. To stretch your hip flexors, take a large step forward and lower your body so that your back leg is fully extended and your chest is leaning on your forward, bent leg. While leaning forward, push the top of your extended rear leg toward the ground. You should feel your hip flexor stretch. Hold it for at least 30 seconds and then relax.
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