by Coach Iuri.
Being involved in grassroots football for the last 15 years, initially as a player and for the last 8 as a coach, I've seen a lot of change. The rules have changed. There are better coaches. The format of the game is more suitable for development. Retreat lines and respect campaigns have been introduced. It is all relative to what is happening at the top, with the England DNA transformation a third of the way in.
There are countless development centres, soccer schools and sessions that children between the ages of 2½ and 11/12 years old can attend. There then appears to be a huge drop off in terms of age-specific training. Once children reach the age of 12, they are suddenly left to just train with their club, school, and possibly their county. If a child is not fortunate enough to be at an academy, and their club doesn't train twice a week, there is a huge lack of contact time coaches are able to give those players.
With those that are getting the contact time with coaches, how many are working on player's movement? How many focus on their balance, and core strength? Strength and Conditioning are becoming a massive part of the game. The jump from 7 a side to 11 a side in the space of two years is huge: The pitches treble in size, the game changes, and we're giving these children 1 hour, maybe 2, to learn the game each week, as well as physically prepare them for the 11 a side game.
What is WMF doing about this?
Based on the knowledge gained during my Sports Science degree, and competing at a National and Continental level in athletics, I have started a training session called Football Circuits.
The idea behind this is to provide a high-intensity training session to those players who desire and need extra sessions in the week to keep improving and want to push on. The focus of these classes is to work on parts of the game that are sometimes neglected by the clubs, and offer something that no one else does, by combining circuit training with good football training - I believe this is something beneficial and unique. There is a standard we have with the players we are working with, and we make sure all players coming are serious about pushing on and improving as individuals. The session is aimed at mainly U12-15 players, but there are some exceptions for U11 players that can cope with the standard.
We tailor these sessions like the football season below.
- Building a base (April to June)
- Preseason (July to September)
- Early Season (October to December)
- Mid - Late Season (January to March)
The Topics
A few of the topics that will be focused on are:
- SAQ Training - Aim to improve player’s footwork, speed, agility and quickness through the use of ladders, speed hurdles, poles and more.
- Speed Development - Exercises to develop players' running technique, speed and reaction time, using modern techniques and equipment.
- Strength and Core training - Improving players' balance, core, upper and lower body strength, to help build a good foundation to last them through their career.
- Match play - Competitive Matchplay in an environment allowing the players to freely express themselves.
From my experience, the topics taught in this class improve a lot of players' fitness, confidence and technique, and can improve their overall performance when they step back into their teams.
Details of the Course
Time:
6.30pm - 8.00pm
Day:
Tuesdays
Location:
The Green School, Busch Corner, London Road, Isleworth TW7 5DB
Price:
Single Sessions - £20
Full Course (8 Sessions) - £120
The dates of each session are agreed before each course. I myself will be running these sessions. Contact me at [email protected] to learn how to enrol!
Hope to see you on a Tuesday evening soon!
