Don’t just dig out your boot bag the day before training is due to start and polish your boots… there’s more to getting ready for the new season than that. Do you need to shed some holiday baggage or get your legs pumping again? Whatever your needs you can map out your pre-season fitness blueprint for you and your players.
Getting, and staying, fit for the first part of the new season is vital to a successful coaching strategy. If your players are not fit enough to play the way you want it will be a pointless beginning to your campaign. You need fun games, lots of touches and plenty of running around.
Start with Sprint to it, a running game that will have your players panting for breath but enjoying racing each other to get to the ball.
Another great session for individual work is the Agility Square. It’s a high tempo game that will wake up brains and give muscles a work out.
I also like to use sessions based purely on fitness work without a ball so that players can push themselves without having to think about moving the ball. The Fast footwork fitness test is one I use when preparing my teams for the tough season ahead. It doesn’t need a ball but has an element of competition that makes it fun for the players. I also find The Flower is a good option for individual fitness.
For a team work out I like to use games that work on fitness and also have a tactical element to them. Three ball pressure is a great session for getting players to press at high tempo, creating a game based on the tactic of winning the ball back wherever it is on the pitch.
And finally use 4-player pre-season support for a game that combines all the elements of individual and team play at a high tempo.
Increasing the sprinting speed of your team will have them reaching the ball faster than their opponents all over the field and can change the outcome of a match. MORE
Getting players back to fitness after a lazy summer is an important part of any pre-season checklist. This fun speed and agility exercise is great for developing quick footwork, acceleration and speed. MORE
This training session is designed to develop your players’ facility for intensive endurance. This could give you the advantage you need to win more matches. MORE
This is all about teamwork and teammates using the ball or stopping opponents from winning it. Press hard and the defenders will win the three balls in the fastest time MORE
Use this fast-paced training game to get two centre midfielders and a defensive midfielder moving quickly into positions to support each other, just like they would in a match. MORE
It is not only spectacular goals that you see from players volleying the ball you also see fantastic goal line clearances and defenders clearing the ball from corners or crosses – but what is a volley?
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When it comes to winning the ball back attackers, who are mainly there to score goals, are as central to the plan as any defensive player on the pitch. It is their job to win the ball back as high up the pitch as possible, gaining possession in dangerous areas where the opposition are most vulnerable. MORE
The goalkeeper is often the player that is the most neglected when it comes to training nights yet is one of the most important players on the pitch. Certainly at lots of clubs players take turns to play in goal – I have no problem with that but if that is the case you need to make sure the players have the basics covered. MORE
What I love about my U9s team is that when I come out to warm them up before a match they are all ready and sitting there waiting for me... with a cheer they all descend on the bag of training balls and start warming themselves up. MORE
It is important that players are prepared for all the set-pieces in a game as these can become troublesome areas for young players to cope with. After all these moments happen a lot in matches and players must grow their confidence in dealing with them. MORE
“I took a free trial and I was blown away by the drills; it made my training sessions so much easier. ”
