You don’t have to be on a football pitch to start your pre-season – players and coaches alike can be a bit creative at the beach and set themselves some targets for the holidays. So put sunbathing on hold get yourself in shape for the coming season!
How to do it
Grab hold of a few parasols that no one is using and set yourself or set your players a little running and dribbling session. Football involves sprinting over short distances. The sand’s resistance as well as any inclines from the natural ups and downs of the beach will increase your speed over the surface.
Technique
Keep your knees high and drive with your arms. The more time you’re in the air the less time you’re in contact with the sand – which slows you down. And remember if you get too hot get into the sea and do some walking against the water’s resistance.
You need to mark out five yards between each parasol and work out a routine.
1. Start your session by running to the first parasol then running backwards back to the start. 2. Now sprint to the far parasol and run backwards back to the start – you can run as fast as you can both forwards and backwards as falling over will not hurt in the sand
3. For the second quick session you need a ball – dribble to the first parasol and dribble around it4. Then dribble to the last parasol and with as few touches of the ball as possible try sprinting with it back to the start
5. In the final part sprinting without the ball around the middle parasol and to the end and back is a great finish to get your lungs working overtime
Research suggests the precise composition of pre-training or pre-match meals may be less crucial than was previously thought, says ANDREW HAMILTON MORE
I keep fit pretty much all year round due to being outside coaching most of the time. And with the enforced lay off in the UK due to the coronavirus pandemic I've been keeping myself fit in other ways. However, being fit and having muscles ready to play sport is on a different planet. MORE
During lockdown or anytime you find you cannot get your team to training for a period of time you should make sure they are doing things to keep fit. They need things that they will find are fun and things that they will want to do because it is a competition. Without matches they are missing that competitive edge and that will add to their boredom when they cannot get out and play. MORE
Wow that has been some off season this year with the pandemic and all the changes that have had to happen to get coaching soccer back on track. Getting the team back together can be a tricky business at the best of times so you can make use of Soccer Coach Weekly's Pre-season Guide to help you get the team ready for the first matches of the season. MORE
Your players have made it to week 4 with the first whistle of the new season not far away. But before it blows you've got one final week to get your players through so they are ready and focused for that first match of the season. MORE
The basics have been taken care of with passing, possession and fitness, and there has been plenty of small-sided game-play thrown into the mix as well, but now you want to delve down into what your players are going to produce this coming season on the pitch. MORE
