It alway’s alarm’s me when I venture out to watch junior club’s train and I see player’s as young as 8 doing a set of “doggies” or running laps. The number of times you see coaches conditioning their team without the use of a ball in a game related exercise is staggering. In Australia we are saturated or infatuated with Strength and Conditioning. As a result of this obsession, Football coaches have been dictated to by various Strength and Conditioning trainers to condition their players in certain way’s. The problem is, these so called fitness guru’s have generally been educated with an AFL, NRL or ARU contract/career in mind. Each of those sports vary considerably to Football. Football results are influenced by the most technically gifted players not the biggest, strongest or fastest. Lionel Messi stands under 170cm!!! The AFL continually takes “ATHLETES” from other sports and convert them into AFL topliners by virtue of their size or speed. This does not and never will happen in our game. Our game is a specialist game requiring extreme levels of Technique, Skill and Decision Making. This can not be taught overnight. The model below is Football specific and is currently utilised throughout Europe. It works on the principle that Football is Conditioning.
The next time your coach or club embarks on Conditioning training you may want to ensure it includes a ball and resembles a football game. If it doesn’t you are WASTING precious FOOTBALL TIME.
PERIODISATION IN FOOTBALL
Football training is conditioning training
The most skillfull players determine the result of a football match, not the biggest, fastest or strongest.
Traditionally: FITNESS = FOOTBALL
Periodisation: FOOTBALL = FITNESS
Fitness is only a component of football. FOOTBALL is your starting point
ANALYSIS OF THE GAME
X—X—X—-X—–X——-X———X
X = Action. The larger the X the higher the quality
— = Time delay between actions
The drawing above illustrates fatigue. For example the longer the game goes on the lower the quality of actions and the more recovery time required between actions
The drawing below shows the ideal situation.
X—X—X—X—X—X
Higher maximum explosiveness more consistently
Quicker recovery
Maintain quick recovery
Maintain explosiveness over 90 minutes
3 conditioning scenararios:
a) 1 player sprints in isolation
b) 2 players sprint in competition
c) 2 players sprint for ball. First to ball shoots on goal.
Scenario C) yielded the quickest time. The more you can train achieving 100% output, the more likely you are to get to 101%!!
When utilising a ball in conditioning training always ensure the ball is not an obstacle. The critical sprint is always the first 5 – 8 metres
IMPROVE RECOVERY
Games 4v4/3v3
Less rest between games (ie 3min to 30 secs)
For example 4v4 game – 3 min between matches
4v4 game – 2 min between matches
4v4 game – 1 min between matches
MAINTAIN RECOVERY
Games 11v11/8v8 and 7v7/5v5
Play football for longer.
For example (3 x 10min) and (3 x 15min).
As the body develops you increase the playing time. The increase needs to be gradual
X—X—X—X—X—X
Football sprints with a lot of recovery (ie 60 secs)
Games 4v4/3v3
Games 11v11/8v8 and 7v7/5v5
Games 11v11/8v8 and 7v7/5v5
The model above allows you to COACH at all times ie during conditioning training.
It is good to have a tactical session in between a day off and a conditioning session as it allows players to get their rhythm back after a 3 day break. It also allows injured players from the previous game an extra 24 hours recovery. Ie more players at conditioning session.
Periodisation is only a tool. Understand your players. Shift the model to meet your players needs.
After Euro 2004, FC Barcelona international players didn’t have to do any pre season conditioning training. Clubs objective was to get rid of their fatigue. Keep players fresh as possible as long as possible.
CASE STUDY 1
KOREA
1st Half: Very high intensity of play
X–X–X–X–X–X
2nd Half: Dramatic drop in work rate
X—X—-X—–X——X——–X
Solution:
To maintain quick recovery
Games 11v11/8v8
In preseason build up sessions slowly. Have fewer sessions early and build up as season is about to commence.
Quick Build Up (traditional) = short term fitness
= more injuries
= less time with strongest team
= lose fitness quicker whilst injured
= develops fatigue
Periodisation (Gradual) = 4-6 weeks football (conditioning) training
= Long term fitness
= fitness increases during season
= Fewer injuries
= During injuries gradual loss of fitness
= More training/games with strongest team
= No fatigue. Fresh at end of season
In Europe there is very little or NO isolated strength and conditioning work done at 14, 15 or 16 years of age.
We don’t want to create physically better players we want to create better technical and tactical FOOTBALLERS. Ie make better decisions on field
You may consider isolated strength and conditioning training at 17, 18 or 19 in the hope you improve a further 1 – 3 %.
No static stretching. It actually reduces explosiveness. It does not reduce injuries. This is a myth.
All exercises to be competitive to ensure maximum effort.
Never 2 conditioning sessions in a row. Always have tactical session in between.
Our kids train half as much as those in Europe. We can not afford to waste a training sessions on isolated, non football conditioning exercises. In Holland players between 10 – 15 only use a ball at training.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Blog and before the ground swell of opposition mounts, I ask those who disagree to count the number of times your team loses possession of the ball because of poor passing and recieving………………….After analysing this you will see that your child will be better off passing and recieving the ball at training than running circuits against a clock!!!!