STUDY WEEK - SCIENTIFICALLY BACKED METHOD TO IMPROVING KICK PROFICIENCY

                                                   

Pre-Season 2023 is just around the corner and with a new year should come new idea's.

To really amp up new idea's if you can source those that are evidence-based then you'll really be onto something.

This post will provide both of those aspects and will allow you as coach, to maximise your training environment which in turn will increase transfer into games - you know, the point of training in the 1st place!

This all comes from a study performed by Victoria University here in Melbourne and was just released  weeks ago so it's literally hot off the presses.

Maybe the best part of this study is that the test subjects were local/amateur football players and based around local/amateur football timetables and resources, showing that the results attained by the test subject players can be replicated by your own players.

It's not elite players getting elite results from elite training practices, it's everyday footballers like you and I, improving their kicking proficiency by up to 17% in as little 4 weeks and in as little as 160mins of dedicated training time.

The results are mouth-watering but will require you as coach to probably, and I'm assuming here, to possible dramatically alter your training practices, at least for this section of training buy you can keep getting the same results, which if I know local football training, and I think I do, are players simply retraining to the same level of the previous year with no actual improvement, or you can look to get in on some these game transferable results that will improve your win total in season 2023.

INTRODUCTION

• Skill proficiency within a field-based small sided game assessment was 97% successful in identifying players as either novice/sub-elite meaning your best small sided game players at training will be your best game day players irrespective of what they can do in other, closed skill activities
• Skill adaptability is the ability to adjust your performance based on the changing stimulus within the performance environment where players must perceive/interpret their environments (where the ball is, where the opposition is, where teammates are, where space is) and then act upon this perception (lead for the ball by running towards open space)
• An example of this being a player taking possession of the ball and then quickly canvassing the environment to identify an appropriate teammate to kick the to before being tackled where the player may select a teammate to kick to but if their selection/action takes too long (1sec+), then this option may disappear and another opportunity may arise (e.g. handball to a teammate running past)
• By reducing the number of players/area size the total number of technical actions/player increases
• By limiting the number of ball contacts, more shots at goal/faster playing may occur
• Nathan Bonney, one of the study authors has previously developed a 5-level performance assessment x level 1 – laboratory testing, level 2 – field based (stationary), level 3 – field based (dynamic), l4 – small sided game, l5 – match play, and this study focused on level 4 to improve level 5

HOW THEY DID IT...

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