PRE-SEASON TRAINING DO'S #4 - PLAYER INPUT AND FEEDBACK

                                   

As much as coaches would love to run their teams where everyone toes the line all the time, it simply won't happen.

Local/amateur footballers simply have more choice and freedom then professionals, and fair enough as they need to work, have family's etc.

So as a coach you can lay out the greatest pre-season in history but if the players don't buy into it then where does that leave you?

As most players aren't paid or contracted at L/A level, they cannot be forced to prepare and train like we want them too.

On top of that within a L/A club you'll have 50 - 100 players with all different idea's about football success and why they play this great game.

What we're left with is a continuum of player motivation:


Play for Fun          +          Play for Individual Success

Play for Team Success

Play with Mates          +          Mental/Physical Outlet

So we have social reasons on the left and competitive reasons on the right so the aim should be to squeeze the left and right sides closer to the middle so "most" players at your L/A club are pushing towards team success.

Probably the best way to get the players to buy in is to give them some ownership of how the on-field stuff is performed.

If I was a coach I would schedule in a players meting early in pre-season, prior to Christmas. I would let all current and new players know what the meeting is about and if you want a say then turn up and do so.

I would encourage players to let me know of any idea's they have to put forward prior to the meeting so that we can do a little SWAT analysis of each point.

I'd ask current players what they though of the previous season in regards to training, game day, selection, rotations - anything.

The feedback could be anonymous if they please.

From there we have the meeting where all idea's are thrown up against the wall and with input from the players, see what sticks.

The NUMBER 1 thing that will make or break your L/A footy club is compliance.

Compliance to team training.

Compliance to training away from the footy club.

Compliance to game day team rules.

But...

Compliance will only come with buy in - simple as that.

There's a saying I picked up a few back - you don't know what you don't know - and it's 100% true.

What you did at 1 football club as a coach might not work at another footy club.

What you tried and failed at at one football club might be the perfect fit at another footy club.

As a footy club, by brainstorming as many idea's as you possible from all your players, committee, coaching staff etc - the better.

By having players drive some of what happens at the footy club, they will be more inclined to comply with it, and more players will comply it - exactly what we're after.

As a strength and conditioning coach, aerobic capacity is your slow and low intensity running which is ESSENTIAL for high endurance and if you fail to train it correctly, you're short changing your endurance potential dramatically.

If I was to send players away to do the basic aerobic capacity training in their own time, and they actually do it, do you know what that can free up?

20 - 40mins per training session.

Up to 80mins per week.

Over 18hrs of freed up training time within a full tram pre-season.

How much better would you be able to perform now that a hellava lot of time has been freed up for things like speed development, agility, strength training skills and tactics?

But again, only if you can get player buy in which is best achieved by player driven team rules.