TRAIN GAMES WITHOUT THE GAME (5 TRAINING GAMES)

We train to get better at games except that we rarely use games in training, opting for cone to cone drills and maybe the odd 4v1 clearance drill which is not as game representative as you probably think it is.

We know that footy is just bloody darn demanding and it's hard to play actual games too often for lack of numbers and fear of contact injuries too early in the pre-season.

The implication of that is that we simply ignore games completely in most cases but games is what ramps up crucial learning processes such as:

• Perception-Action Coupling
• Game Specific Fitness
• Game Specific Skill Requirements
• High Cognitive Requirements
• Game Specific Arousal and Stress
• Reaction to Opposition
• High Level Real Time Information Processing
• High Level Problem Solving

You can't expect to develop these aspects of high performance, the most important one's in fact, without putting your players in game simulated  action of some kind.

Keep in mind that decision making needs to be as flexible as possible because like kicking technique, you'll never have to make the same exact decision twice.

You can train a 4v1 an then only have to process the information 1 defender with 3 teammates provides (i.e. not much) but then when a 2nd defender comes into play, theoretically the player is now expected to be able to process twice as much information twice as quickly.

1 extra defender might not seem like much but it is a big step up in game demands as stated above.

Along with having players learn team tactics you also want them to be exposed to as many problems as possible in each session but you can't learn a game model/style in game like situations, at least initially.

So during early pre-season while you're still nailing the tactical aside, also use modified games that are still representative of football, but include various task an environmental constraints that will expose all players in 100's of differing problems and situations that will ramp up decision making and have far more game transfer than cone to cone drills.

Here are 5 simple footy games you can use as early as week 1 of pre-season 2022...

For full access to these 5 training games, register for a level 3 membership at https://aussierulestraining.com/membership-account/membership-levels/.