We're 15 training sessions for deep for pre-season 2025 so here's a 5th edition of what I've ran with my senior women's team so far.
After working a lot on individual action capabilities we're now starting to get a little more structure-focused and developing more off and away from the ball actions in the game.
In case you missed it, I Twittered this out during the week:
Where TV/Radio footy experts discuss contracts and ridiculous what ifs, they could be deeply analyzing teams and how it all connects to winning games like @onepercentas, @rickm18 and @JamesIves17 are currently doing - if you're even 1% footy nuff material, then have a look
The reviews that One Percenters is putting up at the moment are nothing short of first class and when I'm reading them he's putting into words what I've watched and even analysed in my own video content, what some AFL teams are doing, except he's has a stat for everything providing the why's to some of my what's.
Today I'll piggy back off some the points he's made so far from a few teams, with my own video's of what it looks like and then you can go to work of training your own team up these different game phases and plays.
The girls and I completed session #13 for pre-season 2025 last night and it was our best yet with a great turn out numbers-wise that allowed us to play an actual game within a large area.
I found out somethings that some players were able to do that we hadn't been able to see yet and I can see that what I'm trying to teach them is getting through so I couldn't be more pleased.
Here's another 4 training activities that I've used with them, why we use them and the intention/sof each of them (which dictates actions!).
Yet another study showing the player development superiorities associated with training with a games-based focus (constraints-led approach, ecological dynamics etc).
If you're still using more then 1 cone drill for more then 10% of your total training session then I really don't know what to tell you at this point as this about the 10th study I've posted on this.
If you want to change your coaching approach to something like this but don't where to start then get in contact me and we can work together to build your coaching methodology.
It's based on soccer but the results still stand up for footy.
Here are my notes from this one:
– There was a play v a practice v a control group
The play group replaced the deliberate practice section with play
The play section manipulated constraints over 5 seeks
The instruction was to play over, through or around your opposition + maintain possession and prevent the opposition getting ball
Goal setting was built around which team can execute the most passes in a row, which team can shoot the most goals and which team can outplay the opposition as often as possible
The scoring system included 1 team getting points for passes (5 passes = 1 point) while the other team could get points for goals (1 goal = 1 point) and then who could score the most
Another scoring system was to be able to complete 5 – 8 passes before scoring and then who could score the most goals
Manipulated constraints included a reduced field size to increase defensive pressure, players can’t dribble, neutral players who were on offensive the entire game but could not score, 2 wing neutrals outside the playing area and 2 goals at each teams end
Tactical aspects were observed to see if players could switch from 1 goal to the other and then score and how the offensive team used their outnumber advantage
Game types included a rondo without goals to facilitate channel combination play, 2 goals each end but 1 keeper, 5 passes + goal = 2 goals + 10 passes - 3 goals and goals from central areas only
All groups improved passing skill in post program testing but only the play group maintained those results in retention tests
Play had far better retention results yet performed less than half the total pass reps (354 – 777) v the practice group
It's important to note that is isn't just playing games that makes the difference, but games with specific intentions that promote exploration, real skill development (adaptability) and thus long term learning/development
If you're as listener of SEN then you might have come across this interview (Garry and Tim from Tuesday 11th of Feb from the 64min mark) with new Sydney Swans head coach Dean Cox during the week - my ears immediately pricked up being a Sydney supporter.
During the interview he was asked if, when and how they reviewed the game and he went into pretty good detail about it saying:
The very first day all players were back they did no training at all and did a very hard analysis of the game
The first minute of the game took a whopping 60mins to break down
The entire game took 7 and half hours to get through!
Talk about comprehensive - and it should have been!
Off the back of that I've done my own first minute analysis and getting extra picky about it too, where I normally keep to teachable moments around structure and game moments for coaches to implement in their own repertoires,but for this I'll get ultra picky.
My analysis went for only 8mins so imagine what the players and coaches saw from the behind the goals vision.
In order these are the points I highlighted in the video below:
1 - Lost the clearance.
2 - 3 Swans at the ball v 1 Brisbane.
3 - 4 Brisbane on the outside.
4 - Sydney lose the 3v1.
5 - From the outnumber we has ad lost we are now down 2 - 3 players temporarily and puts us in a scatter defensively.
6 - Sydney intercept mark didn't take up the 100% option off the line.
7 - Opts for a kick down the corridor instead.
8 - The intended Sydney target is an free, nor has separation from his opponent.
9 - Brisbane take an intercept mark at center half back smack bang on the midline of the ground.
10 - Sydney forwards perhaps not anticipating such a shallow forward entry are caught behind the Brisbane ball carrier where they would normally be in position to push up and create the first line of defense in front of the kicker.
11 - Sydney also fail to cover the short 45 kick - a Brisbane ball movement staple and therefor should have almost been number 1 on the scouting report.
12 - Brisbane end up with 2 players next to each other for the 45 kick they take and make.
13 - Sydney going away from their defensive profile of not pushing up to delay Brisbane's ball movement, instead getting caught in the middle and unable to impact the intended contest or the player they have just left free.
14 - Brisbane find a 2v1 along the boundary that stretches the Sydney defense whop have compacted inside the corridor and they utilise the wide options to stretch the Sydney defense, unlike what Sydney just tried to do and finds space that was not really there.
15 - Rampe comes from so fcar back to impact the contest, and doesn't that he can't get back once Brisbane get the run on towards goal.
16 - Gulden attempts a 1-2 with Warner but Warner doesn't scan to see if there is space and time for the handball receive for an easier kick, and Gulden recieves running to his right side, not his dominant left side.
17 - After giving up control of the ball with a kick from a mark in the corridoe, Sydney end up with a 3m dribble kick under pressure from 2 Brisbane players.
18 - Sydney gets first hands to the ground ball but also gives that up as it leaks out of the contest
19 - Brisbane once again have a 3v1 outside the contest and take the ball away under zero pressure
20 - Sydney caught in too close at the ball again.
21- Sydney create a 3v1 advantage with Brisbane in possession but fail to create the intercept, tackle or turnover.
22 - Brisbane use those extra numbers from the ground ball 5secs earlier to get a kick towards their goal.
23 - The receiver of that kick spread off that same ground ball contest that leaked out to mark.
24 - Brisbane have a line of 5 players directly inline with the player who just marked the ball, all surging forward.
25 - What we can't see is the Brisbane forwards lengthening the ground and tracking back towards goal.
26 - From another camera angle we would see the Brisbane forwards all within 20m of goal, the Brisbane mids streaming through the center of the ground as we do on the video and then the Sydney defenders again caught in the middle.
27 - Sydney defenders track back in the hope that their mids can somehow catch up to the Brisbane mids.
28 - They cannot.
29 - The Sydney defenders are too busy trying to organise each other and lose all sense of where the ball, opposition and space is in the Brisbane forward 50.
30 - Brisbane take a hit up mark in a circle of 4 - 5 Sydney players, 25m directly out from goal.
Time on the clock - 18:53mins.
As I finish off the video with - it was hard being there!
Here's another dose of training exercises I've used with my women's senior team during our pre-season so far.
Numbers are still fluctuating because it was January which is very early for most girl's to be really deep in thinking about footy, up until the Australia Day weekend many are still in holiday mode even if back at work and we've had many mid to high 30 degree days in Melbourne which doesn't make it very appealing either!
Here's 5 more training activities and why we do them.
It challenges the current kicking test used at the AFL Draft Combine and provides an evidence-based alternative assessment.
I posted about this all the way back on just my 8th post of this blog way back in January of 2010!
Here are the notes I took from reading the full study to this bad boy.
Greater performance suggest greater ball possession/kick proficiency v the opposition have greater influences on match outcomes
Winning teams have a reduced physical output but an increase in skill involvements (possessions) suggesting skill is more crucial to winning
Effective kicking, specifically kicks over 40m is crucial to team success
Successful kicks over 40m increases a team’s winning % by .99 of a point (the most important skill in the game) whilst an inaccurate kick of any distance to the opposition reduces winning margin by .62 of a pt
Game demands show that there are more kicks over 40m, more kicks performed from a stationary position, more kicks to moving targets + various kick types
To assess field kicking you also need to assess action fidelity
The test required players perform 85% of kicks over 40m, 57% from a stationary position, 43% on the move, 15% receiving stationary, 85% receiving on the move + tac-based kicks (play switch etc)
Drop punts only
Dominant kicking leg only
No opposition
No handball’s
The test is not fully representative but does balance controlling constraints to develop an open and dynamic test
1 kick to 2 on the lead to 3 and so on
Go to where you kick
Perform at game speed
The last kick is a shot on goal with a defender running at them from the goal square
Do all 7 kicks from 1 side of the ground then perform the mirror image for 14 kicks total
Each kick was scored based on accuracy/execution (5-1) except for kick 7/14 which are shots on goal and are scored on the kick result accordingly (0/1/6)
On average players increase kick proficiency by 9.29% from u14's to u16's then a further 2.77% from u16's to u18's at club level
At sub elite level it’s 1.22% from u16's to u18's and 6.18% at elite levels
u14’s run a lot less (meters per min) then u16's and u18's but there's little difference between u16's to u18's
Kicking skill development at club level may be most evident between u14's and u16's and may highlight an important time frame where kicking acquisition may be most susceptible to technical change
1 other alteration I would like to see included is the use of players on the mark which can be done by using players from the surrounding groups to man the mark then head back to the group they came from
We'll all head down to footy training tonight and I bet we see a lot of this:
A lap
Some dynamic stretching in lanes
Some strides in lanes
Some handball in lanes
Some kicking in lanes
All linear in nature and all geared towards warming up the physical component of football, just 1 of the 4 co-actives of performance.
Footy is played by the body and by the mind so doesn't it make sense to warm both of them up at the start of each session?
This really opens the door to expand your warm up exercises and design but today I'll lay out 1 I've been using with my women's team so far this year and the why's behind them.
Small group personal training done the right way. Train in a group - do YOUR OWN program. PT studio located in the heart of South Yarra on Surrey Road North, just off Toorak Road. 1on1 personal training also available. Don't do everyone else's program, get personal with your training.
