Article from the NY Times from months back that I liked. Maybe of interest to some. It details the goings on at the Ajax youth academy:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
This is taken from the PP online sie that is linked in the previous blog. It's about SAQ training which I feel is of growing importance to football and other sports:
SAQ (an acronym for ‘speed, agility and quickness’) is the title of a system patented by a company called ‘SAQ International’, which works in the UK with top football teams like West Ham United and the Rugby Football Union, and internationally with the likes of the Miami Dolphins American Football team and the New South Wales Waratahs rugby team in Australia.
Jason (‘the Whiz’) Robinson has two of the fleetest feet seen on a rugby player and, although blessed with innate ability to dance rings around his opponents, he has also honed his agility through the use of such SAQ drills as the ‘foot ladder’. This type of rope ladder, a key component of SAQ training, is placed flat on the playing surface in order to develop foot speed and improved foot-ground contact.
There are numerous permutations of ways for athletes to step and run through the ladder, which can challenge the fast twitch fibres of even the fleetest athletes. ‘One foot in, one foot out’ (left, right, left into each rung) is not too difficult; ‘two in, two out’ (two feet one after the other into each gap) is more challenging; but backwards and sideways combinations definitely need to engage the brain as well as the feet. It’s a bit like learning to waltz against the high-speed rhythm of Garage music!
These drills, like many of the speed-enhancing techniques mentioned in this article, are designed to optimise neuromuscular patterning and condition. Like any other physical attribute, speed can be trained and improved through repetition and overload. SAQ techniques never lose sight of this overall goal and the playing requirements of various sports. Depending on their emphasis, the drills are designed either to develop absolute speed and agility or to develop these attributes under the conditions of fatigue that players experience during a match.
Drills with a sport-specific emphasis often shape up looking like an obstacle course, involving short swerves through cones, hopscotch, zig-zag runs, long swerves, two- footed jumps over low hurdles, backwards running and turns through 360 degrees. Players are often required to perform even more sport-specific tasks during the course of these workouts; for example, a rugby player might have to receive and pass the ball while running through the foot ladder.
SAQ (an acronym for ‘speed, agility and quickness’) is the title of a system patented by a company called ‘SAQ International’, which works in the UK with top football teams like West Ham United and the Rugby Football Union, and internationally with the likes of the Miami Dolphins American Football team and the New South Wales Waratahs rugby team in Australia.
Jason (‘the Whiz’) Robinson has two of the fleetest feet seen on a rugby player and, although blessed with innate ability to dance rings around his opponents, he has also honed his agility through the use of such SAQ drills as the ‘foot ladder’. This type of rope ladder, a key component of SAQ training, is placed flat on the playing surface in order to develop foot speed and improved foot-ground contact.
There are numerous permutations of ways for athletes to step and run through the ladder, which can challenge the fast twitch fibres of even the fleetest athletes. ‘One foot in, one foot out’ (left, right, left into each rung) is not too difficult; ‘two in, two out’ (two feet one after the other into each gap) is more challenging; but backwards and sideways combinations definitely need to engage the brain as well as the feet. It’s a bit like learning to waltz against the high-speed rhythm of Garage music!
These drills, like many of the speed-enhancing techniques mentioned in this article, are designed to optimise neuromuscular patterning and condition. Like any other physical attribute, speed can be trained and improved through repetition and overload. SAQ techniques never lose sight of this overall goal and the playing requirements of various sports. Depending on their emphasis, the drills are designed either to develop absolute speed and agility or to develop these attributes under the conditions of fatigue that players experience during a match.
Drills with a sport-specific emphasis often shape up looking like an obstacle course, involving short swerves through cones, hopscotch, zig-zag runs, long swerves, two- footed jumps over low hurdles, backwards running and turns through 360 degrees. Players are often required to perform even more sport-specific tasks during the course of these workouts; for example, a rugby player might have to receive and pass the ball while running through the foot ladder.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Some links
some useful links of sites I use:
SAQ - http://www.saqinternational.com/
Peak Performance - http://www.pponline.co.uk/
Footy4Kids - http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/
Soccer Expert - http://www.soccerxpert.com/
SAQ - http://www.saqinternational.com/
Peak Performance - http://www.pponline.co.uk/
Footy4Kids - http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/
Soccer Expert - http://www.soccerxpert.com/
Friday, 6 August 2010
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Introducing Dribbling
A lot of the coaching I do is "Mini Kickers" - thats teaching pre-school children the very basics. Teaching dribbling with the ball to them can be very difficult but can be done with a lot of patience. Main issue I find is that if you place a ball in front of a 3 year old their first instinct is to kick it away. Heres some of the things I do:
- Firstly try and keep them static. Tell them you can use different parts of your foot. Get the group to try and do this on the spot. Slowly progress it into walking pace kicking the ball between their feet. I find telling them to do "baby kicks" works best in getting them to keep it close to their feet. Gradually pick up the pace.
- Start/Stop. To keep their attention, demonstrate the "Captains Pose." I've seen this done 2 ways - one is standing tall with hands on hips like a football captain supposedly should, the other is giving a hand to head salute like a ship captain supposedly should - ultimately in both they have one foot on top of the ball. This is what they should be doing when the coach shouts the stop command. Another benefit is that they are encouraged to keep the ball close to their feet and under control as they dont want to be last to do their captains pose. The kids all compete to see who's captains pose is the best.
- Traffic lights game. Basically same as before. When coach shows the red light (usually a red marker) they have to stop dribbling and put their foot on the ball, green marker means go and yellow means tapping the ball between feet on the spot.
- Follow the Leader. Everyone has a ball and stand in straight line. They all dribble, following same direction as leader. Change leader every 20-30 seconds.
Just a few ideas, hopefully their useful.
- Firstly try and keep them static. Tell them you can use different parts of your foot. Get the group to try and do this on the spot. Slowly progress it into walking pace kicking the ball between their feet. I find telling them to do "baby kicks" works best in getting them to keep it close to their feet. Gradually pick up the pace.
- Start/Stop. To keep their attention, demonstrate the "Captains Pose." I've seen this done 2 ways - one is standing tall with hands on hips like a football captain supposedly should, the other is giving a hand to head salute like a ship captain supposedly should - ultimately in both they have one foot on top of the ball. This is what they should be doing when the coach shouts the stop command. Another benefit is that they are encouraged to keep the ball close to their feet and under control as they dont want to be last to do their captains pose. The kids all compete to see who's captains pose is the best.
- Traffic lights game. Basically same as before. When coach shows the red light (usually a red marker) they have to stop dribbling and put their foot on the ball, green marker means go and yellow means tapping the ball between feet on the spot.
- Follow the Leader. Everyone has a ball and stand in straight line. They all dribble, following same direction as leader. Change leader every 20-30 seconds.
Just a few ideas, hopefully their useful.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Warmups/Games with markers
Just a few ideas that I use in my sessions. Can be used as part of warm-ups and involves a bit of SAQ (Speed, Agility, Quickness) or for younger kids it could easily just be a game for them to play
- Firstly place 20+ markers/cones randomly spread around in a confined area...penalty box, centre circle or around a sports hall. From this point, theres plenty of different ways you could go with your session:
Jumping
- Get the participants to jump over the markers, then move onto another one and repeat this process. This could be varied with jumping with their feet together or hopping. Another one could be jumping over the marker, then jumping backwards back over it.
- A challenge could be added for participants to jump over as many markers in they can in a set time period. At the end, ask them how many jumps they made. Always find it funny how the younger ones lie about their scores.
Flipping over the Markers
- With all the markers on floor, set the group a challenge to flip them all over so they are upside down. Repeat this a few times. Young ones like it because to them its a fun game. Older ones seem to like the challenge too.
Colours Game
- As part of the warm up, get the group to move around the confined area. When coach shouts out a colour, they have to find that colour of marker and stand there. Its quite funny with the younger ones if you shout out a colour that doesnt match any of the markers.
- As a variation of this, get the group to move around. Once they approach a certain colour of marker they have to do a certain action
eg. red marker = hamstring stretch, green marker = calf stretch
Follow the Colours
- To start with, tell the group to go and find a marker each to start at. When you tell them to, they have to move around running to markers of the same colour as they started at. eg. If they start at a red marker, they'll move to another red marker, then another...and so on.
- Firstly place 20+ markers/cones randomly spread around in a confined area...penalty box, centre circle or around a sports hall. From this point, theres plenty of different ways you could go with your session:
Jumping
- Get the participants to jump over the markers, then move onto another one and repeat this process. This could be varied with jumping with their feet together or hopping. Another one could be jumping over the marker, then jumping backwards back over it.
- A challenge could be added for participants to jump over as many markers in they can in a set time period. At the end, ask them how many jumps they made. Always find it funny how the younger ones lie about their scores.
Flipping over the Markers
- With all the markers on floor, set the group a challenge to flip them all over so they are upside down. Repeat this a few times. Young ones like it because to them its a fun game. Older ones seem to like the challenge too.
Colours Game
- As part of the warm up, get the group to move around the confined area. When coach shouts out a colour, they have to find that colour of marker and stand there. Its quite funny with the younger ones if you shout out a colour that doesnt match any of the markers.
- As a variation of this, get the group to move around. Once they approach a certain colour of marker they have to do a certain action
eg. red marker = hamstring stretch, green marker = calf stretch
Follow the Colours
- To start with, tell the group to go and find a marker each to start at. When you tell them to, they have to move around running to markers of the same colour as they started at. eg. If they start at a red marker, they'll move to another red marker, then another...and so on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
