Preseason Preferences

I have to admit to getting a little touchy around this time of year. Despite the fact I’m not coaching or managing at present, this year is no different. You see I get a little hot under the collar when coaches take to social media and start getting all bitchy about the content and focus of preseason sessions that frankly have nothing to do with them.

I have planned and delivered quite a few preseason schedules now and I can tell you that everyone was different because the requirements in every season and every scenario are different. Having discussed and agreed a plan with the rest of the coaching staff, I have always explained to players what that schedule will look like, what it will include and what we are trying to achieve in doing so. Although I put a lot of stuff in the public domain, I don’t feel the need to explain any of this to coaches who don’t know a thing about the journey we then go through as a group.

As a player I had some preseasons that were great experiences and some that perhaps weren’t so great for various different reasons. The methods deployed by coaches 20 years ago were a little different to those of their counterparts today but most of the principles around why we undertook a preseason schedule were the same then as they are today.

Some coaches think a footballer should have no need to go near a running track, undertake a 12 min run, do a bleep test or run up hills/steps – “show me where there are hills on a football pitch”.

I know why coaches say this. Really, I get it. But life is not about rules where one size fits all, and those who completely rule out the tools at their disposal simply because if they don’t include a ball in every component of a session, they feel they are not making it specific to the game itself, they are limiting the scope of their opportunity in my opinion. Or more likely I suspect, they fear being called a dinosaur.

The best preseason I ever did as a player included cliff runs often up hundreds of steps, 12 minute runs, weights, body weight exercises, fartlek style running and aquafit classes. Not a ball in sight for perhaps half the sessions. The other sessions were excellent, as was the games programme during that preseason and after 10 games we found ourselves top of the league despite having a team no better than mid table. I needed all those preseason components for lots of different reasons.

I’ve definitely made mistakes during my planning and delivery of preseason schedules and there are always improvements to be made when you look back and assess how successful your approach was. Funnily enough, in one session when we discussed how preseason had gone with a few players, the feedback from the senior lads was that we hadn’t done enough running and built a strong enough CV base. I could argue that the lads should have taken care of that themselves but this was non league, amateur football and when I look back they were one of the fitter sides in the league that year some of which came from their own efforts outside time on the training ground with me. So they were fairly responsible compared to their peers in that league. They compared it to the previous year when I had thrown in a couple of runs and felt that the balance was better doing it that way.

No they are not coaches with shiny badges to prove it but should they have an opinion? Absolutely, and it was one I listened to and learnt from.

Sessions that include running can provide enormous benefits to players and can also help coaches understand the psychological/social corners of the 4 corner coaching development model as well as the physical. All can be, and often are, very relevant, dependent on the team’s age, ability level and stated aims.

If I saw U10 coaches spending time running their kids during a preseason session I’d suspect they may be missing a trick but even then…what do I know about their journey? It’s not my place to judge them. By the same token I’m not going to criticize the coach who never lets his players do anything without the ball.

Judgement is passed by results – the semi pro side who are that bit fitter after a pre season full of running and therefore achieve an advantage over their rivals, perhaps by repeatedly scoring late on as their greater stamina provides an edge, or the youth development team who might not win all the time but produce great technical players who go on to have a career in the game as a result.

Context!

One final note, so as to demonstrate I understand the need to involve the footballs as much as possible. The first phase (3 weeks, 6 sessions and 2 games) of my preseason last year included lots of fitness work that included the ball and reinforced fundamentals with the ball I felt needed work in the group of players I had – one example being

Or at this link for those without Adobe (any iPhone/iPad user!)

https://twitter.com/webblyhead/status/878642944449933312

The work is specific, includes lots of directional change, acceleration/deceleration and touches of the ball. The focus was two fold – to build specific football fitness and conditioning, and also to focus on technique, namely awareness – check shoulder/peripheral vision/verbal communication, receiving – body shape/technique and angle of first touch, and passing – weight/direction/speed of release. The recovery (on one of the corner stations) includes the need to concentrate on the technical aspects whilst recovering from the physical exertion in the middle.

But the players knew that at any given moment, I might be ready to test their resolve to prove their will to win, fitness or ability to work as a team, by throwing in a curve ball. It was a good way to learn more about the players when I did, though I’m not sure which manual I read about how to do that stuff in.