In my last newsletter, I talked about how excellence is in the detail. In my Moneyball newsletter, I also talked about some similar things and how Wenger’s professionalization of the English game.
I read this article on The Athletic when it was published about individual training and thought it was really interesting. Some of my main takeaways were that I thought it was odd that clubs didn't know that players were doing individual sessions externally. I feel like if I was managing Spurs, I’d want to know if they’re getting extra work in. Especially from a sports science perspective, it’s important to know what their bodies are going through because it’s going to affect your whole training.
I also was surprised that players were embarrassed about doing extra training. Even playing rugby at school it wasn’t unusual for players to practise lineout throws or kicking. You’d hope that professional players are always striving to improve and that in the right environment and culture, they’d be supportive to each other in achieving success and improving.
It’s estimated that 60% of Premier League players are doing some form of individual training. I think there’s a lot of benefit to doing it and individual sessions are something I want to start doing. And if people are interested I’ll probably write about some individual sessions on here similar to my recent article about my team’s first game back. I currently have two clients, one of my mates who is in his first season playing men’s football after being a good player at youth grassroots but not having played the last two years really, and then also my 5 year old cousin, which is a very different challenge.
For example, looking at my U10s I think we’ve got a few players who could be really good. They’d really benefit from individual training though. In our sessions, let’s say we finish with a 15 minute opposed practice followed by a 30 minute match. How many touches are each of my players getting? Not that many. Obviously some more than others, and it’s the ones that lack confidence that need more touches on the ball but aren’t going to get as many in a training session as others. And they definitely won’t be using their weak foot if they’re not confident with it.
Individual training allows you to drill technique and get lots of touches. You can give specific feedback with focused attention. In a training session without a shooting focused practice, my striker might take 5 shots, but in an individual session, he could take 50. I enjoying lifting weights which is organised by sets and reps, so I like to think about football that way too sometimes. Individual training is important for getting the reps in.
Looking back at professional players, I think that players should always be looking to improve. I think that there’s a lot that players can be doing and with the money they earn, they should be doing a lot. If I was coaching at a top club I’d be asking a lot of my players, and if they disagreed then they’re probably not the right sort of person to be at the club. I’d want to make it flexible and not authoritarian but I’d want to push my players.
Gym sessions, individual sessions, yoga, mobility, extra recovery are some examples of physical stuff. But then there’s also things like coaching young players, learning languages, tactical understanding, courses and qualifications, mentoring and doing opposition and self-analysis. These might be some quite obvious things but I’d want to encourage as much of this from my players as possible while also ensuring they don’t burn out of course.
I think there’s a lot players can be doing. Extras to get marginal gains and constantly improve. Not just doing the bare minimum and living off of talent.
I don't have the first-hand experience of it, but I know (ex-)academy players and you hear stories of them getting ahead of themselves and getting caught up in the lifestyle and thinking that they’ve made it and then falling off the path. I’d really like to work in academy football at 16-23 (the professional development phase) and I want one of my biggest focuses to be ensuring players don’t get caught up in it, stay focused and do their extras.