Keep working hard and pushing yourself through these sessions. Remember, our goal is to get to at least 12,000 touches this week!
The next test is Rhode Island! Rhode Island Skills Challenge
I have attached this week’s installment of a fitness plan. Why fitness, you may ask… And “why fun”… Soccer is one of the most demanding physical sports requiring so many types of physical needs and demands. Training all these different aspects is not easy and takes time. Also, I know that I have driven my players crazy before, because whenever I would say, “We’re gonna have fun today,” they knew it was going to be a very physical, challenging session. I would hear so many moan and groans, but in the end I knew most of the players LOVED these sessions the most. Kids love being challenged, and they love being pushed hard.
We have a banner hanging up at Far Post that reads, “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.” This is also a quote that is used frequently around the club. Being in top physical condition is essential for all players to perform at their best. I have learned as a player and as a coach that the more fitness a player does (both in formal sessions AND on their own), the better they perform. They run harder later in the game. The run faster and jump higher and get to the ball fast at the end of the match. They maintain focus better because physical exhaustion causes mental exhaustion. A player’s technique stays sharper later in the game because muscles are less tire and thus react and respond better. I also believe that physically fit athletes fight longer, harder and better.
Around mid-winter, I sent a very clear challenge out to every coach at Far Post. It was a directive to them all to make a commitment that every single team at Far Post would be the fittest team they played against this year. Since we are now in a situation where we must ask every player to “become their own coach” to a certain degree, I must now ask each player to take on this new challenge from Coach Todd. When we get out of this COVID-19 situation, I expect every player to be in top physical condition so that when they first step back onto the soccer field that they will be prepared and committed to being “the hardest working player on the field.”
In order to accomplish this goal, all of our players must be willing to consistently put the work in and it will require some pain. “The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.” Please make the commitment to come through this challenge stronger.
Thanks, Coach Todd
Rhode-Island