http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/why-our-footballers-need-more-athleticism#:o1qPzusmBajw_A



Why our footballers need more athleticism

One of the world’s leading experts in speed and movement says that the lack of focus of athleticism in the FFA national curriculum means that young footballers in Australia are lacking the basic fundamentals of speed and strength.
Ranell Hobson, 43, is the training director of the Academy of Sport, Speed and Agility in Sydney which specialises in sprint mechanics for explosive sports speed for athletes in the 9-17 year old age group.
Much discussion has centred on youth development in Australia due to the Olyroos failure to qualify for Rio 2016 and Hobson who has dedicated her life to learning and studying efficiency and speed believes that the lack of stretching and mobility programs for young footballers is having an effect on Australia’s national teams.
“It’s just setting them up for chronic long term injuries,” she said.
“Because of that we got these young kids playing football that are really talented but we are destroying them by the time they are 15 and 16. So we’ve got a much smaller pool of athletes to choose from when we get to our under-23 and our senior National squad.”
The former sprinter also believes that the focus away from teaching the physical side of the game to young players has also been detrimental to the progress of Australian football.
“We used to have such a strong athletic culture in football in this country,” Hobson said.
“But at one point in time they decided that we didn’t have the skill to compete at the world stage and instead of adding more skill and football culture into the development into our players they dropped the athleticism altogether and now the curriculum has just focused on football and nothing else.
“One of the fundamental flaws in the curriculum is that there is no isolated training. The coaches aren’t trained within that training environment on how to correct or modify players when they do have inefficient movement techniques or if they see a player that they expect to be explosive but their bobbing up and down on the spot.
Hobson added, “It’s mentioned in the curriculum that a requirement is explosiveness but the coaches unfortunately don’t actually have the knowledge to teach that.
“They refer to fitness and running efficiency being able to be developed through playing the game of football. But our research from 2001 and the continuing research since then has shown that you can’t develop speed, you can’t develop change of direction and you can’t develop player efficiency just by playing a sport itself. “
image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/sites/fourfourtwo.com/files/styles/inline-image/public/hobson2.jpg?itok=ayK__duw

Hobson was recently invited by EPL club Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Leicester to conduct speed and change of direction workshops for their Youth Academy Coaches.
The experience in the UK and working with an English Premier League club like the Gunners was an eye opener for Hobson.
Getting to seeing how they train their young players up close was an insight into their methods.
“Arsenal teaches them the correct technique for their sport and then brings in the weight training at an earlier age,” she said.
“They have their under-10’s learning Olympic lifting techniques with a wooden bar but they are teaching them techniques at that age so that when they get to 12 and 13 they can start lifting correctly. Big compound movements that lift the whole body at once, not training like body builders they are training like athletes from 12 and 13.”

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/why-our-footballers-need-more-athleticism#wykOLKzrqbjtb14v.99

Edited by Decentric: 7/2/2016 08:05:50 AM

Apart from pumping iron, even after a competitive athletic career, I wouldn't have a clue how to coach players to be more athletic.

I've often been astonished at how confident people involved in sports science are in coaching football or opining on how to do it. :d

A FFA state conference a few years ago was very much built around pre-season program design with specific football content, as opposed to beach sprinting/push up /sit up programs of the past.

The whole curriculum is about solving football problems and getting players physically and mentally prepared through football. I have found the use of periodisation (which I learnt on the C licence) to be good enough in terms of getting players fit/physically prepared for football. Everything should involve the ball.

Have to agree on this, to many opinions on this aspect.

All I want to know from a player is can you play football?

Hi Decentric, Thanks so much on your comments regarding the above article. The desire to build the athleticism of young and developing footballers is to ensure that they have the physical capabilities to do exactly what their coach requires of them without developing compensatory actions which lead to injuries. I am constantly amazed at the prevalence of hamstring, groin and hip flexor injuries in young footballers and it is my desire to decrease these injuries and allow young footballers to really enjoy their football without being sidelined with reoccurring issues.

We would never expect a football coach to have the knowledge and expertise to develop functional athleticism just as I know that I do not have the knowledge or experience to coach the skills and the game of football. What I do suggest is a strong pairing of professionals to allow our young athletes to achieve their maximum athletic potential as Footballers and increase the success of our players at all levels of the sport.

Building athleticism in players, including but not limited to strength and functional mobility and stability is far removed from beach sprints, push ups and sit ups 'of the past' as mentioned in your comment, hence the need for coach education in this area.

Edited by Ranell: 15/2/2016 02:24:35 PM

The problem with ONLY wanting to know if a player can play football is that young talented footballers then go overseas to trial at UK and European Academies and in most cases are assessed on how fast they sprint, how well the change direction, how high they jump and how well they land. They may then be told, you've got good skill, but you are too slow. Everyone is passionate about the success of football in this country so lets develop them so that they are the total package.

Got it in one
Before there was too much pressure on push ups sit ups and running
Then the FFA had too much pressure on game related (let the game be the teacher)
Then they added skills acquisition (a very good idea)
But they have forgotten about basic technique and fitness (dribbling around cones,juggling ,running with the ball, correct passing, speed over 20 and recovery, core strength)
The truth is as budda said (find the middle way)or

“when you are at the top you only see shadows and when your at the bottom you are blinded by the light but from the middle everything is pleasing... day and night”

Welcome to the the forum, Ranell.

I'd surmise that in England athletic KPIs would be a much greater priority than Holland, Spain or Italy. I'm guessing you are from a background in sports science.

Without any equivocation, English football training ground methodology is not widely recognised as being as good as the football methodology of the European continental powerhouses, ostensibly the source of our ever evolving National Curriculum.

The qualities that have been valued in England have not seen them achieve to their potential in international football over a sustained period . English football is essentially about physicality and athleticism. Continental football is primarily about technique and tactics.

The latter qualities are far more prevalent in successful international football powerhouses. England is not one of them, but should be.

There is a lot of dribbling around and against active, moving players and running with the ball in the SAP.

Good response.

Even better.

Apparently in every other professional sport it's OK to have a strength and conditioning coach but according to this bloke football knowledge is all you need to condition athletes.

Presumably these blokes have nothing to offer and should pull the pin as they're not football coaches after all.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/quot-nis021716.php

http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/02/23/the-nordbord-is-seeing-success-in-preventing-hamstring-injuries-and-saving-teams-fortunes/

Imagine, outsiders offering advice. Heresy.

Those EPL clubs have got nothing on the A-League.

Here In England its all about work rate and not football talent.
even some TD that have been on FA talent identification courses and have the certificate, look for athletes and cant identify talent.
You only have to Look at a newly promoted WSL team that has recruited a netball player !
As verheihan says the FFA conditioning guru says, its not about how high you jump , your score on the interval test, its about repeated explosive football actions and recovery between them.
I get to see the S&C coaches taking up half the 2 hour session , even at u11.
The 2 physios always have a queue of players in rehab at training, so cant think it does much in injury prevention
The lack of football at training is probably why English developed players struggle on the Euro and world Stage, well at least the can run alot apart from major tournaments are held in the Northern summer and so thay cant run and complain about the heat.

Who is Rachel Hobson? Any pics?