2 things anyone can do to improve their team

There are little things we as players can do to help the team, regardless of our relative skill level or experience. All we need, is a little effort, and sometimes, just saying something encouraging.

Coach shared with us a nugget of advice the other day, after witnessing a shambolic 2-sided game displayed in training. 

"The losing team, especially at amateur level, is losing because they are operating  as 3 distinct lines of players- defence, midfield, attack. Each line not connected to the others."

4 main ways we all concede goals from

We were doing possession play that week during training. As usual, we started well. The team in possession starts off with quick passing, good off the ball running.

But a few minutes later, people start to slack off. Sloppy passing, trying to Messi-Ronaldo their way out of tight spots, no one running into open space to support. As a result, possession turned over more quickly.

Deadball situations contribute about 30% of a team's goals scored, as well as goals conceded.

Common mistakes when asking for sponsorship

Sponsorship.

Every team manager's wet dream, and normally it remains just that. A wet dream.

I'm currently embroiled in a 5 way discussion with various companies regarding sponsorship with my team. Quite a feat, considering we are just a simple amateur footballing club who are not exactly setting the amateur football scene on fire. 1 win in 5 games this season is testament to that.

So what makes us different from everyone else? How does one pitch to potential sponsors? What does the potential sponsor get in return?

How to add POWER to your shooting!

Shooting hard is as much about technique as it is about power. 

1. Your Technique

I used to think that the stronger you are, the harder you can shoot. That was until I picked up golf. For all you golf enthusiasts out there you'll understand. As long as the contact is right, and the ball hits the 'sweet spot', your ball will fly!

Coaches always talk about these 3 steps when it comes to putting power behind your shots. 

First, support foot should be laterally in line with the ball. If you're right footed, the left foot should be about 20cm to the left of the ball just as your master foot swings down for the contact. If the support foot is too far behind the ball, you lose power coz your right foot is already on the upswing. Too far forward, and your master foot have not mastered enough kinetic energy to really smash the ball. Not to mention you'll probably sprain your foot. 

Secondly, lean forward as you hit the ball. You can help this along by leaning forward, with your body above the ball at impact. This will help you keep the ball low and hard. 

Thirdly, follow through. I prefer a full 'knee to nipples' type of follow through. Unlike the long searing Steven Gerrardesque kind of pass, where your follow through is the entire leg swinging up, for shooting, to keep the ball low, the entire follow through should only be completed at the hips to knee level. The lower leg should be relaxed and allowed to finish below the knee. 

2. Power

It's not all about the size of your quads, or how heavy you can squat in the gym. There are very specific muscles you need to strengthen in order to maximise the speed on impact. 

I came across an excellent video on the specific exercises to strengthen the said muscles. The exercises mimic the natural swing of your leg when you're about to shoot. 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=1zNDn5ZKuBU

These simple steps, if followed diligently, will help you build the correct muscle memory and technique so it becomes more instinctive everytime you shoot. 

Stretching: Before or After playing?

There has been much debate recently about the effects of stretching and whether it is necessary. Studies done seemed to have insinuated that what we learnt in school about stretching BEFORE games have not prevented injuries.

http://m.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/should-i-stretch-before-or-after-my-runs?adbid=10152487494631987&adbpl=fb&adbpr=9815486986&cid=socTP_20141224_37557287 

I came across this article today and felt the overwhelming need to give my 2cts worth. 

Before the game/activity

I was educated by the old school method of stretching before exercising. It didn't take me long to realise that trying to stretch cold muscles seemed a futile attempt. Jogging a little before stretching seemed to make more sense. A short jog around the field became my preferred warm up sequence, followed by 10-15mins of static stretching, starting from the neck muscles down all the way to the ankles. 

Over the last 2-3 years, I got re-educated again. This time after I got involved in football coaching for kids. It seemed agility exercises and drills were more important in the warm up phase, especially in a sport like football, where the nimbleness of your lower body is needed. In came the ladders, the cones, the slaloms with the ball.... etc

When I started to receive football coaching myself, I noticed we barely did the standard army style static 'head rotation clockwise 3 counts of 4'. It was just jogging up and down a 10m lane, doing knee lifts, arm swings and stuff like that. Much more dynamic and in my opinion, a much better way to warm up the body for football in particular. 

Even at the gym, my trainer never start with a stretching session. It was always straight off to the specific station, start with manageable weights and light reps. Once that part of the body is warmed up do we proceed to the what I call the 'pump the living daylights out of your damn muscles' kind of regime. 

After the game/activity

After the game, is where I feel stretching is useful. When the body is weary, all warmed up, we sit down and stretch the leg muscles. I feel this prevents the muscles from cramping up later and at the same time, gradually improve your range of motion. 

Even at the gym, we seem to do this. My trainer spends 10-15mins at the end of the session, turning me into some kind of pretzel. He knows I play quite a bit of football and he spends time making me do the sit-n-reach kind of stretching, as well as the lower back twisting one. 

So in a nutshell...

after this unusually long post, I feel that the warm up you do before the activity should be tailored specifically to the type of activity you are embarking on. The standard static ones we used to do is much better post activity as a form of recuperation and injury prevention, as well as for improving your range of motion.