Towards football based conditioning in Australia

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Rey Castro

In the movie Victory German officials organise a game against prisoners of war mainly British. The following is said by the British football coach before starting the fist training session: We gotta start somewhere, so lets start with basics, shall we? Slow, easy, stretching it fully. Okay? We wont be needing that for a while. (jogging) Come on, put em down. Lets go. Pick em up. Left, left. Left, right. Left, right. The object the coach (Michael Caine) is referring to the thing the team wont be needing for a while is the ball. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Of1rOXqe4&feature=related) The traditional approach to football in Australia is strength and determination a cultural trait. Although important in football, physical strength is not the main factor to win games. As in the movie, this traditional approach or belief to address football conditioning, especially in the pre-season, is still held by coaches that hold traditional football values. Yet football is constantly changing, constantly evolving. Nowadays it is more dynamic, more technical, and the game now is played in very reduced spaces. The previous scenario is an example of an issue that becomes part (or it should) of a debate between todays Australian football coaches. In this paper I am going to support the advantages in having the ball present across all football training activities, without falling into what I call football relativism. Footballbased science doesnt have enough evidence yet to claim only one truth, therefore we cant accept without question that no-ball conditioning brings more fitness benefit to football players. The traditional coach would include heavy conditioning-based training sessions during the pre-season in order to get a football team ready for the competition. Very often even

during the competition. Often these training sessions (as in the movie exerpt) are missing the ball and include weight training sessions, plyometrics, and intense and long running schedules.

Without disregarding the benefits these fitness routines might produce, the traditional coach involuntarily misses the opportunity to work on football related activities that can improve technique and game awareness. Players can be extremely fit for running in one direction, and probably fit to lift and do as many sets lifting weights, and endurance. But as soon as they jump in the field, where all the movements and weight charge different parts of the body and are not balanced evenly, the risk of injuries is high. Modern football requires the constant presence of the ball due to the fact that the game not only requires football players to be able to run, but they are required to do it with the ball and different paces, directions, stops and starts. According to Andy Roxburgh (2010), the fact that football is currently played at the top level by very technically gifted players means physical attributes of football players are shifting towards players that are less strong but highly technical. In a recent interview, Barcelonas Xavi Hernandez stated that one of his qualities as a football player was the ability to think quickly what to do next, how to solve a situation before getting the ball, and quickly before getting into contact with opponents since more players in the pitch are stronger than him. Xavi developed his football skills at FC Barcelona who is world renowned for producing highly technical players. It is not mere coincidence that Barcelona produces highly skillful players. They adopted the philosophy of Johan Cruyff. Cruyff believed in having football players that knew the game rather than relying on players due to their height, strength and courage which seemed to be the preference in the coaching community of his time. In football today, the ability to run with and without the ball is more important than running 200 meters at high speed and being the strongest in the field. On one occasion, Laureano Ortiz (coach of Spanish side Racing de Santander) was advised to trial a football player of Guinean background who held the record for 100 and 200 metres in Spain. During the first training session, he was fantastic. He was able to run the channel and reach balls, and also cut in for crosses coming to him at a very fast pace. He also seemed to have good technique. This footballer was believed to be the solution up front for Racing.

The next day, they had a game against another side (still during the pre-season). The game was a disaster. Once playing in a position, the trial player couldnt mark and also couldnt unmark. In theory this footballer shouldve been marvelous. According to this coach, in paper, this player should have been the best player in the league. But in practice, this was not the case. Every time a midfielder would create a gap to send a killer pass, this player seemed uncomfortable, stayed still, absent in the space, or he would ran fast as soon as the ball would leave his team mates feet yet he couldnt read or see the gaps. The slow semi injured central defenders in the opposing team would reach every ball to him with no trouble at all. In other words, although he was strong and fast, he couldnt play football. This story confirms Johan Cruyffs preference for footballers footballers arguing one can be tall, very fit, have control and yet not know how to play football. Having football related conditioning and including football activities, can improve football skills of players with similar attributes to Ortizs trial player. Australian sporting culture is deeply rooted in a never say die mentality. In the Atlanta games in 1996, Australia had a very slow start. The first medal was in shooting. After this, people started demanding swimmers just get in the pool and win. Australian athletes were to have focus and show a strong and determined attitude. Having this kind of attitude is no doubt a good thing, but in football it is not enough to be effective. In a recent seminar conducted by Capital Football in Canberra, Alistair Edwards (former Socceroo) spoke about the need in modern football for teams to implement football related conditioning. Edwards also shared a personal experience of what was happening in the Socceroos minds when they faced Argentina in the play offs for FIFA WC 1994. According to Alistair, the Socceroos ran hard and were stronger than their opponents, yet they still hardly touched the ball. And even though they were the strongest team in the park, the weaker opponent knew how to solve problems on the field in real time, without the need to rely on strength and contact. Edwards stated in this presentation that it crossed his mind: We are stronger and seem to be running more and well all over the park. What are they doing that keep us struggling? The answer might lie in football fitness rather that fitness per s. The need for change to evolve It is insane to keep doing things the same way constantly and expect different results said Albert Einstein. In 2006, the FFA conducted a review on player development in Australia, and found that technical skills are deficient in players in elite competitions (FFA National Football Development Program 2006). The findings in the study carried out in 2006 are more resonant when we look at the technical data the FIFA 2010 World Cup provided. In 2010, the FIFA data reflects Australia with 5 technical points related to physical attributes including immediate pressure after losing the ball, strong hard-working players

and determination. The data yielded by FIFA placed Australia in 21st place very far behind the top three nations in the World Cup. Based on this review, the FFA published a series of suggestions to the football community mainly focused on the development side of the game in order to address areas where Australian football players seem to fall behind in comparison to the best in the world. The introduction of dynamic mobility during warm ups and the inclusion of football-based conditioning practices to achieve football fitness are part of these suggestions. These recommendations to football coaches are also in line with FFAs long-term plan in developing a philosophy of the game in Australia and, in doing so, increasing the possibilities of winning a FIFA World Cup in the near-term future. The FFA has adopted this new curriculum to shape game philosophy in Australia, a style of play that acknowledges the existence of competitiveness of the game but weighs technique and skill over results during development. The FFAs suggestion to coaches is to plan and implement football related conditioning from the age of 16 years onwards in order to make the most of training time to create stronger technical abilities and improve awareness of the game. Another reason the FFA has included conditioning from 16 years onwards in the new curriculum is because fitness before the growth spurt is pretty much useless and young players are vulnerable during the growth spurt. This argument is also supported by Peter van Dort (2008). One of the reasons why the FFA strongly recommends football conditioning programs to be implemented methodically is because of the belief conditioning is not the only pillar for good performance. The FFA states four pillars that are shown in good footballers: insight, communication, football conditioning and technique. These pillars are interrelated and can not be addressed individually. At a certain age, using football as a conditioning tool means players can improve technique since they will have more contact with the ball in an environment similar to the conditions created at a football game. These days we find attacking teams have to deal with less space in the field, less time and space to think and solve a football related problem, therefore conditioning should also be a tool to improve players reaction in a game. Football not only requires great fitness but also the ability to read and solve situations constantly. Football repeats over and over again situations that can be recreated in small sided games. These small sided games create awareness of football situations that relate straight to football. Thus, in having football related activities footballers are in constant exposure to situations that will happen in the match. The FFA has also included a guided discovery approach in the new curriculum which also focuses on the need to recreate game awareness in small sided games, and also promote the talented players as well as players that can improve with coaching at higher levels. The football conditioning approach is nothing new but requires a cultural change. Brisbane Roar FC adopted this approach in 2011 with great results. Real Madrids coach Jose Mourinho (2011) stated that for him pre-season is about creating or implementing a style of play by constantly playing and exposing footballers to situations that present a problem he wants resolved, rather than following a heavy fitness routine.

The ability to read the game while playing is a skill, technique is also a skill, therefore these can be taught and learned by constant repetition and exposure. Coaches are nowadays encouraged by the current national curriculum not to waste precious time in doing activities that dont look like football during training. In modern football a team that is able to play well with/without the ball and has more resources to quickly solve situations, tend to win more games rather than physically imposing teams since in modern football we are seeing a decrease of physical contact, there is also decrease of long balls, and we are having less goals scored from set pieces. Modern football has match winning players that can be smaller in height but highly skillful and highly technical (Andy Roxburgh 2010). Conclusion One can argue the FFA recommendations are right and long overdue. These days we see fast players, able to control the ball and project great confidence all this in reduced spaces as well as counterattacking at high speeds. The ability to read the game and be highly technical are arguably the most important attributes of todays football players. Should Australia continue the traditional approach to football, the likes of Messi and the rest of todays best players will never find a place, and we will miss out as a sporting nation. References Van Dort, P. (2008) Conditioning aspects in developing a style of play. Royal Netherlands Football Association, KNVB Academy. Mourinho, J. (2011)Porque tantas victorias?. Mc Sports. Espaa. Roxburgh, A. (2010) Reading the game. Malta coaches seminar notes 3 February 2010. Edwards, A. (2011) Football Conditioning. State Conference 2011. Capital Football Canberra 20 November 2011. FFA National Curriculum. Football Conditioning Report. Ortiz, L. (2010) Ftbol Profesional y mi modelo de juego. Mc Sports. Espaa