Loughgall FC Pre-Season Conditioning Session

We carried out a training session to assess player fitness prior to new-season, it also gave the players a different stimulus having the opportunity to work with qualified S&C coaches.

Warm-up:

Session aims were introduced at the beginning to both motivate and make it relevant to the players and their own goals. Emphasis on anaerobic conditioning/fitness from 5 to 40m with short but sufficient recovery times.

With limited time during a session the warm up provided the opportunity to work on mobility and develop movements patterns of the sport, with the focus on quality not speed. This included development of acceleration, deceleration, side-shuffle and back pedal.

Anaerobic conditioning involved a fitness test. It involved forward movements over a sprinting distance of 30m, backwards movements of 10m and total distance per length of 120m. The constant change of direction, which is a key element in the game, showed as a weakness in most players.

Mixing Conditioning with football skill/games brought the best out of the squad, especially after a tough testing period beforehand. Here is a video below of the some paired sprints at the end of the session...