FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME
Fitness for Life.
Picture this: You’re 85 years old, hiking up a windswept hill with a mischievous grin, whilst your grandkids struggle to keep up. Sounds impossible? Not if you embrace sport, fitness, and health as a lifelong adventure, something we love doing here at LWC.
Exercise isn’t just about chiselled abs or running marathons. It’s about resilience, mental sharpness, and longevity. Just look at the Blue Zones - those rare places on Earth where people routinely live past 100, and live well. Their secret? Daily movement, strong communities and an unshakeable zest for life. They don’t grind out deadlifts in fluorescent-lit gyms. Tthey walk, swim, stretch, and lift things because life demands it.
At LWC, we champion this philosophy. Sport isn’t a phase. It’s a lifelong pursuit of challenge, camaraderie, and self-discovery. Whether you’re smashing a rugby tackle, perfecting a tennis serve, or finding peace in a morning run, you’re investing in a future where your body serves you well, not the other way around.
So, take the stairs, chase a ball, climb a mountain, bowl away swingers, try Yoga. Because when sport and fitness become your adventure, life doesn’t just last longer. It gets richer, wilder, and infinitely more fun. So tighten those laces, take a breath and step up and out into a world of infinite possibilities, a world that begins within our idyllic 1200 acre campus and culture.
ADAM WILLIAMS HEADMASTER
Welcome to the Team.
LWC Performance Football Programme
Congratulations on your selection as part of The LWC Performance Football Programme.
This programme recognises your achievements and potential as a football player. As football continues to flourish at LWC, you are joining at an exciting time for the sport within the school.
This programme outlines your pathway toward football excellence while balancing academic commitments. In summary, it aims to:
• Develop you as a player technically, tactically, physically, and mentally.
• Foster a lifelong passion for football.
• Prepare you for competitive football and explore potential careers in and around the football industry.
The programme requires you to:
• Commit fully to all sports scholarship expectations at LWC.
• Attend all scholarship talks and workshops.
• Represent LWC in other sports alongside football.
• Participate in the coaching and mentoring of younger pupils.
• Actively engage with your football mentor.
• Commit to annual football tours to leading venues.
• Help raise the profile of football at LWC and beyond.
Programme Overview
This two-year programme is designed to develop football talent while ensuring balance with academic responsibilities. It focuses on technical development, physical conditioning, mental toughness, tactical awareness, and match preparation.
The programme is structured to align with the school timetable while preparing you for local, regional, and national competitions.
Key Areas of Focus
1. Technical Skills
Refine core skills: passing, dribbling, tackling, shooting, and heading. Develop advanced techniques such as close control, one-touch play, and setpiece execution.
Conduct regular assessments to track consistency and identify areas for improvement.
2. Physical Fitness
Build strength, speed, flexibility, and endurance specific to football. Emphasise injury prevention and recovery.
3. Mental Skills
Enhance focus, confidence, and resilience under pressure.
Use sports psychology techniques such as visualization and composure drills.
4. Tactical Awareness
Improve game awareness, decisionmaking, and positioning. Analyse match footage to refine team and individual strategies.
5. Match Preparation
Create a structured competition calendar.
Simulate match conditions during practice sessions.
6. Academic Balance
Balance football training with school commitments and other sports participation. Develop time management strategies with your football mentor.
7. Leadership
Mentor and coach younger pupils in football (Years 7-9).
Be a role model to all students and always display the values of the school and sport. Represent LWC football at ambassadorial events.
8. Career Opportunities
Explore career paths in football, including coaching, sports management, or playing professionally, with support from LWC connections.
Components of the Programme
1. Technical Training
• Skill Drills
Focus on accuracy and consistency in passing, shooting, dribbling, and defending.
• Position-specific training
Develop positional skills for goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards.
• Game Simulations
Practice under live conditions to replicate match intensity.
• Video Analysis
Regularly review match footage to fine-tune performance.
2. Physical Conditioning
• Strength Training
2-3 sessions per week, focusing on power, speed, and stability.
Key exercises: Deadlifts, squats, lunges, sled pushes, and core work.
• Speed and Agility
Include sprint drills, ladder exercises, and quick change-of-direction training.
• Flexibility and Mobility
Daily dynamic stretches and foam rolling to enhance range of motion.
Weekly yoga or Pilates sessions.
• Endurance Training
Include interval running and football-specific cardiovascular drills.
3. Mental Skills Development
• Performance Psychology
Set short-term and long-term goals. Practice pre-match routines, including visualization and breathing techniques.
• Logbook
Track daily reflections on practice, mental state, and game decisions.
4. Tactical Awareness and Preparation
• Game Strategy
Study opposition tactics, set plays, and defensive systems.
• Match Simulation
Practice under pressure in scenarios that mimic match conditions.
• Post-Match Review
Assess performance with feedback on strengths and areas for growth.
5. Academic Integration
• Prioritise key training sessions around academic exams.
• Use planners to manage practice, fitness, and study sessions.
• Incorporate rest days to maintain focus and avoid burnout.
Seasonal Plan
Pre-Season (Boys: Summer term, Girls: Autumn term)
Focus: Build physical base, refine technique, and set goals.
Activities:
• Skill analysis and development plan for preparation of competition.
• Strength and flexibility focus in gym sessions.
Competition Season (Boys: Autumn term, Girls: Autumn-Spring term)
Focus: Peak performance, refine technique and match readiness.
Activities:
• Competitive matches with gamespecific objectives.
• Game and Tactical preparation and positional drills.
• Competitions- ISFA U18 Competition, regular competitive fixtures against schools across southeast England.
Post-Season (Boys: January-March, Girls: Summer term)
Focus: Recovery and review.
Activities:
• Reflect on season performance.
• Develop off-season goals and strategies.
Example
Weekly Schedule
Day Activity
Duration
Monday A team training (Skill session) 1-2 hours
Tuesday Rest and Recovery (stretching, mobility work at the gym/home) 1 hour
Wednesday Skill drills and games Positional training/Unit work with premier league associated professional coaches Competitive fixtures 2-4 hours
Thursday Access to sports therapist to support injury management and recovery plans.
Set play session and tactics for game situations into whole team gameplay (Game Preparation)
Tactical Video Analysis theory session of the previous game played. Throughout the day. 1-2 hours 1 hour (If there is no game on a Saturday)
Friday Rest and Recovery (stretching, mobility work at the gym/home) 1 hour
Saturday Match day (including hosting opposition post-game) 2-4 hours
Sunday Recovery day. Session plan shared by Sport therapist 1 hour
This structured programme provides a comprehensive pathway for football development while maintaining balance with academic and personal commitments.
