ISSUE 3 | MARCH 2018 www.opportunityelite.co.uk
MAKE YOUR TRAINING CREATIVE
THE BALL MASTERY ELITE Can you become part of the Ball Mastery Elite?
Practice makes permanent
How can this phrase change the way you practise?
ISSUE 3| MARCH 2018
WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE? Page 3 - Welcome Page 4 - Keeping your practice varied with creative Training Page 5 - Join the Ball Mastery Elite Page 6 - Free Ball Mastery Practice Session Page 7 - The Importance of Agility & Co-Ordination Page 8 - Agility & Co-ordination Drills Page 9 - Follow us on Page 10 - How should I balance my Fitness & Technical Training Page 11 - Training drills, updates & more
Please visit: wwww.opportunityelite.co.uk info@opportunityelite.co.uk
Welcome to March's edition Welcome to our third release of the OpportunityElite Player Development Magazine. The first two months have been great and we are looking to provide you with more great content and insight to give you the training and knowledge to step your game up to the next level. We are hugely passionate about developing players who can make an impact in the sport and love hearing of these success stories. If you are one of these players we would love to include a write-up in a future magazine release, giving other players the inspiration to succeed. We love the game and are here to help. Give our training practices a go and see how you can develop your game. Enjoy!
Elliott Everson, Founder of OpportunityElite
Keeping your practice varied
With creative training Keeping repetition is extremely important, but so is variation. How can you combine both?
Many players train consistently, focusing on individual
So we've established that we need to maintain our repetition
skills and techniques. There does, however, come a
of the key technical activity. If it is shooting, we must repeat
time where the training can become repetitive and it
the certain shot that we are practising, or the one v one skill
can feel like you are running out of ideas on how to
that we are developing. However, we can be as creative as we
improve your game.
want to be in the area of the drill leading up to the technical skill and repetition.
Don't worry though, your development can continue to increase.
For instance, if I wanted to work on shooting and curling the ball to the far post (check out the link to this drill at the bottom of the page) I could be creative in the movement prior
It is true that repetition is the key to developing the
to the shot, with a quick dribble through cones, or one two
good habits and co-ordination that form your
pass with a team-mate.
technique. It develops a clear way of technically performing and gives you the confidence to compete
Different movements or conditions will vary the training, but if
to a high level. It also improves your muscle memory -
you are focused on practicing a certain skill or technique then
giving the muscles a chance to remember your
make sure to keep the repetition.
positioning, balance and co-ordination. We can think of each training drill as having two parts: the Therefore, with creative training it is a must that we
creative conditions leading to the technical skill and then its
maintain the repetition in the technical activity.
repetition. Be creative, use different movements, obstacles and practise at differing speeds. Most of all, keep enjoying your training.
Click on the link below for our 'curling to the far post' drill. I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdq_0Lwhft8
Join the Ball Mastery Elite
At OpportunityElite we are huge believers in the benefit of Ball Mastery. It is a fundamental set of practices and techniques that help lay the foundations of any player's game and, best of all, they can be used by complete beginners to world class international professionals.
We've created a 17+ minute Ball Mastery Training Session, Free to Download. Download it now and become part of the Ball Mastery Elite, giving you a huge step ahead of your opponents.
Click Here for your Free 17 Minute Ball Mastery Practice
The Ball Mastery Elite
The Importance of Agility & Co-ordination We all want to be quick, one of the speedsters who
The top players can. The likes of Iniesta, Messi,
can accelerate past their opponent with ease. I know I
Sterling, David Silva, and Sergio Aquero have fantastic
always felt that if f I could have that electric pace
agility and co-ordination. They may not be the fastest
then my game would benefit hugely. But,
players on the pitch, but you wouldn't know it as they
unfortunately, we don't all have those natural talents!
are so quick in their change of direction. Top players work on their agility, their speed in
You can improve your speed with some specific acceleration and speed training. Harry Kane has been
changing direction and their co-ordination in small spaces.
working on this regularly and you can see great developments in his pace. However, there are also very important physical factors that can help you
Can you get your feet to do what your mind wants it to?
develop your game and stand out from the crowd. This is very difficult and a skill that needs practice and Straight line speed isn't always the most needed in soccer. How quickly a player can turn, twist, stop and accelerate is very important.
repetition. Building the link between your mind's instruction and body's movement takes time but, the more that you practise the quicker and more coordianted you will become within a range of
Are you able to stop and turn so quickly that you leave
movements and different directions.
your opponent running in the other direction? Turn over to the next page to see our co-ordination and agility drills!
Agility & Co-ordination Drills
Click on the link HERE to view our Agility & Co-ordination drills....
See more through our YouTube
Follow us on........
HOW SHOULD I BALANCE MY FITNESS AND TECHNICAL TRAINING? How to balance your fitness and technical training is quite a common question. Do you focus on more technical than physical or vice versa?
As with all individual training you are responsible for the conditions you set and the environment you work in. Make sure that you are safe and warm up correctly each time you practise.
The only person who can really answer that question is the player. Each player has different areas of their game that they feel needs the most work. However, we do feel that you can get huge benefit in both areas through high intensity technical practices.Â
The days of long runs for fitness training have long since passed and a large amount of clubs now work hard with high intensity ball work that includes short runs of 20-30 yards.
Working hard on the ball can give you the short and sharp bursts of fitness that are crucial for a game. To improve these areas you need to focus on the intensity. Just be careful not to push yourself too hard and cause injury.
If you can combine both, then you are on to a winner, developing your fitness at the same time as improving your technical skills.Â
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