Newsletter T1/W6
We continued our progress on the field this week as players continued to challenge themselves in the rich, fun and dynamic environment created for them at training.
During our session preparation we prioritise the quality and quantity of information we make available to players, as this is crucial to their short term performance and long term development.
Developing skilful, adaptive and creative football players is a complex, challenging and exciting project. We are constantly producing realistic football problems and then encouraging players to find solutions by guiding their attention. To develop skilful, adaptive and creative players, we must expose them to a complex and dynamic environment within our sessions.
Technique is perhaps the most visible obvious element to enjoying success in football. Even an amateur can recognise good technique. Do they have good control? Are they fast with the ball at their feet? Can they dribble through their opponents? Do they pass accurately?
Our technical work is ongoing as we work towards developing players able to receive passes both on the ground and in the air with clean first touches keeping the ball close to their body. A player able to maintain possession of the ball, successfully protecting it from opponents.
See you on the field.
Cheers
Nutrition in young players – Part 1
In the past few decades the number of young athletes approaching sports aiming at higher level competition has been increasing considerably. This expansion has been favoured particularly by the improvement of specific training means. Training and enhanced physical activity are important, although their impact on the growth process of young athletes has not yet been fully understood. Most of the present knowledge on the adaptations to training and nutrition is based on studies performed on young university or college students, or on middle-aged or older adults. The present study demonstrates that the energy expenditure and metabolism of adolescents can differ from those of the adults and, therefore, many of these recommendations cannot give any clear and exhaustive view of the real nutritional needs of young athletes (2-3)
The caloric expenditure during the growth stages varies according to the maturation periods, changing from a phase of higher caloric expenditure in early childhood and childhood to a progressively decreasing expenditure in late childhood and adolescence, corresponding to a slower growth rate (5) . In view of this, primary institutions like F.A.O. / O.M.S. / U.N.U. have defined the caloric requirements recommendations according to age. Table 1 gives the caloric recommendations for physically active boys and girls.
