IFS Week 8
1350 Club
We’ve introduced a new warm up for the Game Training groups at IFS. As players arrive before the formal start to the session, they get a ball each and start juggling; that is, keeping the ball in the air with any part of the body (except hands of course!).
There’s been debate over the years as to the relativity of juggling to football. Yes, it is an ‘isolated exercise’ without the necessary game components and resistances of football. As the FFA National Curriculum clearly states: “we believe a ‘holistic’ approach to coaching football is the best practice”. Holistic approach meaning purposeful practice that develops the players’ technical, decision making skills and football fitness in conjunction with each other instead of developing the individual components in isolation.
As a foundational ball mastery activity however, the benefits of increased co-ordination, balance, touch, confidence and concentration gives enough weight for us to allocate time before the group holistic training.
And it’s not just any old juggling. Brad Porter and I in particular, were reminiscing how we went through the original Home Training Program as part of the NSW Soccer Academy at Parklea, back in the ‘90s. The Academy was instrumental for both of us in regards to development and also included the likes of Brett Emerton, Nicky Carle and the great Harry Kewell. I remember when juggling challenges were first introduced to us as players and we needed to be able to do 1000 juggles. Harry came back the next day, “Ok, I did it!” Thus the 1350 club was born.
1350 club = when an IFS player can give proof (either through witnessed assessment or home video) of the following:
- 1000 freestyle juggles
- 200 alternate feet juggles
- 100 header juggles
- 50 ‘around the world’ juggles (2 feet, 2 thigh and a header)
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