Practising from Home

The Player Development Magazine

Practising from Home 7 Day Training Plan

Contents Page 3: Welcome

Page 4: Subscribe on YouTube

Page 5: Player Development Releases

Page 6: Practising from Home

Page 11: Follow us on

Page 12: 7 Day Training Plan

Page 14: Timetable

Welcome Firstly, I hope all of you are keeping safe and well in these uncertain times. It's incredibly important that we use exercise during this time, giving our minds and bodies the chance to stay healthy.

In this month's edition of the player development magazine we’re continuing with our focus on practising from home.

We can do so much at home, even in small spaces, keeping the ball at your feet and gaining as many touches on the ball as possible.

So, whether you are a parent, coach, player, or football lover, there is plenty of exercise that you can do at home, with a ball.

Stay Safe!

Elliott Everson,

Founder, OpportunityEliteÂ

For Ball mastery, individual practices and technical training

Subscribe for Monthly Releases Www.opportunityelite.co.uk/Magazine

Why practising at home is just as valuable as group or team sessions.

We’re in a situation where we have no training and no matches for the foreseeable future.

Many players will be desperately missing the game, I know I am! But, what can we do about it?

Do we spend the unforeseeable future sitting at home missing out on contact time, or do we get creative, practising at home to make ourselves as good as we possibly can be?

I know what I would rather do and actually I can see huge improvements in my technical ability already. Over the past month or so of lockdown I have been doing regular YouTube uploads and practices to share which are also helping my skill and control of the ball greatly. My balance, co-ordination, skill and technique have all improved, and I've not trained with a single person.

This leads to my opinion that individual practice is just as valuable as group or team sessions.

So let’s make use of this time now to practise as much as we can, and make ourselves better than ever before!

How to Practise at Home One of the reasons that people, at times, can feel practising from home is difficult is because of a lack of space. But, if we keep the ball close to our feet then we really don’t need a large amount of space to work within.

We can practise close control, ball mastery, dribbling and plenty of skills in a small area that doesn’t require powerful strikes of the ball. So the main aspect initially is to keep the space small, lots of changes of direction, skill, practise on both feet and close control.

Another concern that we have come across is people believing that you always need to practise against people, that cones don’t move and create a realistic environment. It’s true that cones don’t move and it would be great to have an opponent there to dribble past but cones give players a great chance to practise their technical skill, which is only going to benefit their game.

Therefore, in order to practise at home, we should aim to try and use a small space, taking more touches on the ball and focusing specifically on using both feet.

‘The more touches the better'

In team sessions it is difficult for a player to get a high number of touches on the ball. Sessions may be tactically based, or based upon small-sided games. This can make it difficult for the player to really work hard on their technique.

In regular times, players who want to further their game should be practising just as much, if not more, outside of training. This allows players to develop their technique greatly.

The best players all worked incredibly hard on their own, focusing on areas of their game and developing them with their own individual practice.

Having the discipline and desire to do this can hugely impact the player's game, making it an incredibly important form of training.

The player may only get a couple of hours of training each week, and then a game at the weekend. These hours are incredibly important, but what sets players apart from others in their development is how they use their time outside of their team-scheduled sessions.

Those who work harder on their skills will more likely be better players for it in the future.

Why use this time now to practise?

It seems a rather obvious answer, but it is important. Some people may be thinking that there is really no need to practise at this moment in time.

Why put all the effort in if there are no games to play?

In reality, now is a fantastic opportunity for players to really work hard on their technique, maintain their fitness and return to football a much more confident and technical player.

The very best players will all be working incredibly hard during this time. Each minute of practice that someone does more than you is to their advantage.

With limited opportunities to socialise, leave the house, or to work, we have more free time on our hands than ever before.

Will some players look back on this time and think "I wish I'd worked harder and practised more during the lockdown"?

I'm certain that many will, and it's really important to realise that we now have a great opportunity with plenty of time to practise and develop, even if you are at home. The more that we get outside, or even practise with a small ball on the floor indoors, the better the player will become.

Just imagine what thirty minutes a day of close control, ball mastery and dribbling drills will do for your technical ability on the ball. Some players' games will develop hugely, others will stagnate.

If you want to develop your game, now is the perfect time to devote to it.

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7 Day Training from Home Plan Minimal Equipment

No large space needed

Huge amount of touches

Technical focus

All on the ball

The More touches, the better.

The training in this plan is focused on getting the player many touches on the ball, developing their stronger and less used foot. The aim is to develop the technique and then increase the speed as the player becomes more comfortable, but we must make sure that technique isn't compromised by the speed.

If you follow this during lockdown, players will see great technical improvements, quicker feet and much sharper reactions on the ball.

All at the same time as getting a good workout in.

Follow along to the videos and develop your game during this period.

Timetable DAY

SESSION

1

50 BAll MAstery Techniques

2

1,000 Touches

3

Weak Foot Practice

4

Control and Ball Mastery

5

1,200 Touches

6

Ball Mastery at Home

7

The Both Footed Player

DAY one

Follow the video and practise all these techniques, focus on developing the technique, increasing speed as you get the technique correct.

Day two

1,000 Touches

DAy three

WEAK Foot Practice

DAY four

CONTROL AND BALL MASTERY

day five

1,200 touches

day six

BALL MASTERY AT HOME

DAY SEVEN

THE BOTH FOOTED PLAYER