Category: Training/Coaching Articles

Last week I did a huge post on ACL injuries in female athletes and if you did read it, then I’m sure you would have not been aware of the latest how and why’s of these occurrences. All we hear on TV during these instances is commentator talk of “the mechanism of an ACL” but...

I thought I had done 1 of these somewhat recently until I checked back the other day and it was 2022! There’s still a lot of ACL’s being done in both men’s and women’s footy – 19/800 men’s + 23/550 women’s in 2025 – which by those numbers isn’t a great deal of difference really...

The 4th last game moment in the game action loop is offense and again there is overlap with previous game moments as they continually feed into each other. The full loop will now look like this: Once you have identified the common themes among all 4 game moments, then that should be the foundation that...

If we follow the basic loop then after transition defense comes defense which these days is a full team affair, not just your back 6 defenders, and there is fair bit of overlap with the previous 2 game moments we’ve covered. The defense game moment starts once the opposition can work the ball into the...

Today we look at transition offense which is when we regain possession and have control of the ball – such as the Lizard taking this intercept mark. WE REGAIN POSSESSION IN OUR DEFENSIVE 50 Scenario – They were in possession and we were able to intercept in our defensive 50. A1 – Maintain Possession, Find...

This week I’ll post some checklist templates you can use to ensure you’re covering everything you need while training so your 100% ready for round 1 in around 10 weeks time. You can add/subtract to this template but just ensure that everyone has a role at all times, it is clear what it is, and...

With tomorrow being Saturday February 1, it marks 6 – 7 weeks before practices games will be played and that means there might be only 12 training sessions between now and then to train up the principles you want your team to follow for season 2026. Over the 4 main phases of the game laid...

This hot-off-the-presses study looks at quantifying the effects of individual players and teammates on small-sided games through repeated-game observations. Does 1 or a group of players drive a team’s success or do all players need to contribute to become a winning team? Find out below. In the study 31 people participated in 3v3 soccer matches...

So far in this this series on Aussie but now American performance coach Alan Couzens we have covered lactate, training zones and metabolic fitness and today we look at the aerobic system in a bit more detail. AEROBIC THRESHOLD During a Step Test, if your aerobic threshold is 60% or less of your VO2Mmax power,...

Yesterday I introduced Alan Couzens, an Aussie but now American-based performance coach who specialises in energy systems. He has totally transformed how I look at aerobic development and although maybe not applicable for team footy training, it’s totally what you should be following for whatever energy system straining you do in your own time. Yesterday...