YAMACAST: S3E2; The One Where We Talk Fitness

In the words of LL Cool J “Don’t call it a comeback, we’ve been here for years.” Yes, we’re back. And we’re kicking things off with a fantastic guest. However, before we dive into our guest, we kick off this podcast talking about our win over City, it’s implications and hope for the rest of the season.

The win was decisive in so many ways, not only in the score line but in the manner and means by which Arsenal set out to take on the defending champions. It was an approach we had seen glimpses of, but not something we would have predicted Arsenal would have taken and sustained for a full 90 minutes. The fact that Arsenal stayed focused and committed on absorbing City’s pressure and fought to take them apart on the counter was a testament to the total team effort it was. It was also a nod that as much as people would like to chastise Arsene Wenger for a lack of tactical nous, the gaffer still has some tricks up his sleeve.

Of course it is only one match and the hope we have is that it can be sustained and use continually throughout the season. No, no one is suggesting Arsenal suddenly become a defensive-minded team, but we are suggesting that the total team defensive effort can be employed in many circumstances be it on the road against an identified rival or as a means to close out a lead against any opposition. The hope now is that the team sees this as a way forward and commits to using it and using it effectively when called upon.

Raymond Verheijen

This past week in Philadelphia, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America held it’s annual convention in Philadelphia. One of the key speakers this week was CEO of the World Football Academy, Raymond Verheijen. He has also been the trainer/coach of such teams like Barcelona, Manchester City, Chelsea, the Dutch, Welsh and Argentine National Football Teams. Raymond has been outspoken on Arsenal and slew of other clubs training methods, specifically an approach to training that has resulted in club’s like Arsenal experiencing a high amount of injuries, especially soft tissue injuries.

When I prepared for my meeting with Raymond, admittedly I went into it with the thought of calling him out on his criticisms of regarding Arsenal’s training methods. However, as we got to talking, and as a coach myself, Raymond’s view around how training is conducted aligned with my own personal feelings towards it.

Raymond is a leading proponent of Periodization Training. Periodization takes into account the team, the individual player, players during the rehabilitation process and youth players.  It works out how to plan and organize a training cycle that ensures all players are available for each session and match and how fitness is built and sustained over time.

Periodization can be thought of in cycles. The macrocycle is the year, the mesosycle or months, and microcycles the weeks. All of this, designed to prepare players for the physical demands of the slog that is a football season.

One of the most interesting points we discussed is where clubs like Arsenal may be getting it wrong. A lot of clubs are still siloing fitness from football. For instance pre-season may focus on player fitness and that’s it. The aim is to get the player ready right away. However, Raymond suggests that a better approach, a periodization approach, works fitness into the football planning that happens throughout a season. It helps bring fitness up through time and helps maintain it as the season wares on.

But enough of this, give the podcast a listen and maybe you’ll find that like me, a changed perspective on how football teams should be approaching their fitness.

You can follow Raymond Verheijen on twitter at @raymondverheijen or read up on World FootballAcademy at here

All episodes of the YAMACAST can be accessed on iTunes via the following link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/you-are-my-arsenal-yamacast/id615279052