This article is designed to educate the wider football community to the differences between player development and performance management in our Australian youth system, compared to current European frameworks. Educating the Victorian soccer communities in bridging the gap as a whole through the introduction of Exercise science professionals at a club level.
If I asked you to think of any occasion as a young footballer when you were given the opportunity to have access to an allied health professional to assist you with strength and conditioning; assistance to facilitate your rehabilitation; be given the option to help improve aspects of your game such as speed, balance, coordination, neuromuscular firing; or be provided with education about your injury, illness or condition; I think most of you would say rarely or never.
So if you don’t have access to this at a grassroots level, how do we expect to compete on a global level with overseas club frameworks, if you are lacking in this vital area they excel in? You won’t.
At Walking Tall, we improve a footballer’s personal growth and performance through training, manual therapy\adjustments, and exercise interventions by identifying weaknesses, ensuring your body and muscles are functioning correctly, improving your strength, and gradually resolving these issues at a physiological level.
To be aware of the need for collaboration with specialists at a club level, you need to first understand the concept of specialized training from a young age.
Deliberate training at a higher difficulty just outside of our current ability causes the body to deepen its concentration and force you out of your ‘autopilot zone’ in order to complete a task or drill. So, rather than a focusing on doing something easy 1000 times like volleying a ball against a wall, where learning is short lived, implementing designed progressions in alignment with your skill level will empower you to skyrocket your learning and development. It also strengthens the mind to deal with failure and know it is a pathway to success.
Footballers overseas aren’t more talented than Australian footballers at a genetic level, but they are exposed to better player management and training regimes. If you look at the numbers, this equates to thousands of hours of valuable training, which over the course of a few years creates a margin that cannot be made up.
This means the gap to compete with players who have access to these services widens with time. At Walking Tall, we work in a collaborative team with an exercise physiologist and a sports chiropractor. It is important to realize that professionals working together with different scopes and skills, will always produce the best outcome for the individual.
A sports chiropractor works with receptors in your muscles that are responsible for sending information to your brain about the activity of your muscles. If your brain is aware of your muscles’ activity, it can fire them efficiently when required.
As footballers, we are exposed to fatigued muscles, overcompensating areas, protective mechanisms that prevent muscle firing – most are not aware of the detrimental effect this can have on the body. The better your muscles efficiently fire, the less chance of injuries, and this is achieved through muscular strength development with training.
Child prodigies such as Lionel Messi at the age of 10 amaze us because we compare him not with other performers who have practiced for the same length of time, but with children of the same age who have not dedicated their lives in the same way he has, or been exposed to high level of specialists and trainers that others don’t have access to.
Messi developed at a faster rate compared to other children his age because of the accumulation of hours he managed, and the type of training and guidance he had. Don’t be fooled by young footballers’ cute faces and little bodies, because those children who stand out from others during a match have moulded their brains with deepened knowledge and skill execution which has been accumulated over a long period of time.
The point to take out of this is whether specialised player management can be provided at a club level throughout Victoria. Your child can train just like Messi. We now live in an era where sports science is leading the way to improved player performance and injury management, and these are the differences that separate successful individuals\teams from the not so successful ones.
If your club has access to allied professionals who combine their thorough understanding of football with their specialized skills as an exercise physiologist and sports chiropractor, they can help your club achieve its goals and provide young players with the tools, knowledge and skills to create their dream. What positive snowball effect do you think it will have on the players, families, friends, new members\players, sponsors, and gate holders if success is a common theme throughout your club?
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Walking Tall is happy to make a professional presentation to your club\team\board free of charge and encourage you to ask questions and enquire about our services and what we can offer. For more information please visit the ‘Walking Tall Exercise Physiology’ Facebook and Instagram page, email on walkingtall.ep@gmail.com or enquire at our clinic located in Coburg, Melbourne.