Direct play with quality are keys to success in football – A research review by Dan Bernardin
The predictors and determinants of inter-season success in a professional soccer team, by Kite & Nevill, in the Journal of Human Kinetics (2017). Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5548163/ Background: The main objective of football is to outscore your opponent. It has previously been suggested that successful teams need to have a higher number of shots, successful passes and […]
Cognitive Bias: Is this natural flaw of the brain limiting our understanding of the beautiful game by Luke Lawrence
Football is said to be a game of opinions. Everyone involved in the game whether it is the fans, pundits, media, players or the first team manager has their own unique insight and experiences regarding the beautiful game. It is this subjectivity that makes football such an exciting spectacle and the most popular sport in […]
Squat is not King for Football by Dan Bernardin
A well know term utilised in strength training is that “the squat is king of all exercises”. We are a big fan of the bilateral (two legs) squat but for football our king of all exercises for building general strength is the unilateral (single leg) split squat and its variations. Here are a few reasons […]
Testing for Agility – Is the Reactive Y-Sprint the answer? By Luke Lawrence
Premier League footballers are required to make up to 900 turns and changes of direction over the course of 90 mins (1), all of which require a complex blend of physical, technical and decision-making processes. It is for this reason that agility has been termed the ‘King’ of physical attributes required for football. However, many […]
Trap Bar vs Straight Bar Deadlift by Dan Bernardin
The Deadlift is a staple exercise in most strength and conditioning programmes to develop the muscles of the posterior chain (erector spinae, glutes, hamstrings) and the quadriceps. There are several variations of the Deadlift but for footballers we prefer to utilise the Trap Bar Deadlift (TBD) as opposed to the traditional Straight Bar Deadlift (SBD), […]