Hi,

 

Thanks for the email.

 

The 3.45 session is the same session as the 3.15 session it is just later.

 

The session structure changes in content and intensity slightly when we see that players are ready for the step up to a higher/older group (subject to spaces being available in a higher group).

 

When looking at players we look at speed of footwork in exercises,  as well as a player's ability to apply the footwork effectively and appropriately in games. When a player is clearly dominating the group they are in and are clearly pulling away from the players in their group, then we know we need to put them with better players.

 

Better players will do the same things to a degree, although it would be packaged differently. The level up is not the content, but the ability to execute good footwork when under more pressure and in less time and space. In the advanced 2007 group that I do, the format is the same. 30 minutes of footwork (complicated and intense). Then SSG (3v3s with maybe more advanced constraints and rules ) then maybe a bigger group game with constraints to further test intelligence when playing.

 

TST is what it is : The footwork patterns are limited ( I only teach about 10) - and I deliberately  make players come back to the same patterns all the time (even if they are packaged differently - different cone set up, different combinations, different tech games etc). TST is based on the philosophy that development is not about learning new things but about continually working on and developing the fundamentals, and getting these to an exceptional level using an 'Introduce, practice, improve, challenge, move on'....process.

 

Nico feels that his sessions are similar. He says he doesn't do overly complicated footwork but he makes sure the sessions are different every week, fun, challenging and encourages them to be competitive and give 100%.  He thinks the sessions are working for most of the players and that most players showed a lot of improvement over the term.

 

The feedback I get about Hieran specifically is that he doesn’t show much interest and doesn’t put much energy into the sessions - which makes sense if he is bored. Nico tries to push him, along with the other players, which works a little bit. Heiran has good footwork and decision making but what is holding him back is that he has really low energy. He understands the drills quickly and his technique allows him to do the footwork and drills (they are not hard for him in that sense and is one of the strongest players in this regard) but when the intensity is increased and the kids compete with each other, he becomes a weaker player compared with the rest. 

 

I understand that repetition is boring for some players (although some love it) and some players don't like TST because of that, and especially if progress is not obvious or they reach the stage where they can do the techniques and development now becomes about increasing their level in terms of intensity and speed of movement when interacting with the ball. This is much harder than learning the technique itself. Learning the technique is the easy bit.

 

Tangible progress is a great motivator, so maybe Heiran is struggling because he is at the next stage of the development process. That is : Intensity of movement and precision of touch when under pressure.

 

Mel Vic and Mel City are filled with ex TST players who developed simple game functional techniques to advanced levels (precision and dexterity of touch) and combined this with a level of intelligence to use these techniques appropriately. So TST does work, but players who do the best are the ones who add the intensity to the precision and dexterity of touch. When they do this, the level that they can play at goes up, which acts as a fuel for further motivation to improve.

 

So with that said, what does Heiran want to develop (maybe TST doesn't offer this) and what does he find boring. Maybe the TST progression process has now become boring for him and the effort to improve, past establishing the mechanics of the techniques we teach, is no longer worth it for him.

 

The next step forward is to talk to Heiran about what he wants and whether TST can still offer that.

 

Regards

 

Darren