Looking to maintain and possibly improve your footy skilss whilst in isolation? Over the coming weeks we will continue to add exercises, activities and drills onto this page that you can do in the comfort of your own home. All these activities and more will also be added to our scoial media pages.
If you have any topics that you would like covered, please email your ideas to us and we will give you some specific drills and activities to improve.
“Those who stand still get left behind” – Mark Twain
Activity 1 – Kicking in the Hoop
Keeping both feet in the hoop kicking the ball to yourself.
Control kick with a drop punt ( get the spin wright for control )
Ball drop must be below your waistline
Ball grip outside the ball with fingers pointing the ground
Eyes always on the ball
Practice both feet
Create challenges how many effective kicks and marks can you do without stepping out of the hoop in 60sec
Start Point
Prefered foot keeping feet in the hoop
Opposite foot keeping feet in the hoop
Alternate feet keeping feet in the hoop
Progression 1
Kick ball above your head keeping feet in the hoop
Prefered foot keeping feet in the hoop
Opposite foot keeping feet in the hoop
Alternate feet keeping feet in the hoop
Progression 2
Kick ball above your head keeping feet in the hoop with a partner throwing tennis ball into the equation
Prefered foot keeping feet in the hoop
Opposite foot keeping feet in the hoop
Alternate feet keeping feet in the hoop
Progression 3
Set up 2 Hoops ( 2meters apart ) the aim to kick ball towards the hoop and mark the ball in the hoop . It’s all about control and timing – you can continue to stretch the length hoops eg 10 meters
Progression 4
2 hoops set up add in a partner the aim to kick the ball towards the hoop with the partner throwing a tennis ball at you before you mark the ball in the hoop . It’s all about control and timing. you can continue to stretch the length of the hoops eg 10 meters
During the off-season is the best time to work on your fundamentals before next season. The following article will go through the main steps in working on your kicking technique.
If you would like further help with your kicking and other skills for that matter, why not come and try our Skills Sessions this term or holiday programs?
For all the information about the program, click here.
How to improve your kicking technique
Kicking needs to be worked on throughout all levels of Junior Footy. After watching some local senior footy on the weekend I was again surprised to see so many adults kicking with bad technique. The main problems I saw were;
Two hand ball drop
High Ball Drop
Tossing the ball up slightly to kick
Kicking across the line of the ball
Ball not spinning properly
These issues can all be fixed throughout the junior development stage, and as coaches one of your goals should be to leave players with better skills than what they can into to the year with.
Main focus
The biggest thing we need to work on with our players is the ball drop. The ball drop accounts for most players ability to be a good kick or not.
The ball drop is made up of:
Grip
Alignment
Ball drop height
Ball drop position
Grip
Holding the ball correctly is important as it assists in getting the rest of the kick right. Players want to make sure they hold the ball with their hands on the outside of the ball. Then you want to tell your players to point the end of the ball to the ground (a lot of players will point it to where they want to kick it).
Alignment
Ensure you align the ball predominantly on their preferred kick side, trying to avoid swaying from left to right.
Ball drop height & position
The ball drop should be below the players hips, with their fingers pointing to the ground. The opposite arm then goes out to the side to assist in balancing. Getting your players to really understand the ball drop with significantly help their kicking.
How to add technique work into a session
During the warm-up phase of the session you can add some simple kicking (2 players one ball) to ensure plenty of volume. You can then go around to every player and asses their kick. Get players to try and hit a particular goal of kicking and marking 10 in a row, or count how many kicks they have had.
Additionally, before the session starts, players must do 100 kicks to themselves on each footy before training starts.
Throughout the training session, you can separate the group into smaller groups, and have one of those be a technique group. Remember, this is not limited to really young players, as a lot of players even up to the age of colts need to work on kicking technique.
Suggested Activities
*These videos are available for members only, for more info and how to get access to the videos click here
Reaching Your Full Potential in Football – a mental training guide for athletes and coaches – with Damien Lafont from Vida Mind.
Many athletes and coaches have heard of the world “mental toughness”. Most people assume that mental toughness is about using the mind to be become physically tough; but it’s so much more than just being tough.
What is mental toughness?
Mental Toughness isn’t about using all your brawn and muscle and having the reckless attitude to use it in an extreme way. Though a good hard tackle and the ability to hold your own in a pack are great and noble traits for football, we also have seen many recklessness footballers that have a lot of muscle and very little know-how. Strength and the ability to “go in hard” will never go out of style in such an athletic sport as Aussie Rules; however there is much more to “making it” at the top level than physical prowess.
When does it make a difference?
There comes a time in all sport that talent, strength and fitness MUST meet a mindset equipped for sport. If an athlete or team do not have a mind that is trained and equipped for the ups and downs of the rollercoaster ride that we call sport, then they will discover that those emotional highs and lows became difficult to deal with. Soon enough, mental training becomes a necessary component in all elite sport.
Imagine you have two teams – both physically strong, both supremely fit, both with top level skill and impeccable talent; however only one of them has trained their mind for the encounter.
We all know that it’s the team who is mentally equipped for the challenge that will win. And, we’ve all seem times when the less-skilled team beats the more-skilled team through sheer determination and persistence.
There will always be tough opponents, that’s the nature of sport—but there’s always a large majority of these opponents who aren’t mentally equipped for the game. They simply have never utilised mental skills in their sport, they expect everything to happen by miracle. It’s quite strange in a way because these same athletes have spent endless hours kicking the footy, taking shots at goals, balking tackles, building strength and agility, training at the gym, stretching, watching replays….the list goes on. Many athletes are dedicated to their sport and spend countless hours perfecting their skills—but many neglect to train their mental skills. Those that do, are fully equipped and ready to play regardless of the circumstance.
“To be mentally tough isn’t only what you do on the field; it’s how you are off the field too.”
Mental Toughness is a whole new attitude to life. Mental toughness is not what you think it is. Its definition is the same as persistence “the ability to continue to do something despite the obstacles”. It does not suggest that there won’t be any obstacles, in fact it suggests that obstacles are guaranteed– to expect them. But its greater suggestion is: that YOU will continue regardless of these. This is in fact is a mental ability and a much over-looked one at that.
Why is this simple trait a mental ability?
Because once the physical is spent, once the body is exhausted and the skill level drops, you can’t rely on them to be the best part of you. They may be an ability but they are one that is declining and under exhaustion. It is here you can rely on a mental ability to drive your physical one. If you remember what true toughness is, what true persistence is (the ability to continue to do something despite obstacles) then you will have a deeper ability to NOT expect your physical to be the ultimate edge, but to use the mental edge to power the physical. Between two exhausted players or two exhausted teams; the one that uses the mental ability will over-power the one who doesn’t. It can be soul-destroying when you know your opponent will never give up regardless of what you dish out.
Teams that train toughness the right way gain an unseen edge and have a secret and noble cause. They cease to panic and become nervous because the outcome isn’t an important as the effort and endurance. However, of course if you focus on effort, the outcome steers largely in your favour. It’s a win/win proposition.
Mental Toughness is an attitude, a silent and noble one
The “underdog” is the example of it and we all secretly applaud this type of character because he or she is digging deep and using all his/her inner resources against the odds. When the external resources are reliable, the inner resources become the defining point. It’s often true in any life endeavour, not just on the footy field.
There is more to read about mental toughness in the members section of the my.vidafooty.com.au website. If you want to have access to the rest of this resource and much more please contact us for more information.
With pre-season just around the corner, we thought we would share some of the activities from the Members only area. Pre-season is a time when coaches can work with small groups on skill development and set the tone for the remainder of the season.
The goal of these activities is to maximise skill development and be more efficient when training.
The main philosophies with these activities are;
Small groups for maximal touch
Quality and efficient activities
Skill Development
Have a purpose
Have other coaches helping with the session, rather than just one main coach
The overall goal for our junior players is to make sure they are getting the most out of their time at footy training. We want players leaving their junior careers with fundamental skills good enough to convert into any level of senior competition. Regardless of talent level, every player should be given the maximum opportunity to achieve their highest amount of skills.
Take a look at the follow video’s, and maybe you could implement them into your training in the future. Our membership site already has over 150 activity video, and more are added each week. Click here to find out more!
Colour Grid. This activity ensures lots of touch and can be modified with a range of skills.
Handball Criss Cross. Great for warm-ups!
Kick Slide and Bounce
Multiple Grids. An example of running small groups within a big group
The Banana
The banana has being around for many years and players are using it more and more, especially now in the modern game. The kick in not only being used for kicking goals from the boundary line but even in general play you will see players use it as a general field kick to team mates. There are many players who will use this from in front of the goals choosing to kick on their dominant foot inside of their opposite. Have you witnessed Dustin Martin run into goal kicking a banana? He is very much a freakish, talented and exciting player to watch.
The Snap Shot
The snap shot has being taken to whole new level once Stevie J introduced his freakish skill level and new kicking technique from the boundary. I am sure we are all witnessing most players are finding it much easier to execute the snap shot and kick goals for their respective teams thanks to the Stevie J technique.
This article will go over some of the best activities to use when trying to develop your forwards. Furthermore, in doing these activities you will also be working on your defenders’ techniques and positions. Most of these activities require both attackers and defenders.
Remember to always rotate your players back and forth between being attackers and defenders as the overall development of the player is extremely important. A lot of AFL players get drafted to play certain position and are converted to another during their first few years.
Most of these activities have small numbers and can be implemented differently into your training times. You could have multiple groups doing the same activity all around the ground. You can use it as one of your rotations along with other activities in a circuit.
