Football: Course aimed at improving players’ physical fitness |25 November 2015

So often the difference over 90 minutes of football is which team has the physically fittest players on the field. And here in Seychelles, one thing which our teams severely lack is the physical acumen to battle against stronger teams during the entire course of the match, as determination can only get you halfway.

A physical coaching course is being run at the Maison Football this week and the aim is “to have at least one physical trainer at each first division club in the future”, according to Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) technical director Ulric Mathiot.

Ultimately, it is hoped that every club will have a qualified physical conditioning coach in their ranks which will help improve the level of soccer locally.

“We have seen the inefficiency in physical and fitness training of local players and therefore this course is the first step towards improving our fitness level,” Mr Mathiot added.

The course, which was opened on Monday, is being headed by Fifa instructor Mark Jones, a former player himself. He was most recently the assistant coach and strength & conditioning coach of A-League club Newcastle Jets.

“I hope that you the participants do your best to grasp what is being offered here and hopefully this will help improve your teams’ results on the pitch as well,” said Mr Jones.

The course was officially opened by SFF vice-chairman Roch Henriette.

S. N.