Clubs participate in pre-season technical preparation

GFF Elite League…

In preparation for restart of the Elite League — Season V, scheduled for March — the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has held a one-day refresher workshop for referees, while the Technical Department of the GFF has held an information session for Head Coaches and representatives of Elite Clubs.

The refresher workshop for referees, held last Saturday at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora, had 21 referees in attendance. The session was facilitated by Member Association Instructors Ingram Johnson, Addullah Hamid and Tyrone Tyrell respectively; and the areas covered included changes to the Laws of the Game, understanding the Offside and Misconduct rules, and the importance of fitness.
The information session facilitated by the Technical Department on February 7 addressed the importance of a pre-season programme.
It was adverted that a strong pre-season programme is geared towards ensuring that players are in the right shape to maximise their chances of avoiding injury when the season starts.
Participants were told that injury prevention work is crucial and should form a large part of club training, especially early in the pre-season.
In a comment invited by this publication, Technical Director Ian Greenwood said the Head Coaches were briefed on the types of high-intensity interval training and workouts that challenge players to perform short, sharp explosive actions like sprinting, jumping and shooting repeatedly. He said this kind of work enables the players to do their job with the same level of efficiency in the 90th minute as they do in the first minute.
“Pre-season is a great opportunity to overload the players, to give them a superior base of fitness. You have six weeks to get everyone in shape; each individual is different, so they need bespoke training plans and diets that progress at the right pace,” Greenwood explained.
“Running that extra yard during a game could be the difference between winning and losing. A poor pre-season could see a team make a slow start, because they won’t be up to speed fitness-wise,” Greenwood further explained.
“Successful managers set expectations and clarify their vision during pre-season,” he continued. “It’s an opportunity for them to establish relationships and build understanding, so when the going gets tough, everyone understands their jobs and has a solution to combat and overcome (the difficulty). All of this provides a road map for future success,” he concluded.
Greenwood has made the case that developing a strong pre-season culture in Guyana is vital to improve the quality of the Elite League on and off the pitch, and that the overall product of senior men’s football starts there.