Sir Alex Ferguson demands that Manchester United remain at the forefront of advances in football – be it sport science, new …

Sir Alex Ferguson demands that Manchester United remain at the forefront of advances in football – be it sport science, new technology or revised coaching methods – and the club’s Soccer Schools are no different.
The Manchester United Soccer Schools program for 2010 now includes the use of video footage on the field prior to and during coaching sessions, use of state-of-the-art fitness equipment, plus seven new coaching sessions that cover dribbling, turning, short passing, receiving and control, finishing, defending and football fitness.
Mike Neary, Soccer Schools’ UK and Ireland program manager, explains the changes: “Our aim is to motivate players on our courses by creating a cutting edge, Carrington-like environment wherever we go. We want the young players to feel they are taking part in a first class program but also to understand how the coaching sessions can relate to what they see the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Nani do every week.”
Using toughbook technology youngsters are shown video footage on the training pitch – complementing key messages from the Soccer Schools coaches. First Team footage demonstrates technique and patterns of play that relate to the seven new coaching topics, while additional software allows MUSS to deliver interactive workshops and gain instant thoughts and feedback from the players.
“By writing a prescriptive coaching program that is aligned to the philosophy of the Academy, we ensure each young player on our courses this year take part in specific sessions that are fun, achievable, challenging and geared towards playing the United way,” says Mike.
“We used the new equipment and coaching program on our courses at Easter – and it was very well received. We’re adding new video footage all the time and in the summer we’ll be running full one-hour seminars on match analysis, really breaking the footage down and explaining it to the kids.
“It’s not the sort of thing you normally expect at a Soccer School, but we want youngsters to benefit from the coaching methods and technology that young players receive at the Manchester United Academy.”
Mike believes that the improvements ensure uniformity across all MUSS courses, with the priority always to provide the “most cutting edge courses available to youngsters”.

To find out how you can learn to Play the United Way, and take advantage of the latest coaching technology, click here.

Cutting edge courses

27TH APR 2010

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