Women’s World Cup: 5 ways to inspire your pre-season
- Peter Glynn
- 09 July 2019
With the close of the Women’s World Cup coinciding with many grassroots teams returning to training, here are five ways to use the success of the tournament to inspire your pre-season.
1. Encourage mixed sessions
The 2019 Women’s World Cup has been widely acclaimed as the best ever women’s football tournament. Bigger attendances, improved TV coverage and impressive technical and tactical performances have all been standout features. However, the biggest sign of success will be the future impact on the women’s and girls’ game at all levels.
With boys and girls returning for summer training with their grassroots clubs, the success of the tournament can act as a guide for engaging coaching sessions. Try playing a world cup tournament in training and challenge your players to emulate their favourite players from France 2019. Also, explore opportunities for mixed sessions or friendly fixtures with the boys/girls section at your club.
2. Learn how to manage the game
One of the key characteristics of USA’s tournament success was their ability to ‘manage’ games. Jill Ellis’s side saw out the final stages of fixtures with clever possession – often keeping the ball high in the opposition half. The tournament winners were also willing to change tactical approach to protect a lead. With games coming to a close, midfielder, Julie Ertz, regularly dropped deeper to add additional defensive cover.
Although our very youngest players do not need lots of tactical work at training, helping them to develop an understanding of how to play the game in different ways for different scenarios should be an aim as they get older. Read more about how to introduce the idea of game management into your pre-season sessions here.
3. Develop team culture
Phil Neville put a strong emphasis on developing a ‘family’ culture amongst the England players and staff involved in the World Cup. With the Lionesses living together for over 50 days, having strong relationships both on and off the pitch was crucial.
As well as planning football sessions for pre-season consider how you can help your players develop their teamwork, leadership, communication and social skills. Including problem solving activities and player-led sessions, with teamwork as the main aim, will reap huge rewards as the season progresses.
4. Start or finish your sessions with penalties
As seen at the men’s World Cup in 2018, penalties played a key part of the tournament narrative in France. USA’s Megan Rapinoe underlined the importance of having a set-piece specialist, scoring three penalties and a free-kick on the way to winning the Golden Boot award for most goals scored at the tournament.
Young players love taking penalties and free-kicks. Finishing training games with a penalty shootout is a fun way for players to practise a part of the game that will only continue to grow in significance in the future. Similarly, consider using a penalty or free-kick shootout as an arrival activity.
5. Make physical work fun
The physical performance of teams at the World Cup has been one of the standout features of the month-long tournament. Many teams and individual players now benefit from full-time training programmes, a development which is helping to advance the women’s game.
Physical preparation is an important aspect of player development for players of all ages. However, young players shouldn’t be exposed to any ideas of ‘old school’ pre-season training. Games of tag, dodgeball and multi-sport activities are all enjoyable ways for young players to develop their movement skills. Learn more about effective physical development for young players as part of the England DNA Foundation Phase by clicking here.
