The 2 Hour Limit

By Noel Jennings

Introduction:
In sporting performance 2 hours of activity can be viewed as a watershed, the term
being used to describe a period of around 2 hours, when peak physical performance will
begin to drop. This can be regularly observed in marathon running over the last decade
where many elite runners have come close to pushing through the 2 hour barrier for
the 40 KM run, however as yet have failed to do so due to performance dip. The
reasons for this can be due to physical, chemical or psychological changes that occur in
the body and mind and so it is no coincidence that football matches generally take place
over a 2 hour period i.e. a 90 mins game with a 15 mins break and often added time of
up to 15 mins for stoppages. Thus it is my firm belief that players need to prepare and
react to this time period to maintain peak performance.
Trivia
What is the longest football period of extra time?
Longest extra time played was Man Utd v Coventry in 1996 when David Busst
suffered a compound fracture to his right leg. Time added on was 9 minutes.
Read more http://www.kgbanswers.co.uk/what-is-the-longest-extra-time-period-infootball-ever-recorded/2745415#ixzz2Ky8kJ3xf

So bearing this in mind, I believe we can view the optimum period to train athletes to
play football should be in a 2 hour session. I know I might be stating the obvious, but

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often the obvious is overlooked in planning activities by coaches and they get carried
away in involving so many different activities which may confuse the player to what the
original objective of the exercise is, to win a competitive match in roughly a two hour
period.
Approach
A simple approach to managing the 2 hour training session period is to split it into
useful chunks.
1: Conditioning (40mins-no rest)
This is increasingly an important area of preparation for sport and so high impact
training methods should be used to increase muscle density and ability to withstand the
activity of competitive football. I generally believe that athletes become unfit when
focusing on a repetitive competitive sport and it is only by conditioning themselves to
withstand this repetitive reaction that they are able to achieve a higher level of all
round performance and hence improve. More of the techniques I use to follow.
2: Ball Drills (40mins-no rest)
Ball drills are important for players to not only build characteristics in match play but
to give them communications skills and confidence when operating in small groups.
Often the ball drills devised should be progressive and linked to match play strategy so
as provide players with an opportunity to practise and clarify the strong foundation
they need in a passing and moving, and pressure/interception game. I will highlight some
of the progressive balls drills I use within the presentation.
3: Matchplay (40mins- no rest)
Any simulation in game play is important and match play provides a comfortable
environment for team players to compete in positions, build partnership and forge
strong links in communicative play. It also gives opportunities to the Coach to harmonise
the team, the strategy and to enthuse the players further. In match play groups are
progressively expanded from the ball drill session so as to keep cohesion and also
develop communication further. Communication in football, developing strong
partnerships is an important philosophy in team play. More will be discussed.
To expand on what I suggest I would like to take you through what I consider to be a
regular 2 hour session I deliver to all of my teams. The later one being Chongqing
University International Students, a team that has gone unbeaten for 5 months with a
core of 16 players within a flexible squad of 30. Due to academic commitments the
team is often juggled in certain positions, however having a strong squad, who are well

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trained and have an appreciation of what was required in terms of match play helps a
lot in sustaining this unbeaten run.
Sessions were delivered on Wednesdays at Campus A stadium normally with a few
interested onlookers in the background.

Phase 1

Conditioning

Preliminaries
(Done in the square indicated)

-Meet and greet the players, ask them how things are going off the pitch (emotional
support)
-Walk the players on the pitch (use one half) walk backwards, check them for injuries
(both visual and verbal check) comment about their fashion sense (footwear etc.. always
good for a laugh)
-Turn and request them to follow you in some light running warm up featuring,
Jog, side to side( with reverse change), high knee pony trot, donkey flicks, 1-2-3 (left
hand down, right hand down, heading jumps), jog-sprint and then a walk.

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Stretching
(Done in a circle as indicated)

Back and front of palms to feet

Head down to knees
Hands on knees/ rolling the knees around/clockwise/anticlockwise
Stand straight/ rolling shoulders forward and back
Stretching arms up to sky/ left and right hands stretch
Full arm extend twist
Elbows double bounce behind back
Elbows single bounce behind back
Swinging arms forward/back
Left arm forward right arm back and reverse
Twist left and lunge leg stretch/ right lunge leg stretch
Left leg side squat right straight and reverse
Same with top facing up and reverse

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--finish with groundwork chest stretching if ground is dry

Body Conditioning
-Sit ups
-Press Ups
-Two partner training
-Dynamic tension
Note: This training Session is carried out in a square for warm up and conditioning. The
stretching and bodying conditioning is carried out with the group forming a circle in the
square and so following the leader and facing each other as indicated by the blue circle.

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Phase 2

Ball Drills

Corners
Players quickly vest up in to two teams of 6, the remaining 4 players go stand in the
corners marked out by yellow cones here.
Players in each team play possession game with passes going into each corner. The
corner players feed the play with good return passes to the team that passed to them,
the objective being to get around the square by feeding and returning the ball from
each corner while the other team tries to intercept the ball and stop progress. Any
corner is accessible and if corner players havent got any obvious pass to the colour
that passed to them, they then should deliver the ball into another corner so as to help
the momentum of play.
ProgressionPlayers should be motivated to get around the square in this competitive game, however
to step up skill level and communication in passing the coach should push the players to
play in:
All-in : as many touches as necessary to make a good pass.
3-2-1 : passes are reduced to play at higher tempo and at an increased difficulty.

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The cone layout for corners

Note: rotating players is important and so having 16 players is a good unit to play this
ball drill with, as 4 are rotated from the corners and two are left in to form a side.
This can influence strong relationships developing with players and I have often used
this approach to bring less senior players on to give them a sustained taste of fast
interplay between the more senior players who work well at the one pass tempo.
This session should run for about 20 minutes with several rotations and progressions.
Wings
Two sides of the square are extended to the side lines and practice goals are brought
into use. The other two sides of the square cones are collected. Two players are then
selected to play in the outside area of each wing which is segregated from the main
playing area. Thus a 7 on 7 game, with two supporting wingers for each team, ensues.
The simple rules of the game are that each team is allowed to use the wingers. The
wingers are instructed to pass to the same team that passes to them and also to make
runs up the wing to support the play with crosses and receiving the ball in defence. The
wingers should be working very hard up and down the pitch to follow and support play.
This session should run for about 20 minutes

The cone layout for wings showing the channels the wingers need to stay in.

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Progression
Players should be motivated to make runs and find spaces so as to support the wingers
who have a free role in the confined area that they play in. They should always be
encouraged to use the wingers as a way of building play from a defensive position into
attack or as an option to expand the play while in attack. Players should also be
encouraged to see the pitch as a wide area.
Again rotating the two wingers with the players is important; however players who
adapt to this position should also be left in for extended play so as to influence the
team play and encourage them to play an expansive game.
The game should be made progressively more difficult with all but the wingers being
reduced to 3-2-1 and again all-in touches.

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Phase 3

Match Play

Match play should take place with an 8 v 8 game in a half size pitch using the side lines
for centring the goals. Players should rotate the goalkeeping position after each goal
scored in match play. The team should set up with a goalkeeper, two defenders, two
wingers, two midfielders and a striker.
Again the teams can be juggled around but players should understand where they are
expected to play, and what their role is in pressuring the ball for inception and
participating in build-up play for a goal.
All-in, 3-2-1, all-in again is a useful format for this game as it increases the tempo of
build-up and interchange play with the teams.
Note: Resist player pressure to play all-in for too long as it isnt conducive to the
passing game. I have found that if you use All-in as a sweetener to get players
motivated to compete as they often like dribbling past the opposition instead of passing
through or around them.
The play should last for approximately 30 minutes.

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Warm-Down (10 mins)

3- Shooting
2- Shuttles
1- Squats
1 - 100 standing leg squats
2- Running 10- 10+20- 10+20+30- metres in relay
3- Layoff shooting; turn one bounce shooting, volleying

Note:
Again shooting should be seen as a sweetener to conclude a good workout from the
players. Rewarding the players like this is a fundamental way of endorsing what the
game is all about, scoring goals. Players should be tested to produce 100 squats then
quickly put into 4 groups of 4, in order to race over 3 cones in shuttle runs. Finally
forming a line, players should participate in shooting practice.

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Conclusion
The session may take some time to fine tune but eventually over a consistent period you
will experience the players working well through the phases and also that you start to
run it to time, finishing on the 2 hour period which will impress all including yourself.
The time does go fast as the tempo of the training session is meant to be high,
diversified and progressive, so players will quickly develop using this approach.
Final Remarks
When developing a high tempo 2 hour training session for players you should hold some
things in mind. Always keep the banter going, there is often strong characters in the
squad who can be gifted players and also a little lazy (I know, as I was one of them) so
they will try to get you to worry about over training them physically and hence will
resist in pushing themselves to achieve a performance that you want. You should always
remind the players that all you need to see from them is improvement from their
previous efforts. This often motivates them to progress. Try and refrain from being
negative, but offer constructive criticism through questions during training: e.g. Who
was open then? Which way could have the ball gone? Are we working hard enough to win
it back? This way the questioning will be engrained in the players minds to compete and
select the right options available to them. Always use any opportunity to lay praise on
the players and encourage them when they select an insightful pass or make a good
challenge or show initiative in play.
If players are critical in regards to the tempo of the regime you can inform them that
fitness plays an important part of mental awareness in sports such as football. When
players are at fit they generally make the right decisions on the pitch. Often players
who dont contribute to team performance particularly in matches get criticism from
other players openly on the pitch and fitness levels can be an obviously distinctive
feature as part a of this.
This is where the team starts to sustain what you have taught them in the training
session and emulates good characteristics of a team that not only wants to improve but
wants to improve each other.

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Some pictures

Settingoutthesquarewithconesforshuttleruns

Talkingtacticstoplayers

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Sharingsomejokeswiththeplayersinthefirstphase

Introducingnewexercises

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Showingaformation
PhotographscourtesyofFenoHeriniaina<[email protected]

Asuccessfulteamisahappyteam

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