This how the Smartfootball Academy Works from the inside: Part 2
We recently told you how the Smartfootball Academy works. But ... we feel that there is much more information that you need to know, therefore we thought a second part was necessary to have a more complete vision of how they work and why they are special. Do you want to know everything about it? Keep reading!
The key to the professional approach of the football Academy lies in its multidisciplinary team. They have technicians, goalkeeper coaches, sports tutors, a physiotherapist, physical trainers, a nutritionist, a sports psychologist and a video analyst. Everyone works in coordination to get the best out of each student and guide them towards sports excellence. How aren´t you going to feel like a professional with this great team?
The pedagogical interest of scouting or video analysis
At the Smartfootball Academy, all training sessions and matches are recorded. Later, a selection of images is made to analyse both the dynamics of the team and individual aspects of each player. These images are analysed in group sessions and in individual tutorials that the technical staff maintains with each student. In parallel, they are also included in the report that the Academy sends periodically to the family of each player to show them their evolution.
According to Adrià Miró, director of the Smartfootball Academy: "The analysis of videos or scouting is very useful because the player can see himself and has a more objective view of how he is playing, as well as what main aspects to improve. In addition, we can extract statistical data of all the matches: lost balls, recovered balls, in which areas of the pitches more or less losses are produced, etc. The objective is to analyse this information so that we can work on a technical and tactical level in the training sessions.
Is it a creative training session? Yes, if it is Smart Football
“Following the Smartfootball methodology, in every training session we try not to give orders to the players, we try not to inhibit their creativity in decision making. What we do is guide them through questions and reflection guidelines. The objective is for them to find the best option, instead of simply executing what someone has told them to do, "says Miró.
Therefore, training is always with a ball, recreating a very real context where they are forced to practice making decisions on the pitch.
Technique vs. emotions
The students also carry out periodic sessions with the sports psychologist of Tecnifutbol, who uses techniques ranging from virtual reality to classic tests, to work and evaluate the emotional part of the young ones.
“The figure of the sports psychologist is very important since it allows us to detect cognitive and emotional aspects of our students that perhaps are not so visible at first sight. For example, if a player is going through a bad time in his private life, the psychologist can intervene and warn the rest of the technical team and the tutors to take it into account when designing the workload of their respective areas for each student, "says Miró.
At the Smartfootball Academy, they understand that emotions are just as important as physical-technical abilities. Therefore, they insist on multidisciplinary work, because that is how the great professional teams do it.
The importance of eating well
Food has a direct impact on sports performance. That is no longer debatable. Therefore, at the Academy, they have a nutritionist who is responsible for giving them healthy guidelines and keeping track of each student.
“At the Academy, there are students from different cultures, who have different eating habits, some more healthy than others. The nutritionist not only does them an anthropometric test but also proposes a customized diet to their needs to teach them healthy habits. If they want to be professionals, they have to know how to eat well.”
Life before and after the Academy
Training at the Smartfootball Academy is a unique experience. An experience capable of changing the lives of young people who have big dreams. Maybe one day they will become professionals, or maybe not, but surely, they will have learned the habits and values necessary to at least try.
“When they arrive, they have a previous interview with the football trainer, to know what their expectations are, which is their favourite player, etc. From that interview, we can obtain a clear profile of what each one is looking for and admires. But what they respond when they arrive, has nothing to do with what they respond when they leave. They have changed. "Says Adrià, visibly proud.
Dreams can come true, but you have to work on them. And with this reflection, we said goodbye to Adrià with the impressive views of the grounds at the Complex Esportiu Futbol Salou in the background. I hope the students of the Academy arrive as far as possible. Good luck!