Soccer Coach Weekly Issue 164

Welcome to the third and final issue in our pre-season series – and it’s a bumper one! 

It’s not often you get an insight into the coaching methods of one of the most respected coaches and coach educators in the game. 

John Allpress, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur and the Football Association, has taken over this issue to provide his expertise on getting the most out of pre-season. 

His approach is one of personalised, deliberate learning, brought to life through individual, unit and group challenges, constraints and questions. 

In this issue, John outlines how to structure a pre-season session, before going into more detail about the different elements to include. 

He has shared some of his go-to practices, alongside challenges and constraints that can be used to direct learning in these practices. 

Everything within these pages should be more than enough to help you build and run your team’s pre-season schedule, whatever level you coach at. 

John has an assistant this issue – his son, Aaron. He is both a professional squash player and a strength and conditioning coach, and presents warm-up and cool-down routines for your pre-season sessions. 

Take your time to digest the issue for pre-season and the season ahead – our next issue is in two weeks, on August 2. 

Don't forget to check out our previous two issues. Combine them with this one, and you'll have all you need to make your pre-season a success!