STUDY GROUP SCHEME 16 – 19 NOVEMBER 2015

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

"Fitness for Football – Backgrond, philosophy and

priorities
Andreas Morisbak & Sigmund B. Apold-Aasen
 THE UEFA FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL WORKING GROUP

ANDREAS MORISBAK
NORWEGIAN FA SENIOR TECHNICAL ADVISOR AND UEFA TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR
- NFA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR 1975-2004 (32 YRS)
- PLAYING CAREER AT TOP LEVEL (11YRS)
[CUP & LEAGUE WINNERS MEDALS. 3 NATIONAL TEAM APPEARANCES]
- COACHING EXPERIENCE AT ALL LEVELS
- UNIVERSITY HONOURS DEGREE IN FOOTBALL

SIGMUND APOLD-AASEN
- NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES
- DIR. OF PHYSIOLOGY AT THE NORWEGIAN CENTRE OF FOOTBALL EXCELLENCE
- FITNESS ADVISOR AT NORWEGIAN OLYMPIC CENTRE (10 YRS)
- FITNESS ADVISOR FOR SEVERAL ELITE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN NORWAY
- ADVISOR TO WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM (2008 & 2009)
- UNIVERSITY HONOURS DEGREE IN SPORTS BIOLOGY
1. BACKGROUND

2. THE UEFA “FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL” WORKING GROUP

3. FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL – UEFA PHILOSOPHY

4. A MODEL TO CREATE HIGH STABILITY PERFORMANCE

1: Background

BACKGROUND

THE UEFA PROCESS ON THE TOPIC “FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL”

1:1 Background

THE UEFA PROCESS - FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL

- JIRA PANEL SURVEY 2011

- RESULTS PRESENTED AT THE UEFA COACH EDUCATION

WORKSHOP IN PRAGUE IN SEPTEMBER, 2011
1:2 Background

THE UEFA PROCESS - FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL

SUMMARY

- EDUCATION CONCEPTS ON THE TOPIC VARIED GREATLY

BETWEEN ASSOCIATIONS

- ALL ASSOCIATIONS WANTED UEFA TO ACT IN THIS AREA

1:3 Background

THE UEFA PROCESS ON FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL

UEFA DECISION AFTER THE SURVEY

- NOT TO INTRODUCE A “FITNESS” LICENCE

- TO USE PILOT SEMINARS TO FOLLOW UP ON THIS TOPIC

- UEFA FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL WORKING GROUP ASSEMBLED

THE UEFA FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL WORKING GROUP

Andreas Morisbak Paul Balsom Jan Ekstrand Sigmund Apold-Aasen

PILOT SEMINARS

1rd Oslo Norway 3rd Baku Azerbaijan

2nd Istanbul Turkey

 CHALLENGES FACED BY THE WORKING GROUP

Fitness for Football

- MANY DIFFERENT APPROACHES (STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY TRADITION AND CULTURE)

- MEMBER COUNTRIES HAVE VASTLY DIFFERENT NEEDS DUE TO SIZE, RESOURCES, NUMBER LICENCES
PLAYERS, ETC

- SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN LAST 10-15 YEARS (E.G., TECHNOLOGY)

- IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER FROM “GRASS ROOTS” THROUGH TO “CHAMPIONS LEAGUE”

- DIFFICULT TO FIND “EXPERTS” WHOSE OPINIONS ARE GLOBALLY ACCEPTED

- EXPERTS WITH POOR KNOWLEDGE OF FOOTBALL SUGGESTING INAPPROPRIATE TRAINING METHODS

2:4 Working Group

INITIAL “THOUGHTS” OF THE WORKING GROUP

DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE AN EXACT “LESSON BOOK” FOR THIS TOPIC

BETTER INITIALLY TO HIGHLIGHT SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES OF

LEARNING AND TRAINING AS GUIDELINES

AND

TO EDUCATE COACHES TO WORK WITHIN THESE GUIDELINES AND TO UTILISE APPROPRIATE TRAINING
METHODS FOR THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENT
3: UEFA Guidelines

FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL – UEFA PHILOSOPHY

UEFA 54 Members:
3:1 UEFA Guidelines

SKILL IS THE KEY DEVELOPING FACTOR IN FOOTBALL

3:2 UEFA Guidelines

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS FOR

FOOTBALL TRAINING TO DEVELOP BALL SKILLS AND
ENABLE THE PLAYERS TO MASTER FOOTBALL SITUATIONS –
WHILE ENHANCING FITNESS IN THE PROCESS.
• FOOTBALL A VERY COMPLEX SPORT

• SKILL IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF FOOTBALL!

FOOTBALL SKILL
DEFINITION 1

«ADEQUATE CHOICES OF ACTION

AND ACTIONS TO CREATE AND UTILIZE PLAYING SITUATIONS
TO THE BENEFIT OF YOUR OWN TEAM»
FOOTBALL SKILL
DEFINITION 2

Observe
Tactics Choose
Evaluate
(what to do?) Decide

Football skill Situation Solution

Technique
(how to do it?) Act Excecute
 FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL

THE PRINCIPLE OF SPECIFISITY

• THE DEMANDS IN TRAINING MUST BE AS SIMILAR

AS POSSIBLE TO THE DEMANDS OF THE SITUATION
YOU ARE TRAINING FOR

• THE STIMULUS DOMINATING THE ACTIVITY YOU

ARE TRAINING FOR MUST ALSO BE PRESENT IN
TRAINING

• THAT MEANS AS MUCH FOOTBALL ACTIVITY AS

POSSIBLE IN TRAINING!
 FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL
WHAT EFFECTS THE FOOTBALL SKILL?
INDIVIDUAL RELATIONAL STRUCTURAL MATCH
DIMENSION DIMENSION DIMENSION DIMENSION

FOOTBALL MATCH PERFORMANCE

FOOTBALL SKILL
INJURY PREVENTION

PSYCOLOGICAL RESOURSES PHYSICAL RESOURCES

FITNESS
(ENDURANCE, SPEED, STRENGTH ETC.)
FOOTBALL FITNESS!
 FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

MORE FOCUS PLACED ON AN

INTEGRATED AND HOLLISTIC APPROACH
TO PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT AND INJURY
PREVENTION
 FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
UEFA STUDY GROUP SCHEME

ADOPT A MODERN AND HOLLISTIC APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF

KEY SUB-TOPICS SUCH AS LTPD, INJURY PREVENTION, EXPLOSIVE
POWER, etc

A SERIES OF PRESENTATIONS OF BEST PRACTICE, PRIMARILY BY

EXPERTS WORKING WITHIN FOOTBALL (BUT WHERE/IF APPROPRIATE
ALSO OUTSIDE OF FOOTBALL), FOLLOWED BY GROUP DISCUSSIONS
AND REFLECTIONS
 FITNESS FOR FOOTBALL

WE WANT BETTER FOOTBALL FITNESS

TO UTILIZE THE FOOTBALL SKILL BETTER

• BETTER ACTION

• MAINTAINING GOOD ACTION

• MORE ACTION

• MAINTAINING MORE ACTION

CREATING A PERFORMANCE CULTURE
Can we learn something from high risk operations ?

Culture before performance

 ”People follow leaders
because they like and respect
them, not because they use
their power.”
 Jim Collins Ken Blanchard J. Kotter

32
UEFA Eleven values
What is the result of this systematic way ( A-standard) to connect Structure and
Culture?

• Systematic approach to collect and improve the organizations `best practice` ( structure
element)

• A common A-standard brief pattern of behavior for every task/exercise

• Systematic focus on the coach´s leadership, and how he/she enables the team to have quality
in every training session when he/she is at their best
Fitness for football-Study group scheme 9-12 March 2015 Brussels, Belgium
LEARNING AND IMPROVING
Andreas Morisbak & Sigmund Apold-Aasen
andreas@fotball.no
sigmundapoldaasen@icloud.com
Important points about planning and periodisation
The best leadership and training in the world

Bjørge Stensbøl
Principle of adaptation and reversibility.
Specificity – Andreas Morisbak
Individual Differences Principle
Individual Differences Principle
NOT better athlets but better football players
VO2 max and Cardiac output
4 x 4 min uphill running
NOT better athlets but better football players
Raise the bar higher
What do you want from your doctor ?

• What is the right ”medicine”/ training for you now

that makes improvement?

Risk

Effect
Nobel prize winners 2014 May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser

"for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain".
Central governor model
Professor Timoty Noaks

”Central governor model of exercise”

Feedback Feed Forward
Feedback Feed Forward
Individual Differences Principle
What is the right ”medicine”/ training for you now that makes improvement?

Risk

Effect
Overload
Milo the Wrestler of Croton

• Frequency:

• Intensity:

• Duration:
Muscle fiber type changes in human skeletal muscle

I 2A 2AX 2X
Progression Principle
Progression Principle
Variation Principle
Moderation Principle - Remember that training is a slow, gradual process !
“Champions are not champions because they
do anything extraordinary but because they
do the ordinary things better than anyone
else”.
Chuck Noll - NFL Coach
LEARNING AND IMPROVING
Sigmund B. Apold-Aasen

sigmundapoldaasen@icloud.com