WFA Founder Raymond Verheijen discusses Coach Education and Football Periodisation with Ricky Master Coach.

In this podcast Ricky Master coach and Raymond Verheijen discuss Football Periodisation, World Cup 2014 muscle injuries and why coach education is important for young coaches entering the game.

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To get information about Raymond Verheijen's Football Periodisation USA courses Subscribe Here.

Raymond Verheijen and Guus Hiddink.

FIFPro Study reveals 1 in 4 professional players suffer from mental health problems

Symptoms relating to depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among professional footballers, according to a new mental health study released today by the World Footballers' Association FIFPro.

The research conducted by FIFPro's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vincent Gouttebarge found 26% of active professional footballers suffer from depression/anxiety, compared to 39% of cases studied among retired players.

"Contrary to popular belief, the life of a professional footballer has some dark sides," said Dr. Gouttebarge.

"FIFPro's study, the first of its kind on a global scale, becomes the basis for the international football community to develop and implement optimal strategies to protect and promote the sustainable health of professional footballers."

"Former professional footballers report more mental health problems than current players, endorsing that the period just after retirement from professional football is a critical one for many players."

"We found mental illness among former professional footballers occurs more often than in other measured populations." (Bultmann 2002; Korten 2000; King 2008; Schaal 2011)

FIFPro, with the assistance of six member unions from the Netherlands, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, USA, Australia and New Zealand, measured over 300 active and former professional footballers. Using well-recognised and validated questionnaires (i.e. scales), the study measured outcomes ranging from distress, burnout, anxiety/depression and low self-esteem to adverse health behaviours covering alcohol consumption, smoking and general nutrition.

Two former international players who endorsed the study, Chris Jackson (New Zealand, 60 caps, 1990-2003) and Jonny Walker (USA, 3 caps, 2004), both agreed to share personal details of their own struggles with mental illness.

KEY FIGURES: ACTIVE PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS

• 180 active professional footballers participated, of which 60% were playing for a club of the highest national league at the time of the study.
• 26% of active players reported suffering from depression/anxiety and adverse nutritional behavior.
• 19% reported adverse alcohol behaviour.
• 3% reported having low self-esteem.
• 7% said they were smoking
• 5% reported signs of burnout and 10% were found to be in distress

KEY FIGURES: FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS

• 121 former professional footballers participated, of which almost 65% spent the majority of their careers playing for a club of the highest national league.
• 39% reported suffering from depression/anxiety
• 42% reported adverse nutritional behaviour.
• 32% reported adverse alcohol behaviour.
• 5% reported having a low self-esteem
• 12% said they were smoking
• 15% showed signs of burnout and 18% were found to be in distress

Dr. Gouttebarge said professional football is littered with psychological pitfalls for the players. "Once the players stop with intensive physical activities they lose their structured life, their social support by trainers and team mates diminishes, they need to find their place in 'regular' society, and find another occupation. Consequently, they are likely to experience some mental health problems during this period."

MENTAL ILLNESS NO LONGER TABOO

By proving scientifically that mental illness in football is widespread, and higher than normal among former professional players compared to other studied populations, FIFPro hopes to increase awareness and acceptance on a subject which was once taboo. As Dr. Gouttebarge explains, the veil on mental illness has been lifted and there is no need for players to suffer in silence or fear recrimination should they choose to come forward.

"Football stakeholders have a collective responsibility to remove the stigma associated with mental illness."

"All players, whether active or retired, can learn optimal behaviours and coping skills to manage the symptoms of mental illness."

Several physical and psychological stressors were explored in the study such as severe injuries (training or competition absence for more than four weeks), surgeries, life events (death of a family member) and (social) support from trainer and team mates. All these aspects were self-reported by the players.

Of the 180 active players who participated, a total of 174 severe injuries were reported of which 31% related to knee joints and 12% ankle joints. Seventeen [17] percent reported having three or more serious injuries. In addition, active players reported a total 170 surgical interventions from which more than half related to knees and ankles.

Dr. Gouttebarge said, "When it comes to any health problem, be it physical or mental, over the short or long term, the minimum standard is to raise self-awareness of players about these issues. They need to be aware of what might occur during and after their football career."

An acute lack of scientific data about mental illness among professional footballers has been a driving factor behind FIFPro's global undertaking to establish a new benchmark in this field. Dr. Gouttebarge said the next stage is to gather more data across a variety of countries and continents to add to this important body of work which represents a significant breakthrough in protecting and promoting the sustainable health of professional footballers worldwide.

Study: Mental Illness in Professional Football

DrillBoard spotlighted in Windows Store

 

Very excited to see that DrillBoard's first tablet version has just been spotlighted in the Windows Store.

 

It's great to see the DrillBoard logo sitting alongside the Football Association and ESPN.

 

Built for Windows 8, the app syncs with DrillBoard desktop on PC and Mac, so coaches can work across multiple devices and share drills and sessions with other coaches, players and parents on those devices as well. 



 

 

This is an early taste of some ambitious plans coming together, as well as a forerunner to full integration on iPad and Android.

We've come a long way, yet it still feel like early days, so we're buzzed to get such a big endorsement, especially following on top of DrillBoard's success winning a World Series Award  at Cloud Computing World last year.

DrillBoard subscribers can download the Windows 8 version for free. Click here to visit the Windows Store.

DrillBoards' Linkedin Group Passes 4000 Members

DrillBoard's Linkedin Group - Soccer Coach Central - continues to grow at pace.

The networking group which allows football (soccer) coaches, to share soccer coaching ideas, techniques and job opportunities, has just surpassed the 4000th member to maintain its status as a top destination for football coaches on the professionals’ social network.

Click here to join Soccer Coach Central from DrillBoard™

 

FAQ: How do I draw a straighline using DrillBoard™?

Drawing a straight line in your DrillBoard™ soccer session plan is very easy, simply;

• Highlight the icon for the relevant action and
• Hold down the Shift button as you draw the line.

 

 

Visit DrillBoard™ Soccer

 

LOVE Soccer - NSCAA Convention - Indy Art - Indianapolis 2013

All set to fly out from London to Indianapolis for the NSCAA Annual Convention. Always super excited to see the revolution that's taking place on the soccer side of the pond in full flow.

DrillBoard™'s  L(sOccer)VE t-shirts for Indy 2013 pay homage to the beautiful game, iconic design and Indianapolis art.

A huge thanks to Jen Ferguson our (hometown Indianapolis) designer for her on-goingly wonderful creativity and the guys at Negs, Soho London, for genuinely world class turnaround and quality.

If you see one of us walking by feel free to reach out or tweet @drillboard

Have a good one!

Source: instagram.com via DrillBoard™ Soccer on Pinterest

Try DrillBoard™ at DrillBoard.com

Fun Drills - Massive Attack

A fun drill for players of all ages by Damian Roden

Source: playbook.drillboard.com via Tim Gentles on DrillBoard PlayBook

GAME ORGANISATION

Players are split into 2 equal teams
One group of players dribble ball through cones from one end to the other
The others pass to hit player's soccer balls as they dribble

GAME ALTERATIONS

To make the game easier:
Players passing can only pass one at a time

To make the game more difficult:
Players dribbling have limited time period

COACHES HINTS

Do the players keep the ball close to feet?
Do they keep their head up when dribbling?
Do the players who are passing get close to the ball?

Gain a Competitive Advantage with DrillBoard™

Come and meet DrillBoard™ at the Emirates

DrillBoard™ has been invited, as an example of Best Practise in Football, to the inaugural World Football Academy UK National Symposium at The Emirates Stadium on 19th December 2012.

If you're thinking of coming along to the event it would be great to see you there.

The theme for the day is "UK Football...Back to the Future" and will take a look at changing coaching culture. Speakers include:

• Raymond Verheijen
• Gareth Southgate
• Craig Bellamy

Click here for the Full Schedule and here for Ticket Information


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Confined Dribbling Progression by Coach Cole

This drill/ progression will help condition your players while working on dribbling/footwork skills. By adding a defender at various stages will help simulate game situations.

Source: playbook.drillboard.com via Coach Cole on DrillBoard PlayBook

See the full drill on DrillBoard PlayBook

The Language of Football

Source: instagr.am via DrillBoard Soccer on Pinterest

Playing with PlayBook - Embedding Code

Testing the new DrillBoard™ PlayBook code with Manchester United v Aston Villa team formations.

Source: playbook.drillboard.com via Tim Gentles on DrillBoard PlayBook

U-15 Player scores a great goal

Nkosi Burgess of Dix Hills "Heat" backheel flicks the ball to himself off the free kick and then backward overhead volleys to score against Hauppage "Brazil".

Vintage Images - Experimenting with Pinterest

Experimenting with Pinterest this evening, it's pretty cool!

Source: upload.wikimedia.org via DrillBoard on Pinterest