Do you get dispossessed too often? Make sure your training addresses that problem

A lot of teams are starting to come together for pitch sessions at this time of the year, so I reckon it’s finally safe to look ahead.

What do you see yourself achieving this season?

Individually what goes are you setting yourself? To become a starter? The key player? Earn a county call up or become captain? Team wise, is survival enough? Or do you see silverware at the end of the year?

Once you decide where you want to be, now you have to work out how to get there. There’s numerous ways you can influence how this season turns out.

How your approach your training – the consistency, the intensity, the volume and the recovery. How you approach your diet, the sustainability of consistently making the right choices, control the triggers that can potentially derail you – especially over the weekend – and making sure it’s enjoyable.

One thing I’m encouraging my players to do is become more self-aware. Play to your strengths and limit the chance of exposing your weaknesses.

If you’re a fantastic high fielder but have poor kick-passing skills then talk to the men around you and make sure they’re running off your shoulder so that when you land you can move the ball on quickly and become a much more influential figure in the game.

If you look back at last season and find you got caught in possession more than you would have liked then actively move the ball quicker.

Start consciously making the decision to reduce the amount of time the weak areas of your game are on show and continually play to your strengths. Straight away you become not only a better player but a more important piece of your team.

Use team training sessions to bring your weaknesses up to par. Set yourself small goals before each session. Complete ten kick passes with your “bad” foot. Dispossess your direct opponent five times in every small sided game. Don’t drop the ball at any point throughout the session. Give your training sessions meaning and start actively doing something that will help you reach the end goal you’ve set yourself this season.

Take this small goal mantra in to your gym sessions. Aim to make each session a little better than the last with something to focus upon throughout the session. And in to your games as well. Walk through the goals in your head pre-game then make them happen in-game.
My GAA Pre-Season Workshop is around the corner, Saturday the 20th of February 1pm-3pm at The Edge Sports Performance and Fitness Centre, Augher, and it is going to touch upon all areas of prepping for a successful season, from diet to training, mindset and goal setting!

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