Men’s Football Academy Training Camp in Salou

The men’s football academy went on their annual warm weather training camp to Futbol Salou, Spain from 13th – 16th February 2020.

Head coach Dave Hall was accompanied by performance coaches Jimmy Punter and Stephen Braybrook along with strength and conditioning coach, Nathan DaCosta from the Sussex Performance Centre. This allowed the players to work hard throughout the training camp to ensure that development opportunities were maximised.

Once the team had arrived they wasted no time in getting into training. The coaches prepared the team for the challenge of their first fixture against Pallaresos, and winning 5-2 led to a very successful day for all involved.

Their second day began with a conditioning and movement session using the sand surfaces to enhance the work done in these areas. The squad were then back again with a double training session at Futbol Salou, starting with a session from Catalan FA coaches based on technical development, followed by a session based on attention to detail preparing for the team’s second fixture against La Selva. The training session was clearly successful with the Worthing College side winning 4-1 keeping their unbeaten recordin Europe in tact after four years!

The third day of the trip began with more activation and movement work focusing on player strength and power, leading to a squad specific training session with players working on developing team shape. After training, the squad completed their recovery with an hour of using the spa facilities with the focus being on swim recovery and contrast bathing.

The final day in Spain started with a ten minute jog to the coast to complete a hard beach session, including individual and pair challenges. The team then headed to Camp Nou, the famous home ground of Barcelona FC where they joined a tour and were able to get up close to see what it would be like to play at this world class stadium. The players were then given two hours free to look around Barcelona with students and staff exploring Las Ramblas, taking in the local culture and cuisine before heading back to the airport.

Head coach Dave Hall reflected on the experience by saying “it was great to see the group of players over a concentrated period, which allowed us to see how they are developing not only as players, but also as people.” The training camp is vital as there are some big matches coming up after the half term, so it was a great opportunity to increase team cohesion which is vital for their development. Planning has already started for the next trip to Salou in 2021!