On Tuesday 19th July 2011 over 70 coaches from clubs all over the West Region attended the annual pre-season workshop. Coaches representing clubs at child, youth, amateur and junior level heard a presentation from SFA West Regional Manager Paul McNeill on what a modern day pre-season should entail before heading out onto the pitch for example practical sessions.

The content included activity for warm ups, speed work, interval training, strength and conditioning, game related activity and cool downs for children through to veterans.

Much of the focus was on the ball with the coaches being encouraged to use the ball as much as possible during the session banishing the days of running up and down hills to effectively prepare players and teams for the new season.

Danny Bisland, Scottish FA West Region Club Development Manager, stated “I hope that all attending coaches and players went away from the evening with new ideas and practices that they can use with their teams. In addition, I was delighted at the very large turnout as it demonstrates the amount of time and effort that the coaches put into preparing the best pre-season that they can for their players.”

“I would also like to thanks Renfrew Victoria FC and, in particular, their coach Stuart Wild for providing runners for the event. As a Quality Mark club I am delighted that we can get them involved in our Regional events and the players are always great to work with.”

For further information on upcoming West Region events please e-mail west@scottishfa.co.uk