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January 2026 Training update

A very happy new year and welcome back to training (when we can get back on the pitch!).


I wanted to provide an update on what you can expect from your teams coaching over the next 8-12 weeks until April, starting with some key dates to be aware of.


  • Thursday 5th February: no training owing to an event at Royal Russell school. We will communicate an alternative plan to either accomodate teams who train on a Thursday into the Wednesday sessions, or arrange alternative facilities.

  • February half-term: there will be no coaching throughout the week commencing 16th February.

  • Due to events at school, we have been informed there will be very limited parking onsite on Thursday 22nd Jan, Thurs 12th March and Wednesday 25th March - please allow extra time for drop-off and collection.

  • Easter break: we will take our usual break meaning there is no coaching during the weeks commencing 30th March and 6th April.

What to expect from training?


Our next training block will consist of two parts, the first up until February half-term, will be made up of sessions that help to develop players individual technical skills (dribbling, tackling). After the half-term break, we will continue to explore team based defensive strategies (covering, pressing, movement).


If you would like to see an example of our training plans, you can download a copy below. These plans are designed by myself and linked to a block of several linked practices to help the players understand the concepts. Coaches have the freedom to add team specific details and their own 20 minute practice linked to what they see each weekend within each session.



You will see from this session plan example that we will continue to link practices to the gameday problems faced by our players. We will always aim to avoid 'drills' with players in queues waiting to have their turn. If you would like to know more about this structure, please revisit my last post 'Inside SZ United: Our Coaching Philosophy and Approach' for an overview.


If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out to me at one of the training sessions - I will be in attendance each Wednesday and Thursday.


We hope to see you back on the training pitches very soon!






Ashley Gumbrell

Head of Coaching, SZ United

 
 
 

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