21 Days Of Living Like a Pro!
June Camp 2023
June 5th - 25th 2023
London, United Kingdom
39 talented players, hailing from 17 different countries, have come together in the pursuit of their shared love for the beautiful game.
Our London June Camp (June 5th - 25th, 2023) marked the beginning of an extraordinary summer filled with a total of five Football Camps!
Let's have a look how the day-to-day schedule of camp our players looked like, what they worked on in training and what it's like when players from the United States all the way to Singapore come together to live and train like a pro.
Monday, June 5th:
Arrival Day ✈️
After the arrival of all players the main focus of this day is for the players to settle in, getting to know their fellow players & coaches, receiving their welcome bag & training kits and having their first team dinner.
Tuesday, June 6th:
Two a Days 💪
On Tuesday morning we then always start with an activation session in the gym, lead by our Strength & Conditioning Coach Darian Trotman!
In the afternoon it’s then finally time for what all players have been waiting for: the first training session on the pitch and getting coached by former Man United academy player & National Scout for Northern Ireland, Simon O’Neill.
Wednesday, June 7th:
EPL Mentorship 🏆
On Wednesday we again started in the gym with a programme focused on recovery & activation. In the afternoon we then had our 2nd training session on the pitch. This time we were joined by two guest coaches:
The first one is Kwesi Casey-Hayford, Lead Athlete Coach & Mentor at Jus Ball who has personally coached Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal FC) & Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC).
Additionally we had our goalkeepers getting trained by Dan Saunders - a goalkeeper coach who has been working with the English Football Association for years as well as Watford FC.
Thursday, June 8th:
EURO 2016 Player Leads Session 🏴
On Thursday morning, we started with the first masterclass on “Why a Football CV is important”, presented by coach Simon.
In the afternoon we then had another training session on the pitch, lead by George Williams - EURO 2016 semi-finalist with Wales, ex-Fulham 1st team & academy player.
Friday, June 9th:
Fitness Frenzy 😮💨
On Friday the player’s fitness levels were really tested with the first double training session - one in the morning with coach Simon & Charlie Gregory and one in the afternoon with George Williams.
Saturday, June 10th:
London Calling 📞
After this intense first week it was then time for some downtime for the players. And what better way to start your first weekend than with our London City Day.
In the evening it was then time to watch together the event all of us aspire to be in ourselves one day - the Champions League Final!
Sunday, June 11th:
Recharging The Battery 🔋
Sunday was then fully focused on recovering & recharging the batteries for another intense week for our Train Effective Camp Players on their day off.
And even if every single player has put in a tremendous amount of work and showed real effort to become a better player on and off the pitch - there was one Player who stood out: Michael Poitry from Iowa, United States!
“His commitment and effort shown on the pitch was a key point why he was chosen for Player of the Week. He helped as many of his teammates as possible by giving them pointers whilst training and wasn’t afraid to work even harder himself to help his teammates out during difficult situations on the pitch. His off the pitch skills and the way he conducted himself around the hotel with staff and players also stood out to all members of staff.”
- Ben Jacobson, Assistant Camp Manager on their decision.
And just like that, the first week flies by in a flash!
So far we mostly looked into the general schedule of the first week of the London June Camp 2023.
Now, we want to speak about what the specific training sessions of last week have been focused on and why those are vital to train to become a professional player!
Monday, June 12th:
Playing Out From The Back ⚽️
On Monday we started with a session in the gym, focused on activation & injury prevention, led by our strength & conditioning coach Darian Trotman!
In the afternoon it was then time for the next training session on the pitch.
And the main focus of this training session was on “playing out from the back” which is so crucial because it …
And especially nowadays as most teams are looking for players who are 100% comfortable to play in a possession-oriented style this is an elemental quality for every player who wants to make it as a professional.
Tuesday, June 13th:
Playing Through Midfield 🕹️
On Tuesday the fitness levels of the players were again tested twice with two training sessions on the pitch on this day.
In the morning our goalkeepers trained with goalkeeper coach Dan Saunders (20+ years of work experience with Watford FC & the FA).
Together with coach George & coach Simon we then focused on the next step:
“Playing Through Midfield” which enables teams / players to
Again, abilities that are mandatory nowadays in pro football.
Wednesday, June 14th:
Playing In The Final Third 🚨
On Wednesday we got to the next stage in our training sequence:
we started with playing from the back, made our way through midfield and now it’s time to work with the players on “Playing In The Final Third”.
So again: what do our coaches aim to teach our players by training this?
We train "playing in the final third" because it helps teams / player’s in
Thursday, June 15th:
Finishing 🎯
But all this work before counts nothing if players don’t score. And that’s why the two training sessions on Thursday were focused on Finishing.
And to practice the player’s finishing as effectively as possible the coaches set up a combination of exercises:
Additionally, we also invited our player success agent & mentor Sam Shaban.
Sam has played professionally in different clubs around Europe and is currently playing semi-professionally as a striker in England.
Sam worked individually with each striker and also shared his personal tips that allowed him to finish his latest season with 22 goals in 22 appearances.
And also our goalkeepers again got individual training together with goalkeeper coach Dan Saunders!
Friday, June 16th:
Defending From The Front 🛑
In the last training session of the week, our players then worked on the next important topic: “Defending From The Front”
Overall, training defending from the front enhances
Saturday, June 17th:
Chelsea Stadium Tour 🏟️
After this intense training week for our players, it was time for the 2nd activity day of the camp with our Chelsea Stadium tour on Saturday!
There we visited the dressing rooms, the press area, the stands and obviously had the opportunity to feel the atmosphere of Stamford Bridge after walking through the player tunnel.