17th December 2009 marks an all-important milestone in SoccerWAV’s journey- the first coaching session of the academy! After months of preparations dating back to early September, which includes writing proposals, defining our vision and mission, researching and preparing specialised programmes for women’s football, we finally got things going with our first batch of players to undergo our “Fundamentals Training Programme”. We are glad that our NUS IVP girls are the first ones who trialled our personalised training methods.
The” Fundamentals Training Programme” focuses on the basics of football- technique. With a combination of agility and technical drills, we helped build up the foundation of essential soccer skills. We started off with a dynamic warm-up, followed by a series of ladder and hurdle drills to improve acceleration and explosiveness. Our technique drills comprises of 3 important parts-control and passing, receiving and turning, and dribbling. Following that is a 2-man drill which emphasizes on crossing and finishing. Lastly a 7v7, 30-minute two-sided game provided the platform to showcase the skills they have learnt, and also injected the much needed competitiveness and fun into the programme.
When asked what they like about the programme, here are some of the responses by our inspired players:
“With more instructors, there were more eyes to correct mistakes of individuals, which was helpful and difficult for a single coach to achieve. The girls hardly have time for technical training especially between and just prior to games, and this was a good training to keep them in touch with their basics, which were of utmost importance and tend to be lacking in a girls’ game.” Wan Rong, former team captain
“It’s very personalized – e.g. individual timings of one obstacle course were taken. The coaches would relate drills to the games so the rationale behind every drill was made clear.” Istyana, right midfielder
“It was conducted in a light hearted and relaxing manner, yet it benefitted us a lot as it focused on the basics of football.” Jiayu, midfielder
“I like the way that different coaches seem to be leading different activities.” Yunxiu, defender
Here’s what they learnt from the programme:
“Little details that make a difference, for e.g. stopping the ball properly. Getting the basics right. Importance of technical ability. Yes, soccer is a science and an art!” Min Li, midfielder
“To play soccer well, one must master the basic skills well and not take it for granted.” Sarah, defender
Fong leading the girls in warm-up
Vincent demonstrating the agility drills 
Fabian explaining the crossing-finishing drill
Tammy practising how to turn with the ball
The girls showing their dribbling skills
The girls doing the crossing-finishing drill
View more videos here!
It’s a great start for SoccerWAV. Special thanks to the NUS soccer girls for helping to make our first session a success! Stay tuned for more updates!
