How to plan a successful pre-season with Conal Murnin | S7 Ep3

<p>Pre-season is your opportunity to set the tone for the season ahead.</p><p>It&#39;s about understanding your players, creating the right environment and putting the foundations in place for a successful season.</p><p>And in this episode, coaching and learning developer Conal Murnin returns to Coachcast to share how coaches can make the most of pre-season. We speak about  reflecting on your own coaching and planning sessions that meet the needs of your players. Conal also explains how small decisions before the season begins can have a lasting impact into the season and keep players coming back for more.</p><p>Whether you coach once a week or have multiple sessions to work with, you&#39;ll learn how to prioritise what matters most and how to tell if your pre-season is a success.</p><p>Covered in this episode:</p><ul><li>0:00 – Intro</li><li>1:05 – Top coaching tips.</li><li>2:38 – Understanding your strengths as a coach and where you need to improve.</li><li>4:15 – Why self-reflection matters before a new season.</li><li>5:35 – What to reflect on when planning pre-season.</li><li>7:29 – Priorities for the first few weeks of pre-season.</li><li>9:39 – Building an effective pre-season with only one session a week.</li><li>13:34 – Preparing players for the physical demands without them losing the excitement.</li><li>17:36 – Understanding players and their ability levels.</li><li>20:04 – Setting expectations with parents during pre-season.</li><li>21:54 – Friendlies and tournaments in pre-season.</li><li>27:04 – Measuring pre-season success.</li><li>28:48 – The biggest pre-season mistake coaches make.</li><li>32:28 – A session idea you can use before a matchday.</li></ul><p>—————</p><p>Do you have any coaching questions you’d like answers to? Or perhaps you’re facing a coaching challenge that you’d like help with? Simply head over to <a href="https://community.thefa.com/coaching/f/youth-club-football-forum/3174/coaching-problems-and-questions"><u>our England Football Community forum</u></a> (<a href="https://community.thefa.com/"><u>https://community.thefa.com/</u></a>) and post them there. We can then put them to our guests in future episodes to get their advice!</p><p>Already listened to this episode or the previous seasons of Coachcast? We’d love to hear from you! Pass on your feedback by contacting us via <a href="mailto:Coachcast@thefa.com"><u>Coachcast@thefa.com</u></a>.</p><p><strong>LEARN MORE</strong></p><p><a href="https://learn.englandfootball.com/">England Football Learning </a>- <a href="https://learn.englandfootball.com/"><u>https://learn.englandfootball.com/</u></a><a href="https://community.thefa.com/">England Football Community - <u>https://community.thefa.com/</u></a></p><p>England Football Learning on YouTube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCisPO86aEIhWRTnTS1vrSVw"><u>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCisPO86aEIhWRTnTS1vrSVw</u></a><a href="https://twitter.com/EnglandLearning">England Football Learning Twitter</a> - <a href="https://twitter.com/EnglandLearning"><u>https://twitter.com/EnglandLearning</u></a></p><p>Email - <a href="mailto:Coachcast@thefa.com"><u>Coachcast@thefa.com</u></a></p><p><strong>LISTEN</strong></p><p>Spotify - <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4sA9fHoldaH1x5Wn3vdmsB"><u>https://open.spotify.com/show/4sA9fHoldaH1x5Wn3vdmsB</u></a></p><p>Apple Podcasts - <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/coachcast/id1591804808"><u>https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/coachcast/id1591804808</u></a></p><p>YouTube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@EnglandFootballLearning"><u>https://www.youtube.com/@EnglandFootballLearning</u></a></p>