Hakans Case Study

Hakan is 18 years old and is currently playing at Tottenham Hotspur in their college development team.

I’ve worked with and trained Hakan for over 10 years now. The change and development I’ve seen in Hakan over this period of time has been immense.

Like many players his age however, he struggled with;

• His speed and pace
• Transferring the skills he had learned from training games
• His skills needed to be used in a more dynamic way so that he could be more effective in match situations

To take Hakan’s game to the next level and give him the best possible chance of getting spotted by a professional football team I needed to lay out in detail a plan that would help him achieve this goal.

Issue #1: Speed and Pace

Speed is important in football. It can help us;

• Break away from defenders to give us the best possible chance of scoring
• Think quicker than our opponents
• Get possession of the ball before our opponents
• Chase down and tackle opponents

…all vitally important areas of the game that need to be nurtured. While Hakan had a good standard to work from, he needed to develop his speed and more specifically his acceleration when trying to break away from players during matches.

He also needed to improve his own defending by being able to successfully chase down another player and be able to win the ball back.

Issue #2: Application of Dynamic Skills within a Competitive Environment 

Again, being able to learn and effectively use certain skills in match situations can really make a player stand out.

The issue however with this is, usually players think or do too much in any given situation. This ultimately results in an ineffective use of the skill which could lead to dire consequences in a competitive game.

Effectively using skills within a match situation can help;

• Create space for yourself or team mate
• Change direction – quickly
• Ask ‘questions’ of the opposing team

What Hakan needed to do was work on choosing the right skill, for the right job and always ensuring the skill was done in a fluid, dynamic way.

If Hakan was just able to work on these two parts individually and then successfully combine them so they complimented each other – he would go from a standard player to a player who was super effective on the pitch.

The Training Programme

After Hakan and his Father, got in contact with me to help him improve his game and suit his individual needs we outlined 3 areas we would work on. The initial 10 week programme would work on;

• Working on his Fundamentals Skills: This Included; Step Overs, Cruyff Turns, Ronaldo Chops and a whole host of other skills we could add to his game
• Increasing his Speed & Acceleration: Through various drills and tests to measure his progress. This was then combined with the skills above so he could start to beat defenders and become far more effective on the pitch
• Creating Match Realism: By setting up training in a way that mimicked real game scearios.

 

Hakan Finally Got What he Was Looking For…

Hakan was enjoying the benefits of 1on1 coaching and so him and his father were happy to carry on training once a week to further his game.

At the age of 10 he was invited to start training with Tottenham Hotspur at one of their development centres. This not only provided Hakan with confidence but also gave him the belief and ambition to build upon.

I carried on training Hakan and used the sessions to enhance what he was doing at Tottenham Hotspur.   He was now seeing the full benefit of the sessions I was doing with him as he was able to showcase his skills in a professional environment.

From Boy to Man…

Hakan carried on training with me till the age of 16 . At this age he wanted to study in sports coaching as well. So I advised him to move into the Tottenham Hotspur College Programme for 16-18 year olds.  Hakan got through the trial at 16 and went onto complete the college programme.

He is currently pursuing a career in professional football and is also looking to become a football coach. I’m now helping him on his way to becoming a coach by providing him with coaching experience. He’s assisting me at sessions and thoroughly enjoys learning the coaching side of football.

I am really pleased with Hakans development over the years I have coached and known him.   I am also excited to see his future development.

“There’s a lot that can be said about Steve. First of all he is undoubtedly the best coach I’ve had that’s why I stayed with him for around 8,9 years. Booking one to one football sessions which always helped me get better. Steve motivated me like no other coach and understood how to work with me during me growing up. Sometimes I feel he wanted me to get better more than I did myself that’s the type of coach Steve is. He was always determined to make me better on and off the pitch. Now a few years on I’ve joined him to coach as there is no one better to learn from.” – Hakan

If you’re looking for more information on the same programme Hakan took – You can check it out here…