SKNFA Press Release
Players in the U-14 and U17 national teams are showing signs of improvement, according to one of the coaches in the SKNFA Youth Academy Travis Somersall. While at a recent training session at the SKNFA Technical Center in St. Peters, Mr. Somersall noted that the players, for the past seven weeks, are trained on the mental aspect of football. “We’ve been training for eight weeks and we’ve seen tremendous improvement with some of the players. Some are more advanced than some but need the training because this training is more about brain-centered training, so we are getting them to think than to play with the feet,” Somersall explained.
The response to the training has been good, according to Somersall. “We started with the U-14 and we invited to the 17s and now we are moving on to the Senior Men and then to the female side of the football,” he disclosed. He praised the SKNFA Technical Center as the ideal for a place for training as it is devoid of distractions and the artificial turf is of a high standard. “You get to do the work you need efficiently, rather than having distractions,” Coach Somersall said.
Meanwhile, Haim Isles, one of the players with the Academy, said he has been learning a lot from the training. “Just having us repeat it over and over and over, for it to stick; they are training us well…. Right now, I am improving. I’m doing better and better each time I come and I am hoping to stay consistent and keep training,” Isles said.
The SKNFA has mandated that the youth teams begin preparations well in advance of international competitions. Training has been done for the past seven weeks at the SKNFA Technical Center which boasts artificial turf.