Juventus camp in Prague for children: discipline from the start and advanced methods
Juventus Turin organized the fourth annual camp for Czech football players. Three coaches from the Italian big club gave valuable experience to domestic youngsters in the U7 to U12 category and a new perspective on what training units can look like. During the five-day camp in Prague’s Vršovice, the children completed four ninety-minute training cycles each day.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Pavel Nedvěd, Gianluigi Buffon and we could go on… The children had the opportunity to wear the clothes worn by the biggest football stars and live an unforgettable five-day experience in the form of a camp, which, however, is associated with great demands from the “Old Ladies” youth coaches. Ninety minutes of training, fifteen minutes of rest and back on the pitch!
“The Juventus camp can be classified as an experience. Visit it, gain a lot of experience, try an international experience. To train for five days in a white and black jersey and try out similar trainings,” describes the camp director Tomáš Klečka.
Little football players with their training kit came to the grassy area in a row behind each other, in front of them walked the coaches who supervised the rehearsed approach to the training field. You immediately feel that a high-profile football company with a proud J on the chest.
The emphasis is on complexity. Starting with behavior and ending with appearance. The children come in the same sets, they are supposed to have properly adjusted boots and tucked-in clothes. A prime example of discipline. The concept of the Turin team is to raise not only good football players, but also people.
The coaches introduce the children to what a proper representation of the club should look like. On Czech lawns, it is not customary to see such professional behavior already upon arrival at the training unit. It is too late for Juventus to instill that in players in their teens and above.
After arriving on the field, the players split into four groups and it was their turn before the training ritual. The boys formed four groups according to age in each of the corners of the playing field, grabbed each other’s shoulders, the first group started and shouted loudly: “Uno, due, tre forza Juve!” after the end, the second group joins in with the same shout, and so on until the end . Now the training can begin!
The trainings were focused on both individual and collective performance. The Italian coaches paid attention to technical as well as dynamic exercises. Overall movement, change of direction and dexterity were developed, which is especially important for youth footballers.
Juventus camp for children in Prague
“The summer program is different from the classic team training where you have ninety minutes and those ninety minutes should be intense. At summer camps, the frequency of exercises is not expected to be as fast as it should be in regular training at a football club, the children manage, but they are tired,” says Klečka.
At the camp, the children are introduced to Coerver coaching. It is a method of learning football skills and developing individual abilities, especially for children between the ages of five and sixteen.
Emphasis is also placed on speed, perception, decision-making, character and strength. After fulfilling all these aspects, a small football player can develop into a top player over time. The developer of the revolutionary football methodology is the now deceased former Dutch coach Wiel Coerver, who coached, for example, Feynoord Rotterdam, with which he won the UEFA Cup.
The academy promotes the “Juventus Way” philosophy, which aims to support footballers through vision, combining technical aspects with mental, emotional and interpersonal aspects, says academy.juventus.com
The Academy of Turin organized a total of three camps this year. Two in July in Prague and one in August in Brno. The schedule itself testifies to the time-consuming nature of training for young footballers.
Training camp schedule
8:30 – 9:00 parents accompany the children to the Sk Slavia Prague training center
9:00 – 10:30 first training unit
10:30 – 10:45 break between training, snack
10:45 – 12:15 second training unit
12:30 – 13:30 lunch break
13:45 – 15:15 third training unit
15:15 – 15:30 second break between training, snack
15:30 – 17:00 fourth and last training unit
17:00-17:30 end of the training cycle and pick-up of children