MEXICO CITY (AP) – Without the possibility of carrying out the tasks in their usual spaces, the physical trainers of several soccer clubs in Mexico choose to be creative, squeezing the juice out of digital platforms for virtual training with which they keep in good shape. physical to the players.
There is no other alternative to the paralysis of the league and the isolation measures in the country due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus.
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The physical trainers of America, Chivas and Tigres have resorted to training through the YouTube video channel, some even in double session.
“Within the great puzzle of football, the figure of the physical trainer occupies a place that is no more or less important, but at the moment attention is being given to the physical part that is what worries and occupies the most, given the current circumstances of uncertainty, because it is not known when to return to competitive activity, “Giber Torres, physical trainer for the Americas, told The Associated Press.
“You don’t have to take your foot off the gas,” he added. “We need to maintain an optimal degree of the physical part so that, when the day comes to resume activities, we are not so out of date with a competitive level.”
The Mexican Clausura tournament was suspended on March 15. A probable date for its resumption is not yet in sight.
America even allowed some of its players to take equipment from the club gym to their homes to keep fit.
Torres said that all the players share with him a WhatsApp group, where they coordinate to connect to a link created by the preparer himself on YouTube. Through that channel, he guides them.
In addition, each has different programs to follow, based on their physical condition.
“We want a tailored suit for each one. They are different cases and with some we have to carry out corrective and preventive work to attack any shortcomings they may have, and I do a job where I basically guide a session, ”he explained.
It is not an easy task, since it is not possible to make the virtual link for the group every day. Each player has a program to perform in their homes with their own conditions, which makes it difficult to monitor what each one does.
One solution that the club considers is to wear bracelets that allow knowing how much exercise each of the players performs.
In Chivas, the other most popular club in the country, an online tool called K-Forte is used, where it is possible to schedule strength training and manage loads and group progress.
The players connect to the platform, where they can see the exercises to be performed under the supervision of Erik Roqueta, coordinator and physical trainer of the Guadalajara performance area.
“The main objective is to give continuity to the physical work and that the state of form is lost as little as possible so that they are well conditioned for when normal sports practice resumes,” said Roqueta. “We distribute the work in blocks, one of high intensity, another of general force where we work the upper and lower train and another for injury prevention.”
Chivas performs double sessions. Players like Isaac Brizuela and Antonio Briseño have shared part of their training on their personal Instagram accounts and other social networks.
“The physical conditioning is very good, we lack physical contact, but it has helped us a lot and we are going to have this as an experience,” said Briseño. “Thank God I live in an apartment where I can go down to train on the paddle tennis court or in the garden.”
Tigres is another team that has opted for virtual training, led by Guillermo Orta. Unlike what happens with other teams, fans can see a part of these training sessions on a YouTube channel, on the official Facebook page and on the team’s Twitter account.
Toluca has not been left behind either. Players like the Colombian Felipe Pardo, the Brazilian Diego Rigonato and the Argentine Federico Mancuello have shared their virtual training sessions, coordinated by the physical trainer Carlos García.
Pumas has not yet fully integrated into virtual training. For now the team has offered video conferences and each player performs separate work.
But the cats are already preparing a tool to combine not only the physical, but the tactical.
“We see it as a transitional phase,” Torres said of the unforeseen and unprecedented situation generated by the pandemic. “The player normally does not have lapses like these within competitions. There is a lot of physical, emotional and psychological demand, so this discharge from the physical and emotional side is good for us in this sense so that the body regenerates itself as soon as possible and once activities are resumed, everyone can tolerate it as better way”.
