Australian Football

Warne-Smith's tips for young players (II)

The right way to train

Footballers train to become physically fit, to correct their faults, and to improve the team work of their side. Training should never be treated—as it sometimes is—as a necessary evil. A boy who runs about during practice simply because he wants to keep warm or because he has to run will never be a success in a match. If you are slack at training you will be sluggish on the field. 

Right ▼

+

You have already had some hints on ways to improve kicking and marking etc., so this week I shall give you some ideas about the training of a team as a whole.

How to keep fit

A football match is two hours of strenuous endeavour so naturally the first objective of a team is to have everyone physically fit to become fit it is generally accepted that on two nights during the week players should have from half an hour to an hour of fast field training. For general health these chief principles should be a useful guide. Have regular hours of sleep (for least eight hours for a boy) and regular meals with no excesses of any sort. Strict diet is not essential as long as you eat good wholesome food. Before a match it is not wise to eat a large meal. You should have only a light lunch at least two hours before play begins.

A glass of cold water before going to bed and another in the morning is beneficial. A cold shower first thing in the morning with a brisk rub down afterward should also be taken. The shower will not agree with some boys—particularly in the present cold weather—and as a substitute a good hard rub with a rough towel is recommended.

First to the ball

On the training track the first aim is to develop speed among the players. You should remember that the chief aim in football is to be first to the ball. To win the race to the ball there is no need for a player to be an even-time sprinter but he must be able to jump into his top speed at the first stride. The best way to practise is for the players to start off from one end of the ground at a jog trot. At a word of command or at a signal they should immediate running "flat out" for 10 yards or so then slow up again and repeat the same process up and down the ground.

Forwards should always practise goal kicking. They should have shots from all angles on the run and from the standing still position. It is a good idea too to have a man on the mark when forwards are kicking for goals. Forwards should also spend some time practising together. They should spread out at one end of the field and pass the ball from one player to another making certain that the ball is kicked ahead of the player to whom it is directed so that he can just reach it on the full when running at his top speed.

Picking sides

The rucks and rovers need separate training. Pit each combination in the team against the other and, with the wing and centre men gathered near, bounce the ball in the centre ring. The ball should be played until one player eventually breaks clear with it. This should be done many times. It is strenuous exercise, and it helps to develop co-operation between each combination. The usual around the ground practice, when players run along the boundary line about 30 yards apart passing to each other is apt to become monotonous. A better way is for the players to go round the ground in pairs and to try to beat each other before sending the ball on to the next pair.

By far the best practice of all is to pick sides at least once a week. Play on about three quarters of the length of the ground, and try to keep the ball away from each other. On some nights allow handball only, but make certain the game is umpired and that every player puts his heart and soul into the play.

"Togs" and temperament

Wearing the correct equipment is a greater help toward becoming a good footballer than many boys may think. Before a boy goes on the field he will be wise if he sees that his equipment is satisfactory.

First, every player should see that his guernsey is close fitting. If it is too large and loose he will be easily caught hold of by his opponents, and also will feel uncomfortable. The knickers should be properly tied around the waist. They should be caught by a small buckle and cloth strap at each side. Elastic bands are not recommended.

Well-fitting stockings are essential. If they are too large or too small, have holes in them a boy will soon suffer from sore feet. It is not wise to wear, as some players do, a small sock inside the stocking. This is apt to "draw" the feet and to make them hot and subject to blistering.

There is nothing worse in football than sore feet, especially in dry weather. Even more important are the football boots. They should be a perfect fit to enclose the feet and the ankles snugly. The laces should be inspected before every match. A game could easily be lost while a boy spends a minute tying the broken ends together.

The size of the "stops" to put in books is a big question. Recently my small son produced a pair having larger stops than I ever used in my football days. He seemed to think I was wrong when I said that smaller ones would be better.

All the other boys' boots, he said were “stopped” in the same way as his. Evidently, the fashion now is to have larger, longer, and more stops, which I definitely think is wrong. Large stops cause ricked and strained ankles. A boy learns to rely on them to keep his feet and to make a turn. He loses his natural balance and In time becomes a clumsy, awkward footballer. I believe that stops should be no more than half an inch square at the base, height at the most 1.5 inches, and they should be tapered down at the top to half the size of the bottom. Four stops are ample in the sole with one in the centre, about an inch away from the top, two set evenly apart a quarter of an inch away from the outside edge, and one in the centre and the same distance away from the inside edge of the sole. All that is required for the heel is two stops, with one near each edge, and if you can play with only one in the centre so much the better

A boy must play a game of football in the right spirit. The importance of determination and unselfishness cannot be stressed too much. Determination means that you must never be beaten for the ball until it is kicked away. You must play your hardest and your fairest all the time, whether your team is in front or behind. Because an opponent obtains the ball the first time it comes near do not think he will do the same the next time. You have two arms and legs, the same as he has, so keep on using them, keep on trying, and you will surely "break even" with him.

Unselfishness and helpfulness may be bracketed together. You are but one of 18 players and you go out on to the field to help the side to win and not to play a good game yourself. Do not run across the player of your team alongside you as he goes for the ball. If you see one of your own in trouble run up to shepherd him. Selfishly kicking for goal or running too far with the ball when there is a boy in position to kick to is not done. In fact, your every action on the field should be made with a view to aiding the other fellow.

Play to football rules

The rules of Australian Football are many and varied. You need to know and understand them thoroughly before you play in a match. When playing, you should do your best to abide by them but you must not worry about the free kick given or not given. That is the umpire’s task not yours. If you are thinking all the time about whether the umpire's decisions are right or wrong, you are not concentrating on the ball or the game and you will loose your effectiveness as a player.

To dispute an umpire decision or to throw the ball away in childish disapproval when he rules against you should never happen in your play. In the League these are reportable offences. To crib over an opponent’s mark when you are minding it is another serious misdemeanour. It is not even clever, and do not make matters worse by a half-hearted step backwards when the umpire directs attention to your offence. Step back smartly to where you are directed and face up to your fault.

You should never be guilty of pushing or bumping a player after he has kicked the ball, or of holding him when he has taken a mark. These are despicable habits and yet league players and sometimes boys, think they are funny.

Indiscriminate kicking off the ground is another form of rough and unsporting football. If you can see a clear chance to kick the ball without picking it up do so by all means. It is allowed in the rules. But do not charge into a pack and make a wild swing at the ball with your foot as an opponent goes to pick it up. Kicking off the ground in these cases is a two-edged sword. It will bring retaliation in self defence from the other players who will do the same thing. A football game is not pleasant when everyone is having wild kicks at the ball on the ground.

Another football crime from your team’s point of view is to stop and wait for the whistle because you think you have earned a free kick. Close matches, in which one kick of the ball by either side makes the difference between a win and a loss, have been lost because of this. So in all your actions on the field try and help the umpire and keep on playing on.

The minding of these free kicks or marks is often treated carelessly by teams. It is considered a minor detail of the game yet it is most important for if it is not smartly and correctly done disorganisation may follow. First, one player must stand on the mark or free kick of an opponent immediately the whistle blows. Only one player is allowed to mind a mark and others must stand outside a ten-yard radius from it. Otherwise the opponent simply runs on to probably make good scoring opportunities. The nearest man to the mark should of course mind it. But—and this is where the catch is—it may not be his own particular opponent with the mark or free. When this happens there is a "loose" man about unless he is "picked up" by another player in the team.

The art of tackling

×

Left ▼

“Be first to the ball”, and “Play the ball and not the man”. These two football rules should guide all a player's actions on the field. Each rule directly concerns the other.

To play the ball means that you do not keep your mind busy with bumping, pushing or knocking your opponents over. You concentrate your thoughts on following the ball about. You watch its flight through the air to where it will fall. You try to anticipate the direction of its bounce. All the time you are thinking where is the best position to place yourself by studying the actions of your opponents and our own players as they kick the ball.

By doing these things you will be first to the ball and you will be playing at it and not the man. However, when your opponents obtain the ball you must be prepared to tackle them correctly. Within the limitations of the rules the hands, hips, shoulders and chest may be used. You may hold his side from behind with your hands anywhere from above the knee to just below the shoulder. Also, it is permissible to push in the side and from the front in the chest with the open hand. But these methods are fraught with danger. If you hold your opponent too long and do not sling him quickly enough as he drops the ball a free kick is given against you. Should you catch him too high—which is easily done—you will again give away a penalty kick. Further, your opponent may be strong and determined and your grab at him as he passes is just swept aside and you have not even retarded him.

The hands and arms are therefore not efficient methods of tackling. Instead use your shoulders, hips, and chest except when coming from behind. Place your arm close to the side with the elbow bent and across the front of your body and the fist clenched. Meet an opponent hard with your shoulders. When he comes straight toward you do not make that futile grab but meet him fair and square. Swing your shoulder into his chest at the moment of impact. When you have done this once an opponent will be wary about trying to run straight through you.

Bumping is almost a football art. Try it sometimes with your fellow players at training. Give each other good hearty bumps as you run along. You will learn to keep your balance and to strike just at the right time on to a moving target. If you are knocked over a few times you will soon know that a fall is a mere trifle if you allow yourself to go with the bump.

Although I have said that arms and hands should not be used for tackling, these members are useful in other ways. It is a good plan when running toward the ball with an opponent alongside you to spread one arm rigidly across his chest to prevent him outpacing you.

For shepherding an opponent away there is nothing better than standing in front of him with both arms spread out wide.