Ok, so below is an email from Mr. Tan, our new teacher-in-charge, who came by for yesterday's training. He seems pretty enthu and wants to get involved, so that's kinda cool.

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Hi Lynette,

here are some of my observations of the team's training session yesterday:

a) Running
15 x 400m, 2 mins each round and 2 mins rest in between
- this is a very tough program and the girls did well to complete within or near the timing given
- if the team can maintain this regime, you can see and feel the effect in 4 weeks' time i'm sure
- u did well to gauge the team's level of fitness and cut short to 10 rounds
- progression is the key, hence do not train too hard too soon else it will be counter-effective
- looking at your team which has many members who have little sports background, 10 x 400m is already big step for them. Hence i suggest u girls to carry on for another 2 weeks before you gauge to go to 12x400m or even 15x400m
- do take note of the hot weather and the possibility of heat injury (i attach a file on heat injury and prevention, pls share with the team)
- as the captain, please ensure that they drink plenty of water (at least 500ml) before you run/train!

b) Possession/monkey drill
around 14/15 players, split into 2 groups with 2 monkeys in each group
- do go for smaller teams e.g. groups of 5(4 passing and 1 monkey) or even 4(3 passing and 1 monkey)
this is to encourage more touches per player as smaller teams means the players are forced to touch the ball more times and hence have a higher chance to improve
- keep moving to make yourself available for your teammate to pass to
like i mentioned, i observed that most players were stationary throughout the whole drill
- do not change monkey unless the monkey has gained control over the ball
this is to create a games-like situation as during a game, possesion does not change simply becos the opponent has touched the ball; instead the opponent has to be in control of the ball
practising the will to have control of the ball or to get it back will aid your team in a real match
- do not take turns to change monkey
only the monkey who has control of the ball gets to join the rest of the group, and not cos it's her turn; this is to encourage monkeys to really go all out to defend, and to discourage lazy players
- free play to 3 touches to 2 touches to 1 touch
the progression should be from free play(some dribbling should be encouraged) to 3 then 2 then 1 touch

c) wall pass and overlap drills
- i like the idea of 3 in a group as it encourages more touches per player
- the shooting part however, could be better organised
- i suggest that everyone line up in 2 rows and do a 1-2 then shoot, followed by the next pair and so on, rather than stay in the groups of 3 and wait for one another: the training pace became sluggish and slow

the track is too crowded as be seen yesterday and it will be like this on mon, wed, fri. The track coaches feel that it is dangerous and not productive for all involved in training on the track and suggest that you either run on tue, thu or run at a later time e.g after 6pm when it is cooler. Please ensure that this is followed and confirm with me the timing soon.

in conclusion, i would like to say that i support coach ramesh's programs and training methods, but at the same time, i want u to continue to give feedback about whether or not the team can take it, like u did well in cutting the 15x400m to 10x400m. Please let me know how I can help the team, especially on days the coach is not around. I can also conduct training sessions if needed.

Lastly, i think you have a passion for the sport and the girls are all trying their best in training. This is very heartening to see and i hope long may this continue. Keep up the good work! :p

regards,

Mr Tan
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So, would you like him to conduct our self-trainings?

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