Chapter 56 Sports Performance Trainer
When it comes to training a young player, Sporting Lisbon has its own youth training system.
Means include but are not limited to: second team, loan, sale and signing a buy-back clause...
The key to taking different approaches for different players is which one is more suitable for the player in the interests of the club.
Su Dong is only seventeen years old, and it is very difficult for any seventeen-year-old player to enter the first team.
As talented as Quaresma was, he was just one month away from turning 18 when he made his first appearance for Sporting Lisbon.
Is Cristiano Ronaldo talented enough?
He is the only young player in the history of Sporting Lisbon who has made a leap from U16 to U18 to the second team and then to the first team in one season. But so far, he has not played in the first team for even a minute.
The risks of youth training are very high.
In other words, professional football itself is a very high-risk industry.
For example, Nicolaj was very powerful in the Romanian league, but after coming to Sporting Lisbon, he couldn't adapt to the local environment and even suffered injuries. He was forced to suspend for a long time. This deal caused Sporting Lisbon to suffer heavy losses.
If the team was not performing well in the Portuguese Super League and the Portuguese Cup, Boloni would definitely be under pressure and even questioned from the board of directors because of Nicolae's transfer.
By the same token, no one knows what will happen to the world tomorrow.
Young players are even more changeable.
Maybe they'll perform really well this season, but terribly next season, who knows?
The age of seventeen is full of unpredictability. Maybe you will be very successful in the future, or maybe you will fall soon.
Just like when Maritimo missed Ronnie because he was late, do they regret it?
definitely.
But this is hindsight. At that time, that was the norm.
For players like Su Dong, the most important evaluation criterion for the technical team is whether he is needed by the first team?
…
After hearing Aurelio's question, everyone looked at Boloni at the same time.
If the player is in Boloni's plans, it is obvious that the club will pay attention to him and increase its training efforts.
But if Boloni has no plans to give him a chance for the time being, the team will consider whether to accept offers from other teams, because this involves hundreds of thousands of euros in profits.
Boloni also knew clearly what his choice would mean. After careful consideration, he said: "I will consider giving them a chance to play in the first team this season. I am optimistic that Su Dong can help the team."
When Pontes heard this, he felt relieved.
Obviously, this sentence basically means that Su Dong's time to play in the first team is getting closer and closer.
In fact, his appearance order may have surpassed Gisvi and Laurenceo.
At least in the second team, Su Dong's performance has suppressed these two forwards.
"In that case, it's decided," Aurelio said immediately.
This decision was not difficult for Sporting Lisbon to make because Su Dong was only seventeen years old.
For a 17-year-old player, as long as he can maintain his momentum of improvement, it is an investment full of potential.
This is also the reason why Sporting Lisbon's first team is basically composed of veterans and young players.
…
Now that the decision has been made, Pontes raised some of the problems he encountered.
"As I said, I was surprised at how fast he was improving, especially after training with the first team. I found that we were starting to fall behind him, especially in terms of physical training."
After all, Pontes is not a professional physical coach. Some of his physical training is more targeted at teenagers under the age of fifteen. When Su Dong made rapid progress, he began to fall behind.
The first team also has physical coaches, but they serve the entire team more and cannot be specifically responsible for Su Dong.
"Before, he considered going to the gym, but I rejected it because I thought the gym could not provide him with a complete set of targeted strengthening physical training programs. I suggested that he hire a professional personal trainer."
The physique of a center is very important. As Boloni said before, Su Dong's physique is still at a disadvantage when facing adults.
It can be seen that physical improvement is imminent for Su Dong.
Su Dong also discovered that Pontes' physical training seemed not enough for him, because the speed of his strength improvement slowed down.
This is when the idea of hiring a private trainer came to mind.
"Okay, the club will subsidize half of the cost." Aurelio made the decision immediately.
That’s a benefit the club values.
Since they are going to do their best to train the player, investing more money in hiring a private coach is just an investment in the future for Sporting Lisbon.
Director of football Carlos Freitas also had no opinion on this.
Naturally, Pontes will be in charge of this matter, while Su Dong's agent Mendes will be in charge.
…
…
Pontes and Mendes quickly informed Su Dong that his personal trainer had been found.
Nuno Cruz, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, is 35 years old and is actually a professional player.
Ferreira, who played in lower-level leagues for a long time during his career, yes, it is the Ferreira team that is now ranked eighth in the Portuguese Super League, but in the late 1980s when Nuno Cruz played, the team was still struggling in the third-level league.
After moving to several teams, he went to Vicente, yes, the team that is now ranked 13th in the Portuguese Super League, but in the early 1990s, he was still struggling in the second-level league until he was promoted to the Portuguese Super League.
Nuno Cruz helped Vicente to be promoted to the Portuguese Super League and was once a starter in the Portuguese Super League. After the team was relegated, he went to another Portuguese Super League team, University of Coimbra. Due to his age, he only played as a starter in the first season and later basically became a substitute. At the same time, he studied at the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Sciences of the University of Coimbra.
This is the second-ranked institution within the Sporting CP, after the University of Porto.
After graduating from the University of Coimbra, he went to Loughborough University, which is ranked first in the world in sports, for further studies. After returning home after graduation, he has been working in a well-known gym in Lisbon. After hearing that Sporting Lisbon was hiring a private coach, he went to apply for the job and was recognized by Pontes and Mendes.
…
The first time Su Dong met Nuno Cruz was in the gym in Alcocheti.
He was a little short, wearing a loose black T-shirt, and did not look very strong. He did not have the powerful feeling of a fitness coach. He wore a pair of glasses and held a thick stack of materials in his hands, which made him look more like a teacher than a fitness coach.
"Nice to meet you, Su." When Nuno Cruz saw Su Dong, he immediately extended his hand and showed a very friendly smile, "From today on, I will be your personal trainer."
"Hello, Nuno." Su Dong shook hands with him vigorously.
Nuno Cruz flipped through the information and scratched his head in embarrassment. "From now on, I will be present when you train every day, but in the morning..."
"It's okay, I'll come by myself in the morning." Su Dong was understanding.
At 4:30 every morning, this is a very troublesome thing for anyone.
Although he is a personal trainer, it is just a job after all, and he has his own family.
Therefore, both parties had already reached an agreement before joining the company.
Nuno Cruz's work began when Sudon arrived in Alcochete.
Of course, he will also arrange additional training programs in the morning.
"Now let me tell you how I can help you."
As he spoke, Nuno Cruz handed Su Dong a piece of paper with every item listed clearly.
"I am your one-on-one training instructor. I will work closely with the team's coaching staff and communicate and coordinate with the physical trainer and team doctor every day. If you have any problems with your body or any questions about your health, please feel free to consult me at any time."
"That's the big picture. As for the training, I will design a set of targeted physical strengthening training programs tailored for you."
"I have read the plan that Pontes prepared for you before, as well as your current physical condition. My initial opinion is that your execution ability is very good, but the training plan is far from meeting your current needs. In a nutshell, your body is not full."
"Secondly, I am a nutritionist. From now on, I will design the recipes for your three meals a day. I need you to cooperate with my arrangements as much as possible. This will be of great help to you."
"Of course, considering everyone's eating habits, I need to understand you in all aspects, and we can communicate and solve any problems."
"Finally, what I want to tell you is that you are very important to Sporting Lisbon, but your body has not yet reached the requirements of the Portuguese Super League, let alone a Portuguese Super League giant like Sporting Lisbon. You need to make your body stronger, which will make you more confident and energetic on the court."
Nuno Cruz is obviously an excellent communicator. His words were concise and to the point, and he easily gained Su Dong's trust, and Su Dong also raised his own questions.
“Is there any way to strengthen the body’s muscles while still remaining flexible and agile?”
After listening to Su Dong's concerns, Nuno Cruz smiled slightly and said, "This is my job, Su."
"Many people think that physical training will make muscles harder and make the body clumsy, but this is not normal. My responsibility is not only to train your body and strengthen your muscles, but also to make you faster and more explosive, more flexible and more agile. There is no contradiction at all."
After a pause, Nuno Cruz continued: "Of course, this requires a process, not just a training, nor just in Alcochete. For example, there is no swimming pool here, and there are no professional yoga instructors, but these are what I hope you will learn and master."
Su Dong was a little surprised. In order to play football, one must learn swimming and yoga?
This has never been heard of before.
Perhaps seeing the surprise on Su Dong's face, Nuno Cruz smiled confidently.
“Maybe you shouldn’t think of me as a personal trainer, fitness trainer or strength and conditioning coach. I prefer to call myself a sports performance trainer.”
