SIA ACADEMY PLAYERS PROVED THEIR LEVEL AGAINST ONE OF THE BEST SOCCER CLUBS IN SPAIN
The High Performance Centre of Soccer Inter-Action hosted an exciting friendly match between a team of young soccer players enrolled in SIA International Soccer Academy in Spain and Levante UD, whose first team plays in the Spanish First Division.
Another experience for the players of Soccer Interaction International Soccer Academy. Wednesdays are synonymous of friendly matches and the last one to be held at the SIA High Performance Center had a special color, since it was hosting one of the most important clubs in Spain: Levante UD, which arrived at SIA’s elite sports facilities located in Enguera (Valencia, Spain). Soccer Interaction side was represented by a team of youth soccer players enrolled in Soccer Interaction’s Professional Soccer Program and they were eager to prove themselves against a top team. Everything pointed out to a beautiful and exciting match, just as the one who was played the week before against Valencia State Team, who was defeated by Soccer Interaction Academy for 2-1.
The venue chosen by the professionals at Soccer Inter-Action to hold this exciting friendly match of elite soccer in Europe was the impeccable natural grass pitch, one of the 3 soccer fields in SIA High Performance Center. The green mat looked fantastic and all of the technological resources of this sports complex were put to use as is always the case: from GPS to video analysis cameras ,all the resources necessary to promote Soccer Interaction’s players development are at the disposal of SIA’s professional soccer coaches. With all of this, it was only a matter of time before the referee blew the initial whistle to start the match between SIA Academy and Levante UD. Levante team has lined up a starting eleven with older players providing Soccer Interaction’s team with a greater challenge, which was fantastic to SIA players.
The match had two very different parts. In the first half it was Levante UD who dominated the match. The ‘granota’ team started with a lot of intensity and their strategy of betting on a vertical and physical style of play had great results, since they made it impossible for the locals to keep the desired tactical structure and to control the game through an aggressive ball possession. Levante UD were creating goal scoring opportunities which has highlighted SIA’s goalkeeper skills, José María Rincón, and confirmed how much he has been improving since enrolling in Soccer Interaction’s Professional Soccer Academy Program. The skillful goalkeeper had several world class saves but ended up having to pick the ball up from the back of his net.
The goal made the youth of the SIA Academy react. They got rid of their nerves and start moving the ball around, allowing the team to keep their shape and to be organized both with the ball and in transition to defense. That lead to a period where SIA’s team was being more threatening and shooting on target way more frequently. Tiago Torres, the Portuguese coach with large experience in high profile academies such as FC Porto, was happy with the team’s performance.
After half time, where both teams took the opportunity to hydrate and recover energy for the second half, the game took a turn. Several substitutions made by the two coaches led to a boost of energy in the teams and a higher rhythm of play could be seen, although it should also be noted that technical mistakes have increased throughout the second half. It was noticeable that high tempo of the match was starting to show and some players were felling fatigue. During the last 20 minutes teams where having more space and there were plenty of opportunities for both sides.
Once the match was over, both teams shared a few minutes on the natural grass pitch of the Soccer Inter-Action High Performance Centre and took the traditional family photo.
Soccer Interaction’s Professional Coaching Staff consider these friendly matches as an important tool to ensure that all of Soccer Interaction’s players improve throughout the year. During the season is normal for our Soccer Academy Players to play more than 30 matches and to participate in high profile tournaments. To be able to play against European heavyweight soccer clubs is an experience that clearly adds value to our youngsters.
A quality training process relies in different tools to instill new habits, both from an individual and a team point of view. To play these matches allows the coaching staff to have media content to edit and to show to the players. After the game all players will have access to their footage and on the next day they will have a team and individual analysis. This will provide them with a tactical framework and clear focus of the training contents to be discussed on the following sessions. Additionally, at the end of the matches all players will have access to their GPS data and that information will allow our Strength and Conditioning Coaches, alongside with the remaining Coaching Staff, to design the tactical scenarios that will be presented to the players in the next training cycle. Nevertheless, and despite the importance of the technology Soccer Interaction has available, is very important the human factor. SIA professional Coaching Staff instills a culture where all players should be playing week in week out and through those games a thorough assessment can be made on the player’s progress. The data that is generated by these matches is used to add value to the decision making process and to ensure that all training sessions have, not only a clear goal, but also the necessary impact to promote individual growth in each one of Soccer Interaction’s Academy player.
