Maccabi's Under-19s start training ahead of the 2012/13 season
Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar", champions of the national U19 Premier League of the last two seasons, today began their preparations for the upcoming league season with a practice attended not only by last year's title-winning squad but also by new faces from the club's Under-17s. It was only six weeks ago that "Shachar" rounded off a dominant season by lifting their second consecutive league trophy, but head coach Alon Turjeman knows that this season his charges will have to start all over again. "One of the most prominent characteristics of the U19 teams is the high turnover of players, those who are now too old and leave and those that have just reached the right age and join the squad. With us it's just the same so we'll also have to invest time in working out the puzzle. But that's what makes the U19 training so interesting and challenging".
The high standards set by the title-winning teams of last year and the year before mean that the current crew of Under-19s are facing a considerable challenge, not only in maintaining those standards but in maintaining "Shachar"'s position as one of the leading youth teams in Israel. Of course we won't know until next May to what extent that challenge has been met, but for the time being Turjeman and his lads will be focusing on making the best possible preparations for the league opener. "We're working on every aspect of the game, physical, technical, mental, with a view to slowly and conscientiously building up a team that will work well together. As you might expect at the first practices after the break the players are very enthusiastic and very hungry and that makes it easier for us to help them improve".
Along with the launch of the Maccabi Tel Aviv's flagship youth team, the Youth Division have now completed the coaching assignments for all the other teams and are ready to commence their pre-season preparations. Youth Division football director Nir Levin couldn't be more pleased and is looking forward to the opening of the Under-19 season. "Maccabi Tel Aviv 'Shachar' are starting a new season after winning last year's title, and their most important job remains preparing quality players for the club's senior team. They're undergoing a number of changes at the moment but we're working hard to provide them with professional staff they need to prepare the players in an optimal fashion before they move on to the seniors".
