Maccabi Tel Aviv’s girls’ academy opened training ahead of the new season on Sunday with a training session at the club’s Kiryat Shalom facility. It was an opportunity for the established girls to start getting back to fitness and for some new recruits to get their first taste of what to expect at the club.
The female academy is run according to a programme prepared by Patrick Van Leeuwen, the club’s performance director, and training will be run by Israel national team captain and ASA Tel Aviv player, Shai Sadeh. She will be assisted by coaches and support staff who will prepare a new generation of players with the best possible conditions at their disposal.
The academy will be divided into three age groups according to year of birth: Youth (2001-05), Girls (2006-08) and Youngsters (2009-12).
Training will include three soccer sessions, physical fitness, video analysis, diet, mental coaching and medical assessment.
The youth and girls’ teams will participate in the Israel Football Association league and if it is determined not to register a youngsters’ team in the league, they will participate in special tournaments and training fixtures against various opposition.
