Niv Berkovic, 17,  who played for the Youth team last season and is also featured for Israel’s U-18’s, extended his contract at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Maccabi’s Performance Director, Patrick Van Leeuwen, told the club’s official website: “Niv is a midfielder who is playing for the moment at Maccabi’s U-19’s as well as a regular for Israel’s young national teams. We think that next season will be an important year for Niv to continue his development. We demand from all players to show stability and consistency so that we could enjoy good performances from him week in week out”.

Berkovic joined the club at the age of 12 and made 22 appearances in all competitions for the Youth Team. The central midfielder who made 16 appearances for Israel’s U-17’s and U-18’s national sides, added: “I am delighted to sign my first senior contract and would like to thank Maccabi for the opportunity. This is only the beginning and from here I will work even harder to justify the faith the club has shown in me”.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Academy is back to a regular training schedule at Kiryat Shalom and the players and coaching staff are so pleased to be able to work on their skills on the grass and in the gym at Kiryat Shalom.

After two months of lockdown, as each player had to try to keep fit at home, regular training got back into full swing a couple of weeks ago. We spoke to two of the youth team’s players, captain Omer Itzhaki and midfielder Nadav Nidam, who told us how it feels to be in back preparation for action next season.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Youth Academy has set up ties with Australian club Maccabi FC Caulfield of Melbourne with the aim of sharing information and know-how on training and on players.

With international travel currently restricted, contact can only be made on line and the Maccabi Academy technical staff are providing recorded video seminars for their Australian counterparts.

Both clubs expect to hold events in much closer proximity after lockdown measures end with the hope of holding seminars, staff visits and training camps and possibly sharing players.

Michael Kan, Caulfield’s coaching coordinator, expressed his delight at the online seminars and said the coaches were able to benefit from the information shared about the Youth Academy’s activities.

“We have been very pleased to find similarities between our own football philosophy and that of Maccabi Tel Aviv and it is a clear indication that we are on the right track. Our coaches have learned a great deal and they will be happy to hold more such meetings in the future,” Kan said.

“Caulfield’s aim is to give all players the chance to develop and excel through bettering our coaching and tuition. There is no better way to develop than to observe and learn from other clubs such as Maccabi Tel Aviv, who work at the highest level.

“We are proud to have held fruitful partnership between the clubs and we look forward to hosting some of your coaches at our club in Melbourne next year. By having an elite club such as Maccabi Tel Aviv doing coaching workshops here, I believe more Jewish kids will take up the global sport of football and through it we can keep the Jewish community connected,” he added.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Academy ended its two-month shut down and resumed training on Tuesday as the Youth under-19 side to under-15 took to work out at Kiryat Shalom.

The training, which is being conducted in line with Health Ministry guidelines, has restarted at a pace suited to the players’ current fitness level following their long layoff and their ability to only do individual work at home.

The Academy’s younger age groups will return to training on Sunday.

“It has felt like a return from the off-season break, only this time, we are back with the same players,” said youth team coach Eliezer Ben Aharon.

“The coronavirus restrictions will change some of the things we will need to do and the team will be divided into two groups who will not intermingle as we start up at an easy pace and try to discern the players’ fitness levels.”

Ben Aharon said that from what he could tell, the players looked in reasonably good and that the pace of exercises would increase as the team gets back to a regular routine.

U17 coach Ori David said it was a great feeling to return to action.

“We are back in our natural environment after two months of not playing and we will be able to do what we enjoy most of all. I have been very surprised to see the players’ fitness levels, they have worked well at home and have shown great self-discipline and diligence in trying conditions. We can’t wait to be back in training,” he said.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Youth Academy is still adhering to lockdown restrictions and activities are yet to return to some kind of normality, which means that the players must train at home. We spoke to the department’s mental coach, Merav Levy, who gave us a few tips how to maintain a good outlook and a good state of mind ahead of the much-hoped-for return to a state of normality.

“It’s important to manage our energy levels and our mood, to stay positive and stay connected to ourselves in actions, enthusiasm and daring, to confront what is in front of us and be prepared to be flexible.

“Uncertainty during the current time, and the thought that matters are not necessarily under our control is a regular situation for footballers so it’s important to develop mental toughness to be able to get over this uncertain period. Mental strength is a set of tools that allow players to utilise their skills at the best of their abilities despite the challenges. It’s what is required for matches and it is particularly useful during the current coronavirus period.

“The ability to identify opportunities to develop when we understand that these are uncertain times is how we can develop players’ mental strength so that they can make the most of the restricting conditions.

“One example was shown by a Spanish athlete, who covered a distance of 61km in his four-metre-long living room by running for 10 hours. Anything is possible with imagination, thought, determination, positive energy and a will to work.

“Mental strength is not acquired at home in front of a computer, it can only be achieved outdoors, on the pitch in training with a specific target in mind. Those abilities need to be honed constantly and cannot be allowed to lapse so we need to be ready for the future now and that means players must be ready to return to action after having had the best preparation possible. We cannot wait for the current situation to pass in order to advance our skills.

“Players must maximise their ability to control a situation. We don’t know when things will return to normal but we do know that in the meantime we can create a new regimen and a new plan that will include all the important aspects for a player to develop. Only when a player feels in control and has confidence, can he be proactive and become effective. This crisis will pass, but our mental strength and our attitude must remain in focus and this is a good time to develop new tools, skills and habits.

“Each player has been asked to write down daily targets and create a routine for regular work, shed negative thoughts and concentrate on training targets to help them improve in all aspects.

“They must train to the best of their abilities to get the feeling that they have worked effectively and have succeeded in fulfilling their set tasks.

“A successful session will give players a feeling of optimism and success that the crisis will pass and that they have been able to maintain their best level of physical and mental fitness.” 

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Youth Academy is maintaining contacts with other clubs throughout the country and on Thursday it held the first of three meetings as part of the football cooperation project when Ori David, the coach of U17, shared information about the clubs approach and coaching methods for the older age groups.

The meeting was held with the aid of the Zoom app and it included participants from Maccabi Barkai, Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan, Hapoel Herzliya, Ironi Or Yehuda, Holon FC, Maccabi Kiryat Yam, Hapoel Deir Hana, Maccabi Deir al-Assad, Ironi B’aineh, Umm al-Fahm and Maccabi Amishav Patt.

The project has been overseen by Ran Elias, the Academy’s head of scouting, under the auspices of performance director, Patrick Van Leeuwen.

“After several previous meetings during the season, over the coming week we will hold a three-part seminar as part of our cooperation project. We have just held our first meeting, in which Ori David outlined the Academy’s philosophy. On Monday, there will be an a second session discussing technique and on Thursday, we will examine goalkeeping. We want to continue to share our knowledge with other clubs despite the current restrictions and we want to continue to share information on players and other matters. We hope to broaden the project and hope that other clubs will join in,” Elias said.

While sport remains suspended during the coronavirus lockdown, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Youth Academy continues to operate under the limitations of confinement and social distancing and it’s no different for the goalkeepers and their coaches, who are overseen by Israel Ainy.

Before the limitations were imposed, goalkeeping coaches worked with their young charges in groups and individually, but under the current conditions, there have had to be adjustments and new training modes have been employed to keep the players as fit as is possible.

“We have mixed feelings during this period. We greatly miss our football, the daily routine, the coaching staff and the Academy staff, and most of all, our fledgling goalkeepers. We are facing very a challenging period when people are subject to tremendous limitations, and sporting activity is no exception,” Ainy said.

But activities have not stopped and Ainy is in extensive daily contact with all the Academy’s goalkeeping coaches, Shura Ovarov, Shai Hess, Galil Ben Shaanan, Shaul Hagiel and Eliad Graff. He praised them for the tremendous efforts they are making to try to keep the players in form.

“We are very pleased with the daily contact we have with the goalkeepers and their parents, who are always there to lend support as we carry out six training sessions a week. We have now completed five weeks’ continual training,” he said.

 Watch the Academy’s goalkeepers training in their home environment:

 

“Our programme is mainly geared for the Academy’s under-19s and under-8s, who usually train at Kiryat Shalom and the university, and our aim is to maintain and improve their technical abilities. This is apart from the fitness work they are doing.

“We must ensure the wellbeing of the players and their families. The space limitations are a problem so we have to improvise, but we have seen great initiative from the players and their families as they try to resolve those issues while maintaining the Health Ministry guidelines. Our contact via the Zoom app has been vital for maintaining the goalkeepers’ tactical and mental sharpness. We also get feedback from the Soccer Lab programme which monitors activity and abilities while they train in a mode that is different to what they are used to.”

Ainy said he was very encouraged to see that the coaches’ instructions, particularly concerning mental training, were showing good results and that the players were carrying out their tasks diligently.

“Even the younger goalkeepers make us feel proud and give us a great sense of satisfaction when we see the video clips they send us to show what training they are doing. The Academy’s planning and actions to advance the players deserve much praise.”

On a personal level, the lockdown has allowed Ainy to spend more quality time with his wife, Mali, and his children, Liam and Shira, and he has used the time to improve his own proficiency by discussing training methods with colleagues.

He has also shared the Academy’s work with fellow coaches from Liverpool, Ajax, Manchester City and Marseilles whom he said were “greatly impressed by the dedication and devotion we ascribe to our goalkeepers.”

He summed up by extending best wishes and warm appreciation to Academy technical director Patrick Van Leeuwen.

“The Academy has proven once again that it is a leader and is ready to take on any challenge in complex conditions. We have a strong base and we are dedicated to instilling true values and devotion, which is reciprocated and all this contributes to the robustness of the Academy.

“I also want to wish a speedy recovery and return to health to Or Yitzhak, the under-19 team’s goalkeeper, who has undergone a shoulder operation and is already undergoing rehab with the medical staff. I am certain that we will all overcome this period and I wish good health to everybody.”

With the club under lockdown as we head into the holiday, Guy Zukerman, the manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Youth Academy, shares his Passover message to the staff, the players, and their parents:

Dear players, parents, coaches and Academy staff,

It’s hard to comprehend the situation that has been forced on us during this past month. The inability to train and play football, the game we love, is very difficult but it is very important at this time to maintain everybody’s health, and stay home and follow instructions.

It is heartwarming to watch as players of all ages work on their fitness in their home environment. I hope the situation will improve quickly and that we will be able to get back into training and playing, and most important, to be able to see you all during the week and on Saturdays.

I take this opportunity to wish you all a healthy and joyous holiday and hope that we may swiftly get back to our regular lives and to playing football.