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.