It's like pre-season again for Fleetwood Town says fitness coach Youl Mawene

Fleetwood Town fitness coach Youl Mawene has revealed how the Cod Army are keeping in trim despite the current lockdown.
Fleetwood Town's players have fitness programmes from coach Youl MaweneFleetwood Town's players have fitness programmes from coach Youl Mawene
Fleetwood Town's players have fitness programmes from coach Youl Mawene

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There may be only nine games left in Town’s League One season but the Frenchman is likening this period away to the off-season as he looks to make sure the players return to the club in top shape.

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Mawene told The Gazette: “This period I would treat as close-season. In the close-season we have three phases: one of them is recovery, one is maintenance and the last one, just before the boys return, is a general preparation.

“For me, the players just have to keep themselves in the general preparation phase.

“The running is high-intensity, high-tempo running – things that are not nice to do.

“You’re running at a good pace for intervals as long as eight-minute blocks. Some of it is 15 on, 15 off; one kilometre or two kilometres.

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“These sessions do go a long way, but at this point that is the most specific we can be because we can’t play football just yet.

“We replace that with some drills the players can do on their own, so we don’t lose that acceleration and deceleration too much.

“We are a little bit limited in what we can do because football is quite a specific type of sport.

“You get good at football by conditioning but also by playing football for a long period of time.”

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Away from the physical side of the game, Mawene admits there are also mental issues to overcome because of isolation – and he doesn’t limit that to the players.

He said: “Another thing that is massive and will be hitting everyone is trying to keep your motivation and keep your spiritual integrity.

“We’ve looked at the possibility of heartrate monitors and GPS, or sending pictures in the group chat.

“But ultimately the monitors are just not feasible because of how far away some players are. Some are in the north of Scotland, so it would be totally impractical.

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“The players know the session really well – they’ve done it for the last couple of summers.

“They know what is expected of them. They know how hard they worked to get to the position they are at.

“It’s a case of empowering them and trusting them in that moment. It’s a little bit on them to keep that motivation going.

“We’ll be there and the communication channels are open, so if someone feels a bit flat it’s something we can cater for.”