By Joseph Solomon,
AIFF Media Team

KUALA LUMPUR (MALAYSIA):  Strength and conditioning plays an important part in any contact sport and in a first the Indian U-16 National Team have implemented the use of the Total Resistance System (TRX) developed by USA’s Navy SEALS, to bolster their strength and conditioning preparations.

The TRX System requires the use of a TRX Suspension Trainer that leverages gravity and the performer’s body weight to complete exercises and circuits.

The benefits include increased mobility, stability and metabolic results increasing lean muscle mass over time. The Indian U-16s have been using the TRX system to their benefit since January 2018.

For footballers the need for strength and conditioning is as important as their tactical preparation. “If you don’t have gas in your tank how will you run 90 minutes?” asks Head Coach Bibiano Fernandes.

“Strength and conditioning plays a major role in helping the teams to perform on the field like they do. It is a key element for winning in football.”

“Tactical implementation is also almost directly proportional to strength and conditioning. If the player is fit only then he can implement the tactical scenarios and run to cover ground, otherwise the lack of fitness will lead to tactical instability,”

"Infact it was our physio Soumya, who introduced the TRX system to the U-16 team after he joined, for football related exercises that have aided us in our development thus far", Bibiano added.

While it is true that fitness plays an important part of football, it is also true that a footballer’s ability to deliver even in the 90^th minute requires a lot of work off the pitch.

“We have focused on the team’s strength and conditioning and there have been sessions where our focus has just been that. We want to create better, stronger and faster, football players that are able to deliver at the maximum even in the 90^th minute,” informed Soumya Rout, Physiotherapist of the Indian U-16 National Team.

“The TRX System is a one of a kind and it helps us to infuse a lot of explosiveness coupled with mobility and stability drills. These factors are key elements for any good physical footballer.”

“The player’s diets have been monitored and we check the stress of each player after every training session to gauge their bodies better,” Soumya added.

Little to no Indian teams have utilised the TRX System before and the Indian U-16s in a first, like many things, have benefited from its implementation – all but visible in Vikram Singh’s 83^rd minute run that led to a penalty against Vietnam in a 1-0 win.