BETTERATHLETESMAKE BETTERFOOTBALLERS

SpARq iS THE pERFORMAncESTAndARd FOR FOOTBALLWE PROVIDE ATHLETES AND COACHES WITHSPORT-SPECIFIC PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLSAND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES DESIGNED TOMAKE PLAYERS BETTER ATHLETES FOR THEIR SPORT.

SpARq is the performance training platform for Nike. SPARQ Testing is the entry point into a football experience that is designed to help players develop their physical abilities and improve their games.

With an objective assessment profile in hand, coaches and players can identify effective fitness programmes focused on overcoming weaknesses in the individual profile, while nurturing strengths. Objective data also provide a basis for comparison.

Individual results are important, but the power of the data is revealed in the numbers of players tested across the sport of football and around the world. Our intent is to make testing accessible to every footballer and the resulting data a tool for comparison, coaching and the foundation for physical training programmes that change the way kids prepare to compete.

THE COMBINATION OF EFFECTIVE FITNESS AND TECHNICAL/TACTICAL TRAINING WILL HELP PRODuCE PLAYERS WHO ARE BETTER-PREPARED TO PERFORM WHEN IT COuNTS: on the pitch.

SpARq SERvicES ATHLETES & cOAcHES in THESE SpORTSFOOTBALLAMERICAN FOOTBALLBASKETBALLBASEBALLFASTPITCHHOCKEY

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IN 2006, SPARQ & NIKE HOSTED A SuMMIT ATTENDED BY SOME OF THE WORLD’S LEADING PERFORMANCEExPERTS WITH THE GOAL OF DEVELOPING FuTuRE FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR THE SPORT.

OBjEcTivES 1. Identify the key physical demands of football2. Identify a battery of field tests which is a. Accessible to individual players and teams b. Suitable for boys and girls spanning a wide range of playing abilities c. Practical for administering to large groups d. Supported by published research and prevailing field testing practices

cOnTRiBuTORS 1. Jens Bangsbo – Juventus, AEK Athens, Danish National Team2. Ivan Carminati – Inter Milan3. Don Kirkendall – FIFA4. Luc van Agt – PSV, Dutch National Team5. GianPiero Ventrone – Juventus6. Paul Winsper – Newcastle United, Toronto FC

OuTcOME: THE SpARq FOOTBALL BATTERy Football-specific tests of speed, power, agility and endurance capacity1. Vertical Jump2. 20-Metre Sprint3. Arrowhead Agility4. Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Boys: Level 2; Girls – Level 1)

To allow for greater diagnostic and prescriptive power, individual test results are trans-formed into a standardised index of football-specific athleticism via a proprietary statistical method. This summary index is the SPARQ Football Rating.

Testing and the SPARQ Rating provide a competitive element to training and are useful motivational tools for encouraging players toward improving their physical abilities.

The Rating is also useful in tracking the effectiveness of training, providing an answer to the questions: AM i GETTinG BETTER? And iF SO, By HOW MucH?

OBjEcTivES1. Establish the connection between physical abilities and on-pitch performance in the minds of youth footballers and their coaches

2. Establish SPARQ as the physical assessment STANDARD, providing footballers and their coaches from around the UK with the tools and resources to improve and compare performance a. Partner with County FAs to adopt SPARQ Testing

b. Integrate SPARQ Testing into Professional Youth Academies

SincE 2004 OvER 300,000 ATHLETES HAvE BEEn TESTEd. +

SpARq FOOTBALL SpARq FOOTBALL RATinG

HOW WiLL pLAyERS And cOAcHES BEnEFiT? 1. They’ll gain a better (and objective) understanding of the players’ physical strengths and weaknesses

2. They’ll be able to compare performance amongst their squad and against other UK footballers and global benchmarks on ukfootball.sparqtraining.com.

3. Coaches will have the opportunity to become accredited to deliver SPARQ Testing to their squads and will be equipped with tools to get started.

PRE SEASON 2011/2012

BOOK SPARQ IN TO TEST YOUR CLUB ACADEMY SQUADS THIS COMING JUNE/JULY/AUGUST.

TESTING SLOTS ARE AVAILABLE SEVEN DAYS A WEEK THROUGHOUT PRE SEASON TRAINING.

GIVING YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEASURE THE LEVEL OF FITNESS AND ATHLETICISM OF YOUR SQUAD.

WHERE DOES YOUR SQUAD STACK UP?

SPARQ TESTING WILL GIVE YOU BENCHMARKS TO MONITOR, AND RESULTS TO COMPARE AGAINST AS THE SEASON PROGRESSES. SPARQ WILL THEN RETURN TO YOUR CLUB MID-YEAR AND END OF SEASON TO HELP YOU FULLY TRACK THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUR PLAYERS. SPARQ WILL TEST AGE GROUPS U/8S – U/18S. TESTING TAKES APPROXIMATELY 60 MINUTES TO GET THROUGH THREE FULL SQUADS.

TO BOOK YOUR SPARQ TEST SESSION, CONTACT RALPH NEWBROOK ON 07900 211 420 OR ralph.newbrook@sparqtraining.com