9.00am - After returning from the family school run Stuart begins his day by tabulating the attendance at the sessions which ran the previous day, records his daily accounting and banking. A few housekeeping tasks are carried out – emails returned, a kit order with our kit partners placed and the hot social media topics covered for the day.

11.00am - Time for session planning, not wanting to waste time in sessions, this is an important part of Stuart’s day. Each drill that is to be performed is recorded onto the BSS session plan template, every aspect of the session choreographed. By having sessions carefully orchestrated Stuart is able to get much more done in a shorter period of time. He works to the principle that planning places effort where effort is most needed, which in turn brings the most improvement in his players.

12:30pm - A meeting is held with the Head Teacher of a local Primary School to introduce her to BSS training. Following the meeting Stuart leads a sample BSS training session. To a background of samba music 27 children from the Year 5 age group learn the Ronaldinho move and experience for the first time the unique Futebol de Salão ball. Each child leaves the sessions with a letter for their parents introducing BSS Harrogate.

3:00pm - Stuart makes a few phone calls to organise BSS Harrogate’s visit to play the junior sides of Derby County FC during the school half-term holidays and a meeting is held with the BSS Harrogate coaching team ahead of the trip, the structure of this evenings sessions is discussed.

4.00-5:00pm - Session 1 Beginners session
This session is very much about setting the foundation. Stuart begins with the players sat down, he reminds them of his basic rules and asks who has practiced skills at home. Hands shoot up and two players are selected to show what they have practiced away from sessions. Both players are clapped by the rest of the group as they finish their demonstration.

Stuart sets about teaching the Adriano move all players are actively involved working with a ball each – he shows the whole move but then breaks it down into its constituent parts – the players practice these smaller parts of the move. Through his own explanation and player demonstrations Stuart immediately corrects any errors and gradually increases the intensity of the session. He uses a lot of positive reinforcement to encourage the players. Stuart finishes this section of the session by reconstructing the whole move – the players practice the whole move but having worked through the BSS stages of education the players have a new understanding of its meaning and use.The players practice passing and reception drills in pairs before finishing in 3-vs-3 game play.

5:00-6:30pm - Session 2 Intermediate session
Stuart begins the session with each player juggling the ball, the players use the BSS Skills Badge Scheme as a marker for their individual targets each player is aware of their own individual targets (on each surface of both feet). Players work at their own speed but Stuart stops the session at regular intervals to ask a player to demonstrate one of the BSS juggling skill –the other players follow the demonstration. Stuart reminds the players of the importance of these fundamental skills particularly to developing confidence and first touch. These skills are practiced every session until they become automatic. Other coaches may associate drills with boring repetition – but Stuart and his players understand they are building a foundation on which individual initiative and imagination can flourish without the correct grounding in the fundamentals of football the higher order work cannot be done with much initiative, imagination or individuality.
The players work under full pressure in 1-vs-1 and 2-vs-2 situations before finishing their session with Futebol de Salão free play. At the end of the session Stuart thanks the players for their hard work and concentration and reminds them they will be training on Saturday morning with conventional balls. All the players say thank you to Stuart by shaking his hand and leave safely with their parents.

6:30-8:00pm -  Session 3 Advanced session
Stuart opens the session by addressing the group. This is a serious session for the most talented players. They are reminded that if they are going to become all they are capable of becoming it is important they work hard. Stuart wants the players to feel and understand the self-satisfaction in knowing that they have made the effort to become the best of which they are capable of. This in turn brings the motivation for self improvement.
After working through their individual BSS core and aerial drills the players complete a physical circuit compromising short sprints, core body strength exercises and technical time trials. Players then move into a group passing and shooting exercise followed by conditioned Futebol de Salão game play.