FM21: What makes a good Fitness Coach?

On Football manager we're lucky to have an abundance of coaches available. Football Manager not only has coaches but more specific coaches including: Fitness Coaches and Goalkeeping Coaches. In this article, we'll look at what make a good fitness coach in Football Manager.

In some real life clubs, the job title of a Fitness Coach is usually titled Strength & Conditioning Coach. The role of this type of coach is somewhat blurred. There tends to be a notion that Fitness Coaches are all about working with players in the gym. However, in modern football the role is so much more. The role has diversified over the years to include warm ups, mobility, speed sessions, aerobic sessions, anaerobic sessions, conditioning games, cognitive skill development, hypertrophy sessions, strength sessions, velocity based sessions, agility, boxing fitness, hydration monitoring, recovery sessions and post game training. The list can be bigger or smaller depending on the club that the coach works for.

In a nutshell, a fitness coach combines a systematic coaching process and personal training to empower players to develop a fit lifestyle as well as the ability and self- confidence to maintain a fit lifestyle.

On Football Manager, unfortunately, we do not get to see the actual work of Fitness Coaches due to the lack visual training sessions. Instead we have to rely on fitness data in the form of match fitness and match sharpness. Previously both of these data facets would be grouped as one percentage.

Understanding what affects both match fitness and match sharpness help to support team selection. Things to consider include:

• Distance covered
• Speed of movement
• Change of direction
• Players conditions
• Weather
• Staminia

The higher the number of insentive bursts, the quicker you players will tire during a game.

Recruiting fitness coaches that are able to maintain the required match fitness and match sharpness is essential. Looking ahead, you could start combining the working relationship between fitness coaches and physios.

The coaching attributes that you should be looking for when recruiting fitness coaches include:

• Determination - This is very much a refelective attribute. If coaches can be determined then that behaviour should be reciprocated.
• Level of discipline - Some player can have some challenging behaviours to manage. Being able to manage these types of players with effective discipline should garner positive results
• Motivation - Fitness coaches naturally need to be able to motivate players
• Fitness - This is obvious, surely.
• Working with Youngsters - More for the fitness coaches working with your club's youth teams but will also be helpful for all fitness coaches.
• Adaptability - More for fitness coaches coming from a different country or coaches coming from a different club. Being able to adapt quickly will ensure that fitness coaches can carry out their role effectively.

See the table below showing the best fitness coaches available on Football Manager. Staff in the table below are at least rated 15 in the attributes listed above.

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