If you have read my past articles one of the most popular ones I wrote was on barefoot training. I love the philosophy and encourage my athletes to do it. Shoes do not help when it comes to strengthen our feet. Also concerning soccer it is a wonderful way to improve your skills. Here is the article if you haven’t read it. http://www.saqsoccer.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=49

With all the benefits of training barefoot there are still a lot of skeptics out there as it is still a relatively new philosophy, even though the South Americans have been doing it for years. Hopefully this article will help erase some of those doubts that people have.

I recently got the chance to meet with the coaches from the JMG (Jean-Marc Guillou) Academy, a barefoot youth soccer academy program based in Belgium.

The academy has already produced talents such as Yaya Toure (Barcelona), Emmanuel Eboue, (Arsenal) Kolo Toure, (Manchester City) Salomon Kalou (Chelsea) and Didier Zokora (Sevilla) to name but a few.

They are training in Charleston for a month with MPSC while taking in some American culture and hospitality. They are having a wonderful experience.

Some of the philosophies of the academy are:

Barefoot only. The reason being is that 100% of touch will go to the brain, none of it will get lost in the footwear. They will get improved proprioception. With footwear on you don’t get the whole feel for the ball.

No shin pads. No pushing. Not much physical contact. It hurts the person kicking just as bad, so it doesn’t happen that often.

There is a big emphasis on juggling. These players juggle for about an hour and 30 minutes each day. Their touch and control is exceptional. 

To graduate the academy you have to pass the juggling stages. They even expect you to come up with something never seen in the academy before.

No Goalkeepers, to teach the players to close the ball down quickly. 

Let the players figure out the problems. That means no parental involvement. 

Small sided keep away games 3v1,4v2, 2v2+1

They play 5v5 and 6v6, no larger.

No real tactical or speed and strength training. (I might disagree on this one.)

90% turn professional. 50% will play champions league and international level.

Intelligence is the key. They want to develop intelligent, creative soccer players who will solve problems on their own. They go to school at the academy during the week also. They are student athletes.

Good behavior, humility and ambition are developed together. If you were lucky enough to meet these young men you could see they were brought up with respect and were very well behaved.

They train 20+ hours per week.

1 in 3000 players are selected. Criteria – just talent.

It is street soccer in its essence. 

Those are just some of the reasons for the success they are having. Having fantastic coaches are another reason. People who put their lives into developing these young athletes so they can reach their undoubted potential. So take those shoes off and go and become a better player.