#7 Navigating the Off-Season

[ValorX77]

#6 International Superstar

Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame has a rather unique training regimen to keep herself in shape. The first part of this regimen is working on her footwork, which is a key part of a footballer's skills. She begins by doing a simple cone drill, going through moving cones and timing how quickly her feet glide through the course. Every time she steps out or makes a wrong move, a buzzer goes off to stop the clock and forces her to restart the routine until she gets the routine perfected. She then intensified the workout by adding simulated weather conditions set up to match specific pitches around the world, such as the cold winds of Reykjavik, or the monsoon rains of London. The next part focuses on a key aspect that would be her trademark, her side kicks and headers that resulted in goals. To set this up, she studied every goalkeeper who has played in the Simulation Soccer League. This resulted in a Goalie Automoton built by her good friend and fellow idol Cecillia Immergreen. Liz then set up a simulation with the robot goalie that would simulate free kicks, corners, and especially, penalty kicks. With the realistic weather added on, Liz first practiced her free kicks with the opposing team coded to be based on the Sao Paulo team that had dominated the league for several seasons. Every time she would miss a kick, the computer would show the angle of the kick and project the right angle for each kick and header needed to score. Eventually, she invited other CD Tenochitlan players to try out a simulated game. The players often struggled with cold and windy weather, something that was expected due to the team often playing in the unforgiving heat of Mexico. In the end, the team was able to thrive in all conditions thanks to Liz's revolutionary game simulator and training routines.

(314 words)

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[GHamss]

CPT6

Coming into the big league, Snor Lax’s soccer related off season training was pretty much non-existent. When he first arrived in Sydney for his Academy season, Snor Lax was a large bodied, food driven being with little to no discipline when it came to proper training. His training regimen became more consistent when he entered the monitor league with Rapid Magyar. There he learned the importance of training as the coaches found a way to motivate Snor Lax like none before them ever had. With food.

Early on, the coaches used what the Rapid Magyar coaches had discovered to their advantage. Using food as a reward for consistent and successful training. This not only motivates Snor Lax, but also helps him put on muscle and become stronger. This “style” of training has continued for Lax throughout his entire career. What brings Snor Lax to the training facility, is the desire to eat another meal.

As Lax has increased in size and ability over his career, he has become better at his position. His main exercises used to be: roll and block drills, Snore to score reactions and mental toughness. He still focuses on those drills but is getting older so his drills are changing a bit.

Lumber and Limber - This is a stretching drill that helps make sure Snor Lax is as flexible as a giant round-shaped being can be. Stretching is tiring though and can lead to Lax falling asleep pretty quickly.
A mouthful of something - Snor Lax often has his mouth full of food but recently he has been learning the art of communication. A goalkeepers ability to communicate to his team can be the difference between winning and losing. Lax has spent time learning about what the best communication styles are for his team.

As Snor Lax ages, his desire to train lessens but he still has a desire to win. Luckily for him, eating and sleeping improve his ability.

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[Beavie]

Career Task 6, Sponsored by Feraligatrade 

Being a Scorbunny, Allie Bunson has a different way of training each off-season compared to the Average player. Though many Pokemon often use vitamins and rare candies to get better, those are banned by the Simulation Soccer League Athletic Commission of Fair Play, Total Points Earned, and Anti-AI Use, Or SSLACFPTPEAAI. It really rolls off the tongue. So Allie has to do some traditional EV training the old fashioned way, beating Pokemon in a game of pick-up footy. She has carefully selected the Pokemon she'd face to gain the proper effort values. She played some matches against Buizel and Rattatta to get more speed and increase some of her physicals at the suggestion of her main club. Then to help the mental side, she faced some Abra.

But they kept teleporting around. As you can expect, she cried foul and was not a happy bunny. I think one also used Psychic, the jerk.

There was a push in some members of the media for her to evolve to help her skills on the pitch, but Allie vehemently denied those efforts. She showed her "Everstone Club" membership and her commitment not to evolve. She also joked "And at this point, it is part of my brand, lads."
 
The only thing she did extra compared to her normal training is wear a macho brace, a tool approved for Pokemon use by the  Simulation Soccer League Athletic Commission of Fair Play, Total Points Earned, and Anti-AI Use. It is considered to be similar to someone using an exercise machine in a work our or a knee brace. It helped her gain EVs at a faster rate without cheating any extra ones. She is a firm believer in playing fair, but given Shanghai's recent relegation after an unlucky season, she knew she had to work extra hard this off-season to help her club. As expected, she also worked extra hard on her low sweep. She hopes to pick up another yellow card or two, but given the status of Shanghai being in the second division, she may have no choice but to go Ball first this time around-

It's for the team.

358 Words, 330 without the long name of the "Simulation Soccer League Athletic Commission of Fair Play, Total Points Earned, and Anti-AI Use"

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[Ashes]

CPT 6: https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showt...#pid106922

AC Romana were coming off the best season they'd had in a while, securing promotion to the top flight after several rough seasons. Of course, this doesn't mean that they get to slack off and party now. If anything, it's the exact opposite, division 1 has even higher standards for its players, another level of physical readiness to go out and give your all in the stadium. As such, in the team's end-of-season debrief meeting, the coaching staff took a moment to have a brief 1-on-1 with each player. When it was Jesper's turn, coach Dobric took him aside and said "Look, Jesper. You've been great for us this past season. But now that we're going up, you'll need to be far better. You've worked hard to get to the level you're at. Now we need you to work twice as hard. You need to build more muscle. You need to be stronger, you need to be faster, you need to be more agile. When I see you in a couple months, I want you to look like a sprinter and a bodybuilder, both at the same time. Figure that out."

And so, Jesper hit the gym. A lot. It was never his favourite training activity, but from the times he'd played against top division clubs, he understood why it was needed. Division 1 meant fighting for everything. Fight for the ball, fight for space, fight for your spot in the league. He went from going to the gym a few times per week to going twice daily. He was lifting weights, he was doing cardio, and when he wasn't in the gym, he was out on the pitch. Practicing his crosses, his shots, his touches. He even got one of those weighted vests and did practice with that. He talked to some of his teammates about his training regimen, and they joined in as well, which made it much easier to push himself to do the workouts that he needed.

331 words

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[Afrhite]

Dream sponsor


Navigating off-season is even so important as the regular season for every athlete. Tenochtitlan organization had many changes recently due to the league expanding once again. Krung Thep lost their Captain Pope Goose and Magool, majors hit for the Minor teams as they were some influential players. As for Mazeed, finishing is first season at CDT with a controversial upset but any experience is good experience, only matters what we do afterward with it. It was unknown to maybe some but for couple of season, Mazeed working with the Academy system to welcome and help new talent coming in the league. His talents as a coach are let's say a work in progress, as he is 0 and 5 to get a championship with any of the academy teams he's been on. But the players who were under his wing during those times loved there experience and felt welcomed in the league.

As for more personal activities he's been doing during off season: training, playing casually and going a bit around the world to see matches. Having different perspective on how to play football is always beneficial for a player to widen their mind. Trains both with Krung Thep and Tenochtitlan to keep good relations between players from both teams. During those trips between Thailand and Mexico, he takes some times to play in more casual matches. Playing against kids, teenagers and adults who wants to stay in shape. He wants to share the passion and the fun of football with everyone he can so those times are amongst the most cherished he as.

Keeping that inner child alive and fired up is a must for him, never forgetting where is coming from, bringing back memories.. For more of a serious note, during the past season, Mazeed played the first time since the academy season on the Wing. Therefore, his initial plan for being versatile on the pitch worked and still in progress ! As the Major squad is already solid, he can train other aspect of his game he normally won't but as much attention as before. Tonto Tut put a heavy burden on Al-Kazmi when joining the Major squad by naming him the new Captain of Tenochtitlan and he will take the role of Vice Captain to help him learning about the Major's environment plus giving him pointers about being a young leader to a veteran squad. Everyone seems to respect his leadership, so far so good right ?

The organization is changing, players get promoted and others leaves, it is a harsh reality that every player that has bonded with their team will have to face someday. In those moment, all we can do is to adapt to those situation, stay true to ourselves and give everything we got. Mazeed future with Tenochtitlan is continuing, who knows what the future will bring his way but I think, Mazeed will live those moment to the fullest he can, with the classics midnight training in the Mexico heat, the culture his part of and everything he emanate around him. A off season is ending, another season starts !

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[DivogoJota]

CPT 6

Andre Caetano stretches, emitting a slightly audible "pop" from his lower back. Andre chuckles. It is scary how fast the body catches up to you in this profession. Just a few years ago, Andre was hounding down chocolate like there was no tomorrow. Now, he carefully watches his calories and nutrients to ensure he is at the top of his game. And yet, despite that, he still ages just like everyone else.

"Need any water? Remember to hydrate Sir Mango" Marcel Voda asks, walking up holding two bottles. "Thanks Marcel" Andre responds, popping the lid and drinking. Marcel and Andre has trained together for a number of seasons now. The two of them became quick friends in the academy season as the "future" of the Alpine Federation midfield. Their healthy rivalry pushed each other to their limits and improved themselves. Today, they will be joined by a few of their Alpine teammates.

The first guest to arrive is Tony Delvecchio, right wingback for the Shanghai Dragons. The Italian wingback is a nuisance for both attackers and defenders, and has been a key piece for his domestic club. Marcel and Andre enjoy ribbing Tony for his own goal in the World Simulation Football Classic semifinal loss to the Pyrenees Union, a match the Italian would like to forget. The performance marked a turning point for the young defender, who kicked on and became a more-rounded player. The three play a bit of "keepy up" until Giacomo Santori arrives, the 4th of a quartet of Season 20 academy players for the Alpine Federation. The winger greets the trio and quickly joins in the training as they do a mock 2v2. Giacomo was never one for pleasantries and unnecessary dialogue. The Italian attacker always preferred to let his play do the talking, and often burst past the defense with a chip on his shoulder for his late draft position. Giacomo's fervor is evident today as he nutmegs Tony before squaring it to Marcel, who tap it past the diving Andre for a point. The four of them continue on this until the sun sets, fully drenched in sweat and thoroughly exhausted. It was not the most tactical training, but it was exactly what the veterans needed to bond and get ready to stretch their legs for the new season.

Approved!

[Giacomino_raiola]

Cpt6:https://forum.simulationsoccer.com/showthread.php?tid=1290&pid=99719#pid99719

Giacomo Santori’s off season training regiment is simple yet complete, he has done it the same way since he was a kid, never going too hard nor too soft, it was the right amount of effort to make sure you are both match ready and less prone to injury.

Before even starting the training Santori will first look at the surroundings of the training field looking for a mountain, or a hill or a flight of stairs.

The training starts with the usual exercises to heat up the muscles, going up and down the field moving the arms, shoulders and generally the upper half of the body for around 5 minutes; then it's the turn of legs Santori would now go back and forth in a 10 meter space and just do standard legs warming up, which would also usually last 5 minutes.


Most of the off season and pre season training would just be cardio, but since running up and down the field for hours on end will get stale and boring pretty fast Santori decides to go a for a place near the field which most of the time would be a random unnamed mountain (there are a lot of them in the Alpine Federation).

This part of the regiment is pretty straightforward every day Santori needs to run for 30 minutes up that mountain and then after a 2 minute long stretching session Santori needs to go down the mountain for 30 minutes, to add up every day of the week adds up 5 minutes to both counter, then on monday it restarts back to 30 minutes.

After coming back from the usual trek Santori will then, to remind himself of how to play football, do a couple of passing and shooting exercise with his teammates and then to wind up the training a small match between two groups of teammates, with the losers having the either clean the field at the end of the training or becoming targets for the next day shooting practice.

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[Malino8444]

[CPT 6]

After having an amazing season, with Romana getting promoted, and Ryan having his best season yet (statswise). Ryan was looking forward to the off-season, getting some free-time to unwind after a successful but tough season.

After spending the first few weeks enjoying the beach and sun in Mexico, and also catching up with his old teammate Andre Caetano. (@DivogoJota ) it was time for Ryan to get back into the swing of things, He spent the weeks before he had to return to Italy back in the Netherlands, training mostly on his own, spending a big part of his time in the gym, it was no secret that if you want to play at the top of the SSL, you’d have to physically become the best version of yourself. So Ryan focussed on increasing his strength so he would be able to hold his own in division 1.

The days started to look very similar, waking up early, going to the gym, getting some food and then spending the rest of the day either relaxing or getting some work done. Even though there was no official football being played, Ryan knew that this was probably one of the most important parts of the season. Division 1 was going to be a completely different level, and he didn’t want to arrive back in Italy feeling like he wasn’t ready for it.

He also spent some time working on the smaller parts of his game, things that were easy to overlook during the regular season. His balancing, his first touch and especially his anticipation were things he wanted to improve before the new season started. There was no point in only becoming stronger if the rest of his game stayed the same.

As the weeks went by, Ryan could slowly feel himself getting fitter and stronger. With the pre-season friendlies and the start of the season getting closer, Ryan was feeling confident. He knew Division 1 wouldn’t be easy, but that was exactly what he wanted. A new challenge, a higher level, and another chance to prove himself.

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[tomtommen]

CP #6

Tom Mæddisen has worked very hard since the last time he spoke to any media. He has actually taken a media break to focus on his training. It has been very good for Tom Mæddisen as well. The constant noise from journalists can be very tiresome. But now Tom is in better shape than ever. He is still working hard every day to get better. Focusing on passing and his playmaker abilities. Since Tom now is one of the more elder players in the team he is focusing hard on making the team play better. And the older he get the closer to retirement he is. He can now see the end of his career. He is making goals and thinking about what achievements that is reachable. It has perhaps been too many years in a rebuilding team, but now it is about to turn. Going in hard to win every game. Tom Mæddisen wants Schwarzwälder to become a powerhouse in the Simulation soccer league again. And to make that happen every skill needs to be fine tuned. Hours and hours every week on making PTs since he doesn't have a pass anymore. Also need cash to pay for those extra seasonal TPEs. Go hard or go home. All in. Semper fi. C'est la vie. Carpe diem. Kjøss mæ i ræva. Alt for Norge. For Konge og fedreland. Enig og tro til Dovre faller.

Words: 240

Denied - @tomtommen word count requirement is 300 words. Please resubmit once you hit the minimum word count!

[tomtommen]

CP #6

I thought it was 200 words, but I see that it is 300.

Tom Mæddisen has worked very hard since the last time he spoke to any media. He has actually taken a media break to focus on his training. It has been very good for Tom Mæddisen as well. The constant noise from journalists can be very tiresome. But now Tom is in better shape than ever. He is still working hard every day to get better. Focusing on passing and his playmaker abilities. Tom Mæddisen has had a plan since birth. It has been followed strictly. Every skill that is deemed important to become the player he wants to be is finetuned and improving every week. Of course the change in skill went faster in the early stages of the career, but Tom is still improving. As he should. You have to do the work to get better in the long run. Since Tom now is one of the more elder players in the team he is focusing hard on making the team play better. And the older he gets the closer to retirement he is. He can now see the end of his career. He is making goals and thinking about what achievements that are reachable. It has perhaps been too many years in a rebuilding team, but now it is about to turn. Going in hard to win every game. Tom Mæddisen wants Schwarzwälder to become a powerhouse in the Simulation soccer league again. And to make that happen every skill needs to be fine tuned. Hours and hours every week on making PTs since he doesn't have a pass anymore. Also need cash to pay for those extra seasonal TPEs. Go hard or go home. All in. Semper fi. C'est la vie. Carpe diem. Kjøss mæ i ræva. Alt for Norge. For Konge og fedreland. Enig og tro til Dovre faller. Or as they say in Schwarzwälder “wo die Uhren langsamer gehen”. So hopefully regression doesn’t come fast.

Words: 320