André Schembri is a legend in Maltese football, but as a player, he was always outspoken in his views of what’s required to get the Maltese football player to the next level, and how we were failing at it.
That’s why along with other enthusiastic partners, he’s set up a player development system to rival many across the globe. Meet Traainer, a football-oriented personal training program of a level unheard of on our shores.
A team of pros
In order to help players reach their full potential, only a dedicated team of professionals will do. Apart from André himself, the team consisted of Christian Vasssallo (co-founder and strength & conditioning coach), Craig Umenyi (performance nutritionist), and Joe Sutton (talent ID), and the team is expanding further too. But what’s the science behind putting all aspects together?
3-step process
In André’s own no-prisoners-taken approach, the statement on the website is as bold as much as it is true: “We think that local standards are not good enough, so we created new ones“. When you look at both the history of each respective team member (and the level they’ve worked at), as well as the process they follow, it’s easy to see why they approach their job with this mentality.
The team will fly over to meet you in person and carry out testing using some of the most comprehensive methods in sport science. They’ll look at physical profiling, psychological interviewing and football match analysis.
After that, each individual player will receive a 360-degree plan addressing each aspect of player performance. The third step is then all about progression. Performance is monitored, assessed and each player will receive a detailed report on their metrics.
Dedicated evaluation
Players will be expected to send regular videos of training routines through an innovative digital platform used to deliver the programme. Remote weekly meetings are scheduled with a team member, who collectively review player progress, ensuring maximum development.
Since it’s aimed at younger players looking to make the step up to the professional game, Player Progress Meetings are held between the Traainer team, players and their guardians.
All in all, it’s a holistic, well-planned machine that aims to create Malta’s next legend. It’s also rather fitting that local legend André Schembri could be responsible for helping create the player to supplant him.
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