GFA set to welcome Elite Selection youth teams back to training

[June 12, 2020 – Harmon, Guam] Following the first week of selected National Team training at the Guam Football Association National Training Center, Elite Selection youth teams will begin sessions at GFA beginning Monday.

“We have many new procedures that we implemented during the first week of National Team training and overall, with the athletes understanding the purpose of the new procedures and taking them seriously, training sessions went smoothly,” said Sang Hoon Kim, GFA Technical Director and Masakåda, Women’s National Team Head Coach. “We are ready to expand and welcome the Elite Selection youth teams back to GFA for training.

“For both players and coaches this past week, it was a welcome experience to officially be back on the pitch after almost three months. For the players who did individual conditioning and training at home these past few months, it showed during the sessions at GFA and I recommend that they continue in addition to training with coaches at GFA. This will be to their benefit when leagues and tournaments resume,” Kim added.

For parents and guardians dropping off players, a single entry and exit path through GFA’s parking lot area has been implemented to create a one-way flow of traffic to and from the walk-in gate. Upon entry into the walk-in gate, players must be wearing a mask and in order of arrival, will have their temperatures taken. Players then must sanitize their hands and officially check in. The walk in gate is only open for one hour and closes 15 minutes before the scheduled training time. Players are instructed to continue reading posted signs upon entry, as some procedures may change.

Coaches take metrics of each player before training, including height and weight, and after, all proceed to their designated training pitch. Each pitch is separated into individual grids assigned one each to a player. All training is non contact and done within the grid boundaries. Each player is assigned a ball for the duration of the training session.

For UA-1 (upper pitch) and UA-2 (lower pitch), a total of 20 player grids, each measuring 22 meters by 16 meters (approximately 72 feet by 52 feet), are set up prior to training. To accommodate more players, more individual player grids are set up on UA-3 (mini pitch). For less than 20 players confirmed to attend, grid sizes may increase for even more distancing.

Elite Selection Team training sessions will be done in a similar manner. Players and their parents will take part in a virtual meeting with program administrators for more detailed information regarding GFA procedures.

On the first days of training for the U17 and U19 Manhoben, as well as the U17 and the Masakåda/U20 squads, 59 total players attended four separate sessions. On the next days of training during the week, 66 total players attended four separate sessions.