The synergy between music and football within group training
An Orange and Blue football with Blue headphones on top.
So for thousands of years (or perhaps more, we are not historians) music has been a part of everyones life in some way shape or form and has been used in various ways. The Romans played loud and daunting music to intimidate and/or psych up the gladiators. In comparison, wellness centres play soft and soothing music to create a relaxed and calming environment. In relation to sports, gymnasiums and leisure centres have always played music within activity rooms during group and personal training sessions. More specifically, they use music that has an upbeat tempo and creates a positive environment for all participants. However, when we considered other sports, we identified that we do not utilise the power of music during group sessions. So, we looked further into this, recognised there was an amazing synergy to be explored and just like that, Football 2 Music was born.
Looking at a football match, in general energy and tempo maintain a high level throughout, but they do fluctuate. This also happens throughout the duration of a song. You start with a first verse, which then increases in tempo and intensity up to the chorus, which then drops slightly for the second verse, but then crescendo’s when it reaches the chorus for the final time, before finally reducing and stopping. This could be compared to the general structure of a football coaching session (technical activity, opposed activity, game-related, and then cool down), but the players will also naturally do this within each activity. As players stop, look up, change direction, make a pass, prepare for a set piece etc, their speed and energy levels fluctuate, as it is impossible to maintain the highest level consistently, but also it is the nature of the game.
Through a combination of research and our own coaching experiences, we identified that there were some amazing benefits to using music within group training sessions for children and young people, but especially within football. This is how we came up with our logo, explaining exactly what it is we do but also representing the 2 elements coming together. In particular, music genres like house, dance and techno work perfectly for our programme and create such a positive vibe. We encourage the players to sometimes listen to the music whilst they play and try to match its energy, increasing and reducing as appropriate. This has resulted in players improving their ball control (stopping and starting), decision-making (being more composed), and being more spatially aware (recognising the space to stop in without bumping into other players).
At Football 2 Music, we are advocates of creativity and want to take coaching in a new direction. We also encourage the players to let the music have it’s own affect on them and allow them to be creative, which often results in trying a new skill, or sometimes a dance move or two. Adding music offers many valuable technical, physical, psychological and social development benefits, especially for children. Check out our top 10 benefits of music within sports coaching sessions.
We are proud that we are pushing an innovative and creative way of coaching, but we encourage everyone to try it and experience the synergy and amazing benefits of music within group training sessions.
