Marcus Dibernardo

Developing Ballers Marcus Dibernardo

I put together my work in the form of a slideshow book, in hopes of communicating my thoughts on player development, in a more impactful way. After observing player development methods at pro clubs from around the world, I consistently found a disconnect between their training methods, and intended outcomes. Many of the pro clubs trainings looked interesting, with colors being identified, numbers being added, multiple tasks being completed, but the reality is, the methods didn't make developmental sense to me, nor did the explanations behind them. I do believe there are secondary benefits associated with the training methods, but for me, the driving force behind player development is summed up in three words, game based trainings. That being said, outside of game-based training methods, I do find value in some Isolated technical training, but the limitations need to be recognized. It is also important to understand that player development and soccer intelligence go hand in hand, it is very difficult to increase soccer intelligence in isolated exercises, compared to ever changing game-based trainings.