In preparation for the WWC, which kicks off this month, Head Coach John Griffiths and his squad held a three week training camp writes Katie Mishner.
On the 1st October the Young Lionesses will kick off their World Cup campaign against North Korea at the King Abdullah Stadium in Amman, Jordan. The last time that England qualified for the competition was in 2008, when a side captained by Jordan Nobbs and also featuring the likes of Lucy Bronze, Izzy Christiansen and Danielle Carter – players that have gone on to become senior squad regulars – made it through to the semi-finals, in New Zealand.
In preparation for their World Cup experience Head Coach John Griffiths and his squad held a three week training camp in August. During the open training session at York City FC John spoke to SheKicks about the upcoming tournament.
SK: Hi John, how has preparation been going for the U-17 World Cup?
JG: It’s been really exciting but it’s been hard. We’ve had three weeks together on the road and the players have still got club programmes as well so we’re trying to mix those. The clubs have been unbelieveable though, credit to them. People sometimes give the club vs country argument but I have to say the support of the international programme from the clubs, and our support by making sure the players go back to them in the best possible shape, has been exemplary.
SK: Because there have been issues over players being released for tournament over the Past year or two, maybe more over U-19 Euros than U-17s?
JG: Yes and we’re getting better at it, we’re striving to improve as best as we possibly can. You can put all the rules you like in place but it’s only people that make this work through communicating and working together. The priority is the players, the more that they’re put at the centre of it the easier it becomes.
SK: Why did you select York for a training camp?
JG: One of the members of staff knew about the facilities in York and the training base we’ve got in Queen Ethelburga’s is unbelieveable. When you have a three week block and you’re bringing 16 year olds together it’s difficult to keep them amused.
We looked at Queen Ethelburga’s and they have so much on site for us that meets the physical requirements in terms of the gym, the technical requirements and the social elements. The players have their own common room, we even had them doing their own ‘Come Dine With Me’ where they cooked for themselves which is great because our job is not just to prepare them as players but also as people. It [Queen Ethelburga] ticked all the boxes plus we’ve had the opportunity at York City, in the first week we played the boys’ academy and today we have this stadium training session.
SK: Have the preparations that you’ve done with this age group been different to what it would be with older players?
JG: I think we’re always refining and evolving the programme, it’s really important that we try to do everything we do to the advantage of development and winning. It’s a blend that we have across this age group, we’re trying to develop the player to go into the senior team, but also looking at their progress now. It’s what is going to prepare them for the potential of 2023 [World Cup] and the target of winning it.
SK: You’ve been prepping for the three teams you know that you’re going to face in the group phase, from three different continents and with totally different styles, what’re you expecting from each? How do you even scout?
JG: You don’t scout! There are security issues in some of those countries, so the key is we have as much intelligence on them as we can possibly gather, as they will with us, but the most important thing is that Mark [Sampson], Mo [Marley, U19s coach] and myself are trying to develop a brand of football throughout the age groups.
It’s knowing what we want to do while preparing for an opponent but we’ve got to play our way against that opponent. If we get to the knock-out phase it will all change again and we need to be concerned less with changing game by game, it’s a case of strategically developing within the brand.
SK: Talking about the different styles, have you managed to recreate the tempo because that’s the big difference between the teams you’re going to come up against?
JG: We’ve played boys’ teams, very hard teams and even boys’ U18’s. That’s not just to test the players physically, it’s also to see if they can stay on task when it gets hard. We’ve prepared as best as we can without actually playing those opponents. It’s what we call stretch learning, it makes it challenging and tough for them and they’ve done really well with that.
SK: So that replicates Nigeria and Korea closing down but the Brazilians can be very slow playing out of the back and it can be odd for a team to play against, is that something you’re not worried about?
JG: We’ve prepared them for the test and they’ve got to work out what happens inside of that, so if they’re prepared to problem-solve in the game where we can give them some tactics and strategy, they’re more likely to solve it rather than saying “this is how we’re going to play”. If we don’t prepare them for the stretch of the task that’s even worse.
SK: Have you been out to Jordan yourself?
JG: Yeah! It’s it’s hot [in Jordan] but we’ve prepared in the the hot weather earlier this year in LA which was useful. The key is to look at cooling, resting and recovery but it’s the same for all teams. I understand that some players play in warmer continents than us but, everyone has limited recovery time between so we want to make sure that we’re prepared, we’re doing a 10 day acclimatization camp before we kick off our first game.
SK: Will the staff and the team get to see any of the country while you’re there?
JG: We’re planning a couple of things, if not they’ll get cabin fever and we’re preparing them culturally and educationally for what it’s like around the world, previously we’ve taken them to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.
SK: Are you happy with the form of the players and will picking the squad be the most difficult thing?
JG: It’s probably going to be the most difficult squad that I’ve had to choose because everyone is at peak, we’ve got a group of 25 here and there’s no injuries. There’s niggles but we expect that in a three week camp because there’s collisions, bumps and things like that but no real, major injuries so far. All 25 players are pushing for a place which is challenging because we’ve got to lose four or five.
SK: Have you been given assurances that you’ll be able to pick who you want?
JG: My hope is that the clubs will put the player in the middle of it and see what’s best for them, it’s like nothing they’ll experience again. There’s some senior players coming to talk to the players, they still cite back to their 2008 experiences and how that’s helped them as players.
