From team training to flexible training: X-Skills sessions at Castricum

The traditional model of team training forms the basis within almost every club. At the same time, it offers limited space for players who want to train more, develop individually or want to join their permanent team flexibly.

At Castricum, this is supplemented with X-Skills sessions on Sunday morning. An extra training moment where players step in themselves, train in a targeted manner and monitor their progress week by week.

A practical implementation of how clubs can broaden their training offerings without replacing the existing program.

Open training event for players from across the region

Every Sunday, two 75-minute X-Skills sessions (max 20 players per session) take place. Players register themselves and participate based on their own motivation.

The sessions are accessible to both our own members and players from the region. This creates a mix of ages, levels and clubs on the field.

In practice, this provides a form of training in which:

• players can train extra without being tied to a team

• new players can easily enter

• new incentives and resistance are constantly being created

Individual development at the heart

During the sessions, the focus is entirely on individual skill development. In short, intensive blocks, players work on, among other things:

• ball control

• fit and accept

• dribble

• speed of action

Using the Skill Tag, each score is automatically registered. Scores are immediately visible, allowing players to follow their progress over several weeks.

This ensures that players not only train, but work specifically on their own development.

Smartly integrated into the club

The sessions are organized on Sunday, prior to the senior games. This creates extra activity at the club, without having to change the existing schedule

For the club, this means, among other things:

• better use of available field capacity

• more vibrancy on club day

• an additional offer in addition to regular team training courses

From extra offer to structural model

In the start-up phase, X-Skills supervises the implementation and trainers within the club are trained in the methodology.

Step by step, the implementation shifts to the club itself. Trainers learn to work with the structure of the sessions and the technology, so that the training moment can become a structural part of the offer.

First step towards a hub model

The X-Skills sessions at Castricum show how a club expands its offerings with a flexible training moment in addition to the existing team structure.

A model in which players choose when to train, monitor their progress and continue to develop, inside and outside their own team.

For clubs, this offers a way to create space for individual development without changing the existing system.

This setup creates a logical next step towards an open training structure, where players can structurally enter and train based on their own development.

Wondering what this might look like at your club?

We are happy to help you find an appropriate implementation within your current structure.