'The career of a footballer is too short to not make the most out of summer'

Giancarlo Martínez has been at Coker University for two years. The keeper, originally from Guatemala, defends the goal of the Cobras, the football team of the Hartsville College in South Carolina.

“I was looking for training options during the summer, as there aren’t many in my country”, explains the keeper. “I found various academies through the internet but ultimately chose Marcet. What most caught my attention was the amount of daily training hours”.

Giancarlo did not want to waste his holidays. His aim was to start the pre-season with his team with full fitness: “I feel the life of a footballer is very short. If I want to improve, I have to play, and to play I have to train”.

“If I want my coach to include me in the starting line-up, my technique has to be in good form, tactically and mentally. What’s most important to me is to start in good shape so I get the minutes I need during the season”.

“In the US I am used to training twice a day. At most maybe three, when preseason is in full-swing. But at Marcet not only do we have three or four sessions a day, but we also follow a different kind of dynamic”.

Giancarlo is referring to the training sessions at the swimming pool, and in particular, at the beach. “I really like these sessions because in them, we have to work in a different way. It is important that there be variety because everything helps, everything complements each other”.

Training at the beach is ideal for building up strength and proprioception. The instability of sand when kicking the ball on this surface improves the balance and stability of every player.

The softness of this surface cushions impacts on the ground. This is good for articulations and allows us to work on preventing injuries with total security.

One of the activities that Giancarlo is doing is the balloted race, thought of above all to reinforce the abductor and gluteal muscles which are fundamental muscles in the practice of football.

“I’ve been at Coker College for two years and I’ve got two more left”, explains the Guatemalan keeper, whose aim is to dedicate himself to professional football once he has finished his studies.

Giancarlo received a partial scholarship to study in the US. This financial aid varies and may increase depending on the student’s athletic performance. It is also for this reason that the goalkeeper takes his preparation so seriously for next season.

The goalkeeper of the Coker University appreciates the variety of stimuli he is receiving in Barcelona: specific sessions for goalkeepers, tactical, technical, psychological, conditional training, in short spaces, in long spaces …

“It isn’t easy finding a place where it is possible to train while playing so many matches, especially in 11 sided football”, mentions Giancarlo, who during his stay in Spain participated in the Talent Cup with a Marcet side.

“I played very well in the tournament, adding up a good amount of saves. I’m satisfied with how I performed in the competition”, remembers the keeper, who will also take this experience back with him to South Carolina, where he will shortly begin the third year of his university degree.

‘The career of a footballer is too short to not make the most out of summer’

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