Read more about Mark Brink\u2019s approach to training <\/span>here<\/a><\/span>.<\/b><\/p>\n Waiting on the wings, though, are two new talents. At only 16-years old, teammates Jacob L\u00f8nne<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and Oliver Olsen, who recently signed their first contracts with the club, could be the next big Alka Superliga talents from the west coast, and in their efforts to achieve success, they have taken their training to a more thorough level than their club can offer alone.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Compete Against Yourself<\/b><\/p>\n Even though Esbjerg fB competes at the highest level in Denmark, has one of the most excellent youth development programs, and features a nice stadium, there will always be limitations on how well a club can develop a player. A player must make a personal effort, and for that reason L\u00f8nne and Olsen have included self-training in their weekly practices since they were very young.<\/span><\/p>\n “When I was younger, I spent a lot of time practicing in the yard<\/strong>. \u00a0For example, I would do drills to improve my left foot. That made a huge difference, because the more you practice, the better you get,” e<\/span><\/i>xplains Oliver Olsen, who is backed up by fellow defender from the Esbjerg U17 league team, Jacob L\u00f8nne:<\/span><\/p>\n “When I was younger, I self-trained a lot, and today I feel that all the hard work has paid off.<\/strong> Self-training is important if you want to go far in football, but it\u2019s important that you do it because you <\/span><\/i>want<\/i> to do it. Training for 20-40 minutes three times per week would be a good routine. It could also be a good idea to compete against yourself so there\u2019s something to strive for<\/strong>. For example, if you\u2019re practicing shots towards the goal, try to beat the number of goals you scored the last time.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Serious Competition and Even More Serious Consequences<\/b><\/p>\n Despite the importance of self-training, if one thinks it\u2019s possible to go all the way by self-training alone, one had better think again. Oliver Olsen and Jacob L\u00f8nne are not the only lads who are self training; all of their teammates do the same thing. Oliver Olsen, who won the Internordic Cup with the Danish U17 national team in 2016, explains:<\/span><\/p>\n “All of our teammates self-train<\/strong> because our team is playing at such a high level, and everybody has the same level of ambition and same objective of going all the way. And because of the strong competition on the team, you have to get better every day; otherwise, you won\u2019t make the team.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSelf\u201d-training<\/b><\/p>\n The young men from Esbjerg owe thanks not just to themselves for their improvement through self-training, but to others as well. Even if the term suggests that self-training is something you do only by yourself, Olsen and L\u00f8nne have both gotten support from several people. For example, Jacob L\u00f8nne oftentimes practices with his father:<\/span><\/p>\n “I work with my dad on a regular basis so that I have a \u201cteammate\u201d that can either serve or receive the ball<\/strong>. For instance, when I\u2019m practicing my attacking and defensive headers, my father will make a number of crosses that I will either have to head towards the goal or clear. I have also practiced diagonal shifts with him, different ways of kicking the ball, and instep volleys, where my father would run into a certain space I was aiming for. Every time we train, I set a goal for how many hits on target I want to get<\/strong>.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Oliver Olsen has also received help with his self-training.<\/span><\/p>\n “My coaches makes sure I get something out of my self-training<\/strong>. They can see areas in which I need to improve that I wouldn\u2019t be aware of otherwise.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Teammates can also help, though\u2014or even better, participate.<\/span><\/p>\n “There are way more options with more players, so it\u2019s good if one\u2019s teammates are participating,”\u00a0<\/span><\/i>explains Olsen while L\u00f8nne nods in agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n “You can do it alone, of course, but if you know someone, for example a teammate who also is self-training, it\u2019s nice to be able to guide and help each other out.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n m-station: A Fantastic Partner<\/b><\/p>\n Not everybody has the option to self-train with teammates. Long distances, busy everyday lives, and the like can get in the way, but there\u2019s a solution that Oliver Olsen takes advantage of: the m-station football rebounder from Munin Sports<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. The youth national team player explains how the m-station<\/strong><\/span><\/a> helps him:<\/span><\/p>\n “The m-station is a fantastic tool since you can use it for so many different exercises<\/strong>. It returns the ball in exactly the same way you pass it, so if you make a bad pass, you will pay for it. If you cannot self-train with your friends or teammates, the m-station is a fantastic partner to use instead. It\u2019s always out there in the yard, ready for another round of practice<\/strong>.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"jacobloenne2\"](\"https:\/\/old.muninsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/JacobLoenne2.png\")
\nJacob L\u00f8nne, Esbjerg FB and Denmark Youth National Team player<\/em><\/p>\n![\"oliverolsen\"](\"https:\/\/old.muninsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/OliverOlsen-1.png\")
\nOliver Olsen, Esbjerg FB and Denmark Youth National Team player<\/em><\/p>\n![\"jacobloenne1\"](\"https:\/\/old.muninsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/JacobLoenne1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"oliverolsen2\"](\"https:\/\/old.muninsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/OliverOlsen2-1.png\")
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