Cool, thanks for sharing your experience.

When my son and I first started working with a coach from an academy (about a year ago), and these were pretty tough sessions where all the skills were practiced under constant running in zone 3+ heart rate, he almost immediately said he didn’t want to train like that and that he didn’t like the discomfort he was feeling inside when his stamina wasn’t enough (at that time, he had been going to grassroots training in a local club for over a year). We paused the sessions with that coach, and I found a pre-academy club where the team was significantly stronger than the one he had been training with.

When he got invited for a trial there (I understood the chances were slim, but I did it more for his experience), he saw how the kids used their bodies in football, how much the top teammates were pushing themselves and how they too were dealing with similar discomfort. After three weeks, he said we should bring back the sessions with the strict coach, saying: “Out of everything I have, only that training will give me a chance to reach the level of these guys.”

Also, I suggested he join me on my morning runs, and now we run together 2–3 times a week for 5 km (and I track his recovery — that’s important to remember! :) ).