Jimmy's brainchild helps Shakers match Premier standards

The multi-million pound equipment at Manchester, Salford, John Moores (Liverpool) and the University of Bolton's sports science departments will all be used to assess fitness and performance from the club's school of excellence section through to the first team.

The scheme is the brainchild of performance coach Jimmy Petruzzi who has been given the job of improving all aspects of players' performance at the Gigg Lane club.

Petruzzi was manager Chris Casper's first signing when he took over the reins two months ago and his ideas and conditioning methods are at the forefront of modern-day soccer thinking.

The 32-year-old Australian is introducing a new regime that leaves as little as possible to chance.

training techniques, fitness work, psychological preparation, recovery programmes, diet and lifestyle are all important parts of the plan.

And he sees the kind of equipment and analysis on offer at the local universities as key to bringing the best out of Casper's side.

While Premiership clubs all use the highly-rated ProZone match and player analysis feedback, the cost of such a system would be prohibitive for a club of Bury's financial standing.

But Petruzzi reckons he can replicate the kind of data offered, by working with sports science departments of the universities, giving the club a top quality service at a fraction of the price.

"It's all about being creative and innovative," he said.

"The sort of training we will be doing and technology available will be on a par with the Premier League. We may not have the equipment in-house that the likes of Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers have but if we are creative enough we can access these resources at the universities.

"When players are on the field they need to be physically and mentally on top of their game so we need to analyse all aspects of performance, individually and teamwise.

"What I am also looking to do is provide a pathway from the schools of excellence through the youth team then onto the first team."

The University of Bolton sports science department will be doing assessments of the youth team players, four or five times a year, which will allow Petruzzi to monitor their progression and ensure they are physically strong enough for professional football when their time comes.

Meanwhile, a similar departmment at Salford University will do the same kind of work with the first team with special emphasis on individual strengths and weaknesses and rehabilitiation of injured players.

"We'll be able to take players to Salford when they are coming back from injury," added Petruzzi.

"It will be possible to assess whether they need to strengthen certain areas prior to them getting back into the team.

"There's also an opportunity to physically look at each player individually.

"One player may have speed, another good endurance and the next something else, we try and individualise as much as we can.

"No laboratory assessments have been done with the first team yet because it is mid-season and I wouldn't want to alter the training development.

"Although I have brought in changes including swimming pool work and core stability (exercises to strengthen the torso), you don't want to overload players and have muscles breaking down by over-training. We must do it in a way that has them peaking for matches."

Another part of the equation is what is known as game analysis' when the team and every player is individually monitored for the ninety minutes they are on the field.

This allows coaches and conditioners to assess workrate and performance.

Forward-thinking managers such as Arsenal's Arsene Wenger and Crystal Palace's Iain Dowie are big advocates of this kind of analytical study which uses unique technology to assimilate statistical and positional data on every player.

"Liverpool's John Moores University are very hi-tech in games analysis like GameBreaker," explained Petruzzi.

"This kind of data gives you the opportunity to assess players individually and see whether some need to work on certain areas to enhance their performance.

"We can be far more analytical in our training and far more productive."

Petruzzi has a meeting with the boffins at John Moores next week and is looking forward to getting involved with the university, pointing out that it can be an arrangement to benefit both parties.

"It's a two-way thing," he said.

"They can come along with GameBreaker and it gives them a chance to monitor a match at a different level of football, there is a lot of literature produced about the game at the top level but not so much further down the leagues.

"Plus the scientific testing of players at Bury's level could establish what the major difference is between a League Two player and someone in the Premiership.

"Is it decision-making, is it spacial awareness or something else, there's a lot of things to benefit them."

Petruzzi, who turned down offers to go to bigger clubs, took up Casper's invitation because he sees the young Bury boss as someone who understands what he is doing and is prepared to give him the autonomy to have a free role.

"You need an outstanding coach with young ideas and that's what Chris is," he said.

"He appreciates what I am doing and backs me all the way.

"But the players have been fantastic, it's not been easy for some, especially when you are introducing things like ice baths.

"But it's in their interests to look after themselves and extend their careers and I've found that once they realise that their performances and fitness are improving they buy into the methods.

"Bury is a great club. It's a good challenge for us to try and get them back to where they have been in the past.

"There is a good set of players here and there's no reason why we can't compete against anyone in our division and the one higher.

"We have to move to a new level and the technology is there to help take things forward."