Why Training at The Kick Vault Feels Different
Updated: Mar 10
In one recent session, 10 players produced around 800 shots on goal in just 45 minutes.
That works out at roughly 80 shots per player.
Not across a full day.Not across a full week.
Just one session.
The reason that level of repetition is possible comes down to one key factor: the environment the players are training in.
People often ask what makes training at The Kick Vault different, so we wanted to explain it properly.
But before doing that, it is important to say something first.
Grassroots football deserves huge credit.
Grassroots clubs are the foundation of the game. They rely on volunteers who give up their evenings and weekends to organise teams, run training sessions and make sure children have somewhere to play football every week. Without grassroots football, the game simply would not exist in the form we know it today.
Many of the players who train at The Kick Vault also play for grassroots clubs. They train with their teams, play matches at the weekend and enjoy the social side of football with their teammates.
What we aim to do at The Kick Vault is not replace that environment, but to complement it by providing a specialist training space designed specifically for player development.
The biggest difference is not simply that we are indoors.
The biggest difference is that the facility is purpose built, fully enclosed, and designed specifically to allow structured football training sessions to run at a much higher level of efficiency.
That difference matters more than most people realise.
The Facility Changes What Is Possible In A Session
In many traditional training environments, coaches have to work around limitations that are outside of their control.
The session might take place on an open field.
The venue might be shared with other teams.
There might be only one goal available.
Equipment might be limited.
Balls may constantly travel long distances away from the drill.
None of those things mean the session is poor. They are simply the realities of many training environments.
At The Kick Vault, because the facility is fully enclosed and designed specifically for football development, many of those limitations disappear.
The ball stays inside the area.
The goals are already set up.
The equipment is always available.
The space can be organised quickly and efficiently.
The environment remains controlled.
The focus stays on the players and the practice.
That allows sessions to be designed and delivered in ways that are far more difficult to replicate in open or shared environments.
Ball Rolling Time Is Everything
One of the biggest factors in player development is something called ball rolling time.
In simple terms, it is the amount of time during a session where the ball is actually being played rather than the group waiting, resetting or retrieving equipment.
When a player takes a shot in an open environment and misses the target, the ball might travel 20, 30 or even 40 yards away.
That player then has to chase the ball.
Bring it back.
Reset themselves.
Rejoin the practice.
Only then can the next repetition begin.
Each one of those moments reduces the amount of meaningful practice that happens in the session.
Over the course of an hour, those lost moments add up.
Inside The Kick Vault, the environment changes that completely.
Because the facility is enclosed, balls remain close to the drill. Missed shots do not travel long distances. Passes that go slightly astray stay within the area.
The result is that the session flows continuously.
Players reset quickly.
The next repetition starts immediately.
That keeps ball rolling time extremely high, which means players are spending far more of the session actually playing, touching the ball, receiving, dribbling and shooting.
And that is where development happens.
Players improve through meaningful repetition.
The more times they perform a skill in a focused environment, the faster they develop confidence and understanding.
Tight Spaces Create Better Habits
Another major advantage of the indoor environment is the ability to create tight, controlled training spaces.
In larger open areas, players sometimes have more time and space than they would experience in real match situations.
That can allow loose touches or slower decisions to go unpunished.
Inside a tighter environment, players quickly learn that they need to be sharper.
They need to:
take better first touchesuse their body position correctlycontrol the ball more carefullymake quicker decisions
A loose touch can immediately lead to losing the ball.
A slow decision can immediately allow a defender to close the space.
These are extremely valuable lessons for young players.
They build habits that translate directly into match situations.
Players become more aware of their body position.
They begin to understand where space exists.
They learn to control the ball more cleanly.
They start to think faster.
This is one of the reasons we are seeing such strong development from players who train regularly inside the facility.
Fewer Distractions Means Better Focus
Another factor that often goes unnoticed is concentration.
In outdoor environments, younger players can easily become distracted.
That is perfectly normal.
They might notice another team training nearby.
They might watch a match happening on the next pitch.
They might get distracted by people walking past.
Sometimes even something as simple as an aeroplane flying overhead can take their attention away from the activity.
Inside a contained training environment, those distractions are dramatically reduced.
The session remains the centre of attention.
The group stays engaged.
The coach can maintain the flow of the practice.
This helps players stay mentally connected to the activity for longer periods of time.
For younger age groups in particular, this makes a significant difference.
The Facility Enables Structured Session Design
Perhaps the most important point is this:
The facility itself is not the final product.
The real advantage of the facility is that it allows sessions to be designed and delivered in a far more structured way.
Because we have multiple goals, controlled space and equipment readily available, we can create practices that include:
multiple stations running simultaneously
clear progressions within the same session
high repetition technical work
small sided games with specific conditions
rotations that minimise waiting time
This means the design of the session can focus entirely on player development, rather than adapting around the limitations of the environment.
The difference is not just how the session looks.
The difference is how efficiently the session runs.
A Real Example: A Finishing Session
A recent finishing session provides a clear example of how the environment makes a difference.
In that session we had 10 players working in the facility.
Because we have four large goals available, we were able to create four finishing stations running at the same time, each equipped with target net sheets to direct players to aim for corners.
Each station focused on the same overall theme but added a slightly different challenge.
Players rotated continuously around the four stations.
The progression moved through several stages.
Players began with simple finishing actions.
They then worked on touching the ball across their body before shooting.
They progressed into approaching a defender reference.
They learned to recognise the correct distance from the defender to perform the movement.
Throughout the session, players alternated the foot they used so they were exposed to both right foot and left foot finishing actions.
Because the stations were running simultaneously and the balls remained close to the drills, the session produced an enormous number of repetitions.
Across the progression practices alone, the group produced approximately 800 shots on goal in 45 minutes.
That means each player averaged around 80 shots during that time.
This figure does not include the arrival game at the start of the session or the small sided games that finished the session.
It only includes the structured finishing progressions.
That level of repetition gives players a huge opportunity to improve.
They are not simply trying a skill once or twice.
They are repeating the same action dozens of times in a focused environment.
That builds confidence.
That builds understanding.
That builds consistency.
What Happens In A Typical One Goal Setup
To understand how much the environment matters, it helps to compare that session with a more traditional setup.
Imagine the same 10 players, but instead of training inside a purpose built facility, they are outside with one goal available.
In many situations, that means the players form a line and take turns shooting.
The sequence usually looks something like this.
A player takes a shot.
The ball travels wide or beyond the goal.
The player runs to retrieve the ball.
They bring it back to the line.
The next player takes their turn.
Once you account for retrieving the ball, resetting the drill and waiting in line, each cycle might take around 20 to 30 seconds per shot.
If we take an average of one shot every 25 seconds, that produces approximately:
108 shots in 45 minutes.
For the entire group.
That works out at around 10 or 11 shots per player.
Now compare that with the session inside The Kick Vault.
Inside The Kick Vault:
800 shots in 45 minutes
80 shots per player
Typical one goal setup:
approximately 108 shots in 45 minutesaround 10 to 11 shots per player
That means players inside the facility receive seven to eight times more repetitions of the same action.
And repetition is where learning happens.
When a player takes 10 shots, they are still learning the movement.
When they take 80 shots, they begin to recognise patterns, refine their technique and gain confidence in the action.
Why That Volume Is Almost Impossible To Replicate Outside
Even with the same coach and the same session plan, replicating that volume outdoors would be extremely difficult.
Every missed shot would require retrieving the ball.
Players would spend more time waiting between turns.
Space might be shared with other groups.
Goals might need to be shared.
Equipment may be limited.
The drill may need to be reset more often.
In many settings, coaches are working with a single large goal, which means large groups taking turns in one line.
That naturally reduces repetition.
None of this is a criticism of grassroots football environments.
It is simply the reality of those spaces.
The difference at The Kick Vault is that we do not need to hire a venue and adapt to whatever equipment happens to be available.
The facility is designed specifically for the type of training we want to deliver.
That allows us to maximise the session.
More Repetition Builds Confidence Faster
One of the most noticeable outcomes we are seeing is how quickly players build confidence.
When children repeat an action dozens of times in a session, something interesting happens.
They begin to recognise the movement.
They start trusting their technique.
They strike the ball more confidently.
They hesitate less.
They start applying the skill naturally in games.
Because the environment allows such high repetition, rates of development have been very strong.
We are seeing improvements not only in technique, but also in:
confidencedecision makingspeed of playuse of weaker footunderstanding of situations
That is the power of combining a purpose built facility with structured coaching.
This Environment Supports Academy Style Development
The facility allows us to consistently apply several important development principles.
High repetition
Low waiting time
Clear progressions
Tight space learning
Constant engagement
Efficient use of equipment
All of these elements combine to create sessions where players remain active, focused and constantly learning.
Complementing Grassroots Football
It is important to say again that The Kick Vault is not intended to replace grassroots football.
Many players who train here also train and play for their grassroots teams.
They enjoy their team environment, their matches and their teammates.
The Kick Vault simply provides an additional space where they can work on their individual development in a more controlled training environment.
For many families, that combination works extremely well.
Team football provides the match experience.
Kick Vault sessions provide the additional repetition and focused development.
Why It Matters
Young players improve fastest when they are:
on the ball oftenactively involvedchallenged in the right waycoached clearlygiven repeated opportunities to practise key actions
The Kick Vault facility allows us to create exactly that environment.
It is not just about being indoors.
It is about what the environment allows us to do.
It allows us to design sessions more effectively.
It allows us to maintain a higher tempo.
It allows us to dramatically increase repetition.
It allows players to stay focused.
And it allows confidence to grow through consistent practice.
That is why training at The Kick Vault feels different.
And it is why we are seeing such strong development from the players training in this environment.
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