When pre-season rolls around in the New Year, I want to be flying rather than getting into shape because we have so much to play for next season.
The 2026 Canadian Premier League (CPL) kicks off in April, but for the first time at Vancouver FC we have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the first round of that is across two legs in February.
It’s the biggest club competition in this part of the world, so I want to be already in shape when the team starts pre-season.
That means trying to refine myself and my game, rather than coming into pre-season being a bit heavier or not fully fit. That’s going to show the rest of the group how serious I am and that I really want to make the most of this opportunity.
In the last off-season I lost a few pounds after doing a lot of fitness training, and I think that benefited my game. I’ve always had energy to go forward, or energy to defend, but before this season I’ve never had energy to do both.
The earlier start to next season will have an impact on my own off-season training plan before pre-season.
I will have to speed things up. There’s less time for a break. Maybe two weeks and then I will be grinding. That means going out to get touches on the ball, watching my games back from this year to see what I could have done better, and working hard in the gym and on my conditioning.
I’ll take my highlights and my best moments and I’ll try to pick out what I could have done better – because there’s always something to improve upon.
Or my “almost” moments, where I’ve “almost” gotten an assist or “almost” got the goal. I tend to watch those moments back a lot, because how are you supposed to learn how to hit the net if you don’t know how you missed?
Whether I’m going through video or in my head, I replay what I want to do 1,000 times before I actually get to the real moment. The off-season gives me more time for that.
When I’m really dialed into my off-season, I train every day of the week. On my one off day I will still be in the gym. But otherwise, I will be on the ball every single day, working on my strengths and weaknesses.
Most of it is by myself, with the wall as your best friend, getting touches off of it. I dribble through cones. I try to make it game-realistic for myself, working on my first touch, and a lot of change of direction drills.
How I gain my fitness is by doing a lot of 300m runs. So you run the length of a pitch a certain amount of times to make up the distance in 45 seconds and then rest and repeat. So you’re going to one end and touching it, and then you have to sprint all the way back at that same speed – which is basically me going forward and coming back at the same speed in a game.
I do a lot of this training at SAF Performance in Ottawa, where my family live. Ibby Soukary and Anthony Legendre, who run the gym there, give me a set of keys so I don’t have to struggle to find somewhere in the snow, or have to get the shovel out. I try to go on long 5 or 10km runs but when it’s as cold as it is, with as much snow as there is in Ottawa, I’m very grateful for the access.
I also join some of the sessions hosted by All City Football to get some more touches, with other CPL players from Ottawa. A few years ago, Canada and Juventus forward Jonathan David was back in his hometown and he joined one of the sessions. My standout memory from training with him was how – even though he hits the net most of the time when he didn’t score he never hung his head. He just went straight onto the next chance and he buried it.
I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure, that when this CONCACAF Champions Cup kicks off, I can defend the whole 90 minutes, attack the whole 90 minutes, and give my full effort for every play.
The past few weeks have been great to give the fans a look behind the scenes, and I’ve enjoyed writing these pieces – so thank you for reading.
The hard work for next season starts very soon and I’m already looking forward to being back in Langley in the new year for pre-season.
– Thierno Maadiou Bah is a 21 year-old Vancouver FC player, currently having a standout season as one of the best young talents in the Canadian Premier League. In 2022 he was included in a provisional Canada U-20 roster, and has lived in Langley and played for the club for the past two years.