You might have seen the Instagram content of Islam Gamal, the performance coach known across the football world as Islam Jimmy. It’s all complex training methods and inspirational ‘work harder’ vibes. The sort of stuff you’re glad you’re watching other people do, and don’t actually have to do yourself.
Time was you wouldn’t really read much about a performance coach. In fact, let’s be honest, time was your favourite club probably didn’t even have one. But the game is changing, and to be elite is to be fully focussed on not just what your body is capable of, but how you can take it there.
That’s where Jimmy comes in, and having worked at the highest level with the likes of Aston Villa and the Egyptian national side, the guy knows what he’s talking about.
My role is to enhance a player’s performance
I do this by focussing on all the small details connected to them. I collaborate with the medical, fitness and technical departments to get a player to the point that they can endure a full game with good rhythm. I’ve studied and mastered Kinesiology in the US, Soccer Performance in England, MSC high-performance sports, CSCS, and many other courses and workshops.
I work with a great mix of players
From young stars to established internationals. Players like Egypt internationals Karim Hafez and Ramadan Sobhi from Pyramids, Al Ahly’s Kahraba, Tarek Hamed from Al-Ittihad, and Sudanese international striker Seif Terry. Finally, I work with young players including Bobby Clark at Liverpool and Zamalek defenders Hossam Abd Elmageed and Ahmed Eid.
I was honoured to be the Performance Director of Egypt
When it comes to the work ethic of people such as Mohamed Salah it’s just unbelievable. For instance, on his arrival day at the international camp he doesn’t rest, he heads straight to the gym and puts in the work. I’ve also heard from his teammates that they ask him how to take care of their body in the same way that he does.
The football industry has changed entirely
This has happened in just a short few years, and so I never stop studying and attending workshops, not just in football, but other sports that I may be able to take good advice from and use in my training. I’m a huge fan of the off-season, that’s when I prepare. I like to use technology and focus on specific details. I work with degrees of movement and power transition. We can monitor everything now, from heart rate and recovery to distance, power and then explosive power. We can control and see what’s happening in their bodies and enable the coach to make some very serious decisions.
My players know they have work
They know that I love my job and are passionate about what we’re doing. If you’re training with me you have to follow everything perfectly and take the session seriously. We communicate after every session, but they all need to bring that intensity.
There are tough parts to the job
The hardest aspect can be trying to change a player’s mentality. If a session isn’t working I’ll sit with a player and discuss things. Then when they’re ready, we’ll train even harder!
I could do something good with Cristiano Ronaldo
Also players such as Philippe Coutinho, Allan Saint-Maximin, and even Mo Salah. If we worked gradually I could make changes and improvements to help keep them at the highest level for as long as possible.
The profile of a modern day footballer is complex
They need the mindset—passion, motivation, mental toughness, leadership and responsibility. Technique—ball mastery, control, body movement and shape. They need game intelligence, things like spatial awareness and risk assessment. Finally, physique—Agility, Balance, Coordination (ABC). Ultimately a player needs to know their body, how it works and the requirements of each move it makes. These things make the difference between a good player and an elite one.