U18s boss Jon Brady is keeping Cobblers' academy players on their toes during lockdown

Cobblers' youth players have little excuse not to keep fit and stay sharp during the current lockdown given their manager, Jon Brady, has been posting regular training videos on YouTube and Twitter and is now planning to run a half marathon.

Brady, who has spent several years in the role, has designed and performed a series of training plans and sessions guides and put them on social media so all players, of any age or ability, can stay on top of their game while they wait for the return of football.

"I was thinking about ways to keep myself busy and the videos I've been doing are built in for our youth team at Northampton," explains Brady.

"But I wanted to bring it to a wider audience. A lot of the sessions I've done on Twitter and YouTube are probably designed for academy players but youngsters from as young as U9s all the way through to professionals could do those sessions.

"That's what I've designed it for because it's not just for my youth team, it's out there for anybody. I've now put over 70 sessions on there now and they're all free."

Asked what prompted him to do them, Brady adds: "First and foremost I wanted to keep our youth team active but on top of that, I wanted to create sessions so pretty much anybody can do them and people can stay active.

"Just thinking about those sessions and designing them has kept my mind ticking over and provided the detail I need for the level we coach at because if you stay off it for two or three weeks, you'll feel rusty when you come back in.

"I can imagine just how frustrating this situation must be for a young player who's champing at the bit to get back - I want to help any youngster across the country to hone their skills.

"If players keep at it and condition themselves and stay strong through this period, when we all come back those players will have a headstart. That's where my passion lies because I love coaching and I want help others."

While a lot of the focus has been on Northampton's senior squad over the past few weeks, this is also a strange time for the club's academy players.

Brady is keeping in regular contact with them though, adding: "We've got our WhatsApp group and the banter's flying as you can imagine. The boys are going well and our strength and conditioning coach has been giving them stuff to do.

"The head of education, Pete Stephenson, is also cracking the whip and making sure they're up to date with all the education they've got and they're still doing eight to nine hours a week on that.

"The programme is just the same but they're working for home. I sent out a message on WhatsApp about my challenge with Buchs and one of the boys, Richie Bailey, just went straight out and did a half marathon - as you do! He said 'there's your inspiration!' and to be honest I was a bit taken aback.

"But we have little chats with the boys on a regular basis and that keeps them going and keeps me going as well. They're a great group."

You can check out Brady's videos on his twitter - @backofthenetfc1 - or Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_7Q0HzXptk.