Optimizing Each Individual's Trainings
Asking amateur team sports athletes to put in extra fitness training off their own back is a common request but often ineffective. Those who do it would have been training in their own time regardless of what the coach says. Those who don't won't unless they have an extraordinary reason to do so. In this post I'd like to offer athletes a range of training options they may have considered and how useful is mid to late season.
Games Based Conditioning
This is the most specific training an individual can do for their sport as it mimics many of the demands they experience on match day. Social leagues in the city make this form of training easier to do than ever before but it can do more harm than good.
Athletes playing and filling in for multiple teams per week often pick up over training symptoms in the form of muscle strains, ligament sprains and bruising which does not get time to recover between match day and social league games. I would only recommend these leagues for the fittest and injury conscious of athletes or the most unfit and least likely to do anything else between match day.
Gym Training
The most common forms of gym training I see team sports athletes doing is mirror training for next summer. If each athlete could be given even a generic but progressive gym programme to do in their own time it could prevent useless weight gain and injuries while improving performance.
Once a gym programme with exercises, reps, sets, weights and rest times becomes available athletes can develop a relationship with gym staff to teach and correct technique as regularly as once every few sessions, for free.
What many gym users don't realise is that most the gym instructing staff are employeed to either clean, walk the floor, introducing themselves and offering technical tips (which is not fun at all) or helping members who actually want their help. By utilising these qualified members of staff and a decent gym programme athletes can do some great training for no more than their gym membership.
Asking amateur team sports athletes to put in extra fitness training off their own back is a common request but often ineffective. Those who do it would have been training in their own time regardless of what the coach says. Those who don't won't unless they have an extraordinary reason to do so. In this post I'd like to offer athletes a range of training options they may have considered and how useful is mid to late season.
A totally over rated form of training for team sports mid season is straight line, even paced running. It is about as specific to most team sports demands as cycling but involves far more impact.
This form of training is great in the off season and early pre-season as a means of getting back some base fitness but has little purpose other than as a recovery session during the season.
Games Based Conditioning
This is the most specific training an individual can do for their sport as it mimics many of the demands they experience on match day. Social leagues in the city make this form of training easier to do than ever before but it can do more harm than good.
Athletes playing and filling in for multiple teams per week often pick up over training symptoms in the form of muscle strains, ligament sprains and bruising which does not get time to recover between match day and social league games. I would only recommend these leagues for the fittest and injury conscious of athletes or the most unfit and least likely to do anything else between match day.
Gym Training
The most common forms of gym training I see team sports athletes doing is mirror training for next summer. If each athlete could be given even a generic but progressive gym programme to do in their own time it could prevent useless weight gain and injuries while improving performance.
Once a gym programme with exercises, reps, sets, weights and rest times becomes available athletes can develop a relationship with gym staff to teach and correct technique as regularly as once every few sessions, for free.
What many gym users don't realise is that most the gym instructing staff are employeed to either clean, walk the floor, introducing themselves and offering technical tips (which is not fun at all) or helping members who actually want their help. By utilising these qualified members of staff and a decent gym programme athletes can do some great training for no more than their gym membership.
Speed and Agility Training
While this form of training can put more strain on tired bodies between match day, performed with the right amounts of rests and work durations, speed and agility training is just what every team sports athlete needs mid week.
The challenge with Speed Training is that few athletes know how to run a good session without a session plan or a coach with them. A good coach or team trainer will put together basic session plans for individuals to either use alone or with a couple of team-mates, mid week.
Improving each athlete's ability to perform repeated maximal sprint efforts with restricted recoveries holds the biggest potential for improvement in any team sport. It's very similar to the physiological demands of a fast match and can be designed specifically for the individual's fitness level and position.
As with speed and agility training, speed intervals are near impossible to expect of an individual unless a suitable session plan is available to follow. Again, I believe the coach or team trainer who does not provide this to each athlete is missing an enormous opportunity to boost the overall performance of the team and capitalise on the opposition's complacency.
In Summary
Your club has a great opportunity to move up the ladder this winter by simply training with the same enthusiasm they have done in pre-season. It may take some creative thinking on the coach's part to maintain motivation but providing session plans and holding players accountable for doing them may lead to a turn around in the Winter Club Training Culture which is prevalent in New Zealand sport.
Visit our website for more on Team Sports Training
In Summary
Your club has a great opportunity to move up the ladder this winter by simply training with the same enthusiasm they have done in pre-season. It may take some creative thinking on the coach's part to maintain motivation but providing session plans and holding players accountable for doing them may lead to a turn around in the Winter Club Training Culture which is prevalent in New Zealand sport.
Visit our website for more on Team Sports Training
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