Pre-Season – There is another way

The sun has finally come out. It’s pushing 30º in some places. That can only mean one thing. Football coaches across the land are flogging their players in pre-season training.

Is this through scientific knowledge of the human physiology and how it adapts to stimulus?

Or is it because that’s the way it’s always been done?

I was talking to a local rugby coach last night after their training session and he said that numbers were low tonight.

And the reason?

Players hate the first few sessions of pre-season. You’re going to be run til you’re sick. Technique doesn’t matter because the ball is rarely involved so just run til you drop.

Who the hell wants to go to that? Those that do turn up, go in with a survival mentality.

There are several problems with this approach to pre-season.

1. Turn out is low because players don’t like humiliation.
2. This sadistic style undermines player confidence and self belief
3. Taking players into such fatigue that technique and form are hugely compromised is one of the key factors that lead to injury.
4. Pre-season has the highest injury rate of any other period in the year. By a huge margin. See 3.
5. Fitness is very specific. High volume = Low intensity. If this is how you want to play then fine, but as soon as you increase the intensity and speed your body won’t be accustomed to it so you will still struggle to recover.
6. Hard pitches and high temperatures are awful conditions for lots of high volume running.

So what’s the feasible option?

The short to long system.

Work on perfecting the basic technical skills and get used to the desired match intensity. Once match intensity is established, increase the volume and decrease the recovery until we reach match conditions.

Here’s why this works better:

1. Get much better turn out because they don’t associate it with pain. It constantly feeds their confidence and self belief.
2. Technical work and high intensity work requires longer pauses for coaching and recovery. Ideal for the summer weather conditions. In theUKwe have such a small window for this. In winter months, everything has to be short recoveries to stay warm.
3. Intended match intensity is established early doors and regularly practiced.
4. The body gets used to working at very high speed and high intensity. You don’t have to ask for more, just progress the volume and recoveries.
5. You can’t endure what you haven’t got. Train speed first, then speed endurance. Strength first, then strength endurance. Power first… you get the picture.
6. Practice makes permanent. You practice slow, guess what you’re going to get? So practice fast.
7. It’s easy to know when to stop and monitor progression. When technical proficiency deteriorates or intensity falls below required level – STOP. Time recoveries and watch for improvements.
8. You are constantly building confidence and players are used to feeling sharp. Pre-season should culminate in a massive session to boost mental toughness and ability to endure. But because you have instilled technical proficiency and intensity, breakdown is less likely to occur so injury risk is much lower.

IN summary, do what you’ve always done and you’ll get what you always got. Maybe it’s time to put some thought into the physical preparation side of pre-season. Because of our weather conditions in theUKit makes a lot of sense and I believe this type of reverse periodisation will become very popular in the not too distant future. I know several other top coaches already applying it.

So, get ahead of the pack and try this approach. I’ve been using it for a couple of years with my clients. If you want to try it and don’t know where to start, leave a comment here or on the Facebook page and I’ll be more than happy to help out.

Yours in speed

Rob