How do I approach In-Season Training…….With no Season?
The world at large is experiencing a real state of flux, and of course the sporting world has no chance of avoiding this massive curve ball being thrown. The AFL plan to push ahead with their season, and whilst it would be fantastic for all involved if it were to occur and things were to settle down, it is probably wishful thinking to think they will get 17 games in (with or without crowds.)
State leagues and their associated junior teams are suspended until May 31st at the earliest. We were told at training this week that there may be further limitations imposed on us in regards to training in large groups too – in line with AFL and SANFL policy, and there has been no club training this week. And it would be a fair enough guess that all local and community competitions won’t be far behind in this regard either (with competitions already suspended until June). We can agree or disagree with the measures, but at the end of the day, that is what they are, and that is what we have to work with.
So how to go about it (football) in the mean time, in the state of flux that we are in?
Teams and Clubs
Ideally clubs and teams will still be allowed to train together. Knowing in advance that there will be no games for at least the next 2.5 months, teams can approach the period based on the level of competition that they play in, and the overall general level of their program. The higher up the level (state level, elite junior, high division local/amateur), the more important maintaining a level of condition and preparedness is. For clubs at this level (especially state level), the block ahead allows for another shorter and abbreviated pre-season training block (8-10 weeks).
Naturally, it is hard to imagine players getting all that enthusiastic about piling on another pre-season having just completed one. However in a very broad sense, it would very much be a ‘watered down’ pre-season, certainly in terms of volume. In a club/team setting there is a balance to be struck between using the available time appropriately but also keeping the players interested. Clubs at this level have the luxury and the finances to pay a high performance manager, and this will be a period that no one has really faced before, and will provide these professionals to blend the art with the science on the fly at their clubs.
For more local and amateur clubs, as previously mentioned, it is probably wishful thinking that a majority of the playing group will keep turning up with games being bumped back by at least a couple months, and could drop off more and more if the training becomes more like a pre-season again. At this level, it will be very much a case of the coach deciding if and where to add in a bit of extra work, based on the desires and levels of their playing group. If you are a Division 6 side for example, normal footy training will likely be the order of the day. For higher up grades, it may be more realistic to look to ‘micro-dose’ a bit of extra running-based work.
Forward thinking clubs may wish to switch one of their weekly sessions to Saturday morning, as clubs often do later in the pre-season, to resemble a match situation. The session then very much follows match-simulation style drills and running.
However, these ideas a very brief and broad because sadly I suspect it is likely that this will be a further luxury that is taken away from us. Training as a collective that is. Further restrictions on public gatherings feel inevitable, and so this surely will flow over to team training. Crowds being removed was the first step, games being taken away was the next step, and team training sessions feel like the inevitable next one again.
That being the case, players will largely be left to their own devices. So how to approach this unprecedented time?
Individual Training
For players who still intend to train and stay in top condition, the simplest thing to do that many players will do, is to simply train at a maintenance level, as if in season anyway. There is nothing wrong with this, and it certainly beats stopping altogether since there wont be any games until the middle of the year, and lets be honest, potentially none this season. However, we can do better than this given the current situation.
The lack of games, and likely the lack of team-based training (or certainly the reduction of and limitations imposed on) team-based training, provides for an opportunity to go through another planned ‘pre-season’ or preparation training cycle. For those who have already done one, and laid a good foundation, the next 8-12 weeks open the door for another high quality layer of training and development to be built on the previous one. Without the restrictions of training imposed players from games and team sessions, individual players almost take on the training life of an Olympic style (individual sport) athlete who has limited actual competition and plenty of training – loaded into multiple cycles over the course of a year.
Without complicating things too much, just as you did with the pre-season plan and preparation, begin with the end date, and work backwards. So lets say that May 31st is your first game back, and team training has been abandoned – these are the parameters you work with. Full availability to do whatever you want with your training week, and a 10 week block (which really will be broken down into 2 x 4-5 week blocks or 3 x 3 week blocks) to build where you are currently at to a higher level again, rather than a holding position.
The principles behind how you go about putting together this training block, and what specifically you target do not change. The specifics are very much dependent on each individual, which we have covered in more detail elsewhere.
The overriding point of this discussion is to accept and embrace the situation hat we have (from a footy and a preparation point of view – everything else simply sucks). Having something like this at least gives players something to fall back on and pour ourselves into in a difficult situation. So my advice is to not waste it from a preparation point of view.
And if the initial date is reached, and we get bumped back further? Same story;
1.Begin with the end date and the other parameters (team training commitments)
2.Work back from there with the plan
3.Execute (and actually stick to it, without endless chopping and changing course).
You may be in a situation where you have done a couple extra pre-season training blocks over the course of this season. If so, so be it. Turn this enormous negative into some sort of positive. It sure beats sitting around waiting to be allowed to get together and play again.
A very important final point
Focusing on your individual health should naturally come as the first thought, ahead of any physical development. Hard training blocks (and in particular chronically high training loads) can have the effect of suppressing the immune system. So please don’t interpret our thoughts as being ‘this is an opportunity to run yourself into the ground for the next 10 weeks’, because that isn’t the case at all. Training quality rather than training quantity is as important a training principle to follow as ever. As are key recovery/lifestyle methods like nutrition and sleep. So training can benefit – but train smarter rather than just harder.
