Three Essentials for a Game Changing Preseason

A successful pre season can be the make or break of any aspiring athletes success in the upcoming season. Not only is it a chance to rehab old injuries, the opportunity for physical and mental recovery from a gruelling season but most importantly it gives the athlete time to prepare for improved athletic performance.

For some athletes a successful pre season might mean more time on the field, for others a chance at a higher grade and for others again it may lead to a professional contract.

With all this in mind- how do we best utilise our time between competition seasons to ensure peak performance, lowest possible risk of injury and a successful sporting campaign?

Today we are going through three of the fundamental considerations to your next season being your best yet.

1.     Have a plan

Although this may seem common sense, having the plan to “come back better next year” wont quite cut the mustard. The planning phase is an in-depth analysis to exactly what you need to fulfil the goal of a better season.

We encourage the athlete to start at the end goal and from there we work backwards to map out a plan that takes you from where you are now to where you want to be.

The conversation breaks down “better next year” to what major attributes need work for next year to be better. These will be individual to your sport and further specific to you as an individual.

Together we deep dive into your requirements for speed, power, strength, agility, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning attributes among others and map the program out from there. A well designed program is looking to bring up weaknesses, minimise injury risk and further develop strengths.

Although there will be components that are applicable to a sport, they can then be further broken down to position specific requirements (ie in rugby, the conditioning requirements for forwards will vary to the backs) and then within the position there will be adjustments to suit the individual.

2.     Regular Evaluations

Carefully placed assessments or evaluations are an important part of a successful pre season. As an athlete your number one priority should be that the program you are following is working. As a coach, we set milestones along the way where we expect specific adaptations to start presenting. 

Although we may not break away for a full assessment day, your coach will set timelines and evaluation points along the way to ensure the program is working as planned. If it’s not, we collect data as to why? Is it the program not working? Adherence to the program? Does the athlete enjoy the program (much easier to stay motivated with an element of enjoyment)?

For a coach the pre season is the make or break period in the sporting calendar, for the athlete it is the longest period of time- the time between competition. Conducting an assessment at the beginning and another at the end is far too long between evaluations for our liking. If we got to the end and reassessed only for the athlete to have not improved, it is too late to make adjustments that suit.

No matter how carefully planned the athletes program is- sometimes things don’t go as planned. Regular evaluations allow your coach to correct the path and further guarantee success when you run back out on to the field.

3.     Preparation For a Long Season

Throughout the offseason, athletes and coaching staff refine the process to ensure the team and individual athletes are best prepared for the season. With thorough planning and regular evaluations we have collectively taken the athletes performance to a place it hasn’t previously been.

At the time that the season commences, it is far from time to dust the hands and declare a job done well.

Your strength and conditioning coaches focus now shifts to the best way to maintain the increased performance throughout the regular season without compromising game day performance.

Whereas pre season the focus is on getting bigger, faster, stronger and more resistant to injury- in season we are looking to manage aches and pains, treat and juggle injuries and maintain strength and power where we are able to. Your total training volume (essentially minutes or hours spent in the gym) will decrease in season as well.

A successful pre season is much more than just hoping to come back fitter for next season. Throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks is another common approach, but as we all know , rarely is common the same as optimal. It pays to outsource your pre season planning, evaluations and preparation to a strength and conditioning coach that can take the guess work out your preseason.

Have you got any more questions regarding your preseason you would like answered? Don’t hesitate to contact us, or comment in the section below and we will help out where we are able to.