Coaches you will not make up for lost time by “Whipping them into shape”
Have you been checking in on your players to make sure they are working out and taking care of their bodies while they are away from you? If not, you may want to call and check.
Don’t just trust the athlete but also ask the guardian. Chances are the kids are not in the same shape they would have been if we were not in the middle of a pandemic. That is their fault, not yours. But, if you get them hurt because you want to make up for the lost time and whip them back into shape, that’s your fault.
If their conditioning level is lower than usual and you work them harder than usual, you are asking to have many soft tissue injuries. Ease them back into the flow of things. Also, consider your sport. What are the demands of the sport? Many sports have workouts handed down from coach to coach and the workouts flat out suck. Sure, there need to be days that we stress them a bit and develop “mental toughness” in the face of adversity, but, are your baseball players running long distances? Why? Even the pitchers, why are they? Endurance.
Okay, but the endurance a pitcher needs power endurance to do a repetitive maximal effort, not cross country. He needs to drive forcefully of his back leg, transfer energy through his core and out his arm in an extremely aggressive but controlled manner. Not jog mindlessly with T-rex arms for an hour.
Now baseball is an easy target but all sports should be analyzed. Why are the football players doing 12-minute runs when a long play lasts about 12 seconds? We need to analyze the sport and cater our efforts to the needs of the sport, not give the athletes a Bootcamp. So what can you do to keep your athletes safe and still expect top performance?
- Talk to the athletes and get them on a bodyweight based program now. Different athletes may have different “fitness” materials but they all can manipulate their bodies for exercise. If you are not sure how to write a good program, especially one without equipment. Give us a call, we’d love to help.
- Utilize your warm-up more efficiently. Oftentimes we spend 10-15 minutes doing a warm-up with no other purpose than to raise their body temperature. Use this time to go through plays at half-speed. Instead of having the football team do buttkicks, high-knees, and everything else that has been passed down from Bear Bryant, have them run plays or practice position drills. Going through the plays will allow your players to gain a better understanding of the playbook and get them warmed-up as well.
- Prepare the back-ups. You will likely need them now more than ever. Besides using your warm-up time to give everyone a few extra reps, even at half speed, you also need to make sure they are ready. Give them a few extra practice reps, encourage them, and remind them that they are needed. Depending on your sport, create a plan that matches your opportunities.
Expand the bench a bit, try to fit in 3-5 minutes of real game time for the kids at the end of the bench that typically only get in the basketball game when it is a 25 point game. Create a rotation structure for your football players. Either designate some form of play routine, for example, maybe starters play 7 plays, rotational players play 3. Or create a clear culture of players on the sideline ready to play.
Your football team should all be standing on the sideline and ready knowing exactly who they replace. This way, when your running back taps his helmet for a breather, the back up sees him and rushes in. The same goes for every position.
It may be tough to play back-ups that you do not fully trust, but it will be much tougher to win with them playing full-time because you chose to “whip” the team in shape and pulled your star player’s hamstring.
Take Care,
Brandon Zeeb, C.S.C.S.
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