What is
game fitness or match fitness? In some ways this is a little like the elusive
mental toughness search. I do know that match and game fitness is not the
ability to run X distance on a Coopers test or reach Y stage on a beep test of
your choice. Let’s start at step one. How about a thorough analysis of the
demands of the game or in Athletics how about the race or the event. The reason
I say athletics because I think of the hours I spend running slow to get “fit”
for the decathlon. All I got was slow, not fit for the event. This happens in
all sports. We build this ubiquitous “base” which means that we can do a lot of
“stuff” at very low intensity but nothing anywhere near the speed and explosiveness
required by the game. But if we do not truly understand the demands of the
game, the number of events that occur in the course of the game, the number of
high speed efforts, the time to recover, all these factors impact how we should
prepare to be game fit. I start by classifying the sports – recognizing that
there are tweeners – those sports that crossover. This is from chapter three of
my book Athletic Development – The Art and Science of Functional Sports
Conditioning.
Sprint Sport – These sports require one all out
maximum effort. The goal is to achieve as fast a time as possible for the
prescribed distance. The ability to recover or quickly repeat the effort is not
a factor.
Intermittent Sprint Sport – these sports require a series of
maximum efforts with time for relatively full recovery between efforts.
American football, rugby, ice hockey, volleyball are examples.
Transition Game Sport – these sports require a series of
efforts of varied intensity that occur in random patterns. Recovery between
efforts varies from almost non-existent to close to complete. Soccer, field
hockey, lacrosse are examples.
Endurance Sport – This is characterized by
continual sub maximal effort with the
goal to finish in the shortest time possible for a certain distance. This is
subdivided by duration into short term, one minute up to twenty minutes, medium
term twenty minutes to one hour and long term over an hour in duration. Sports
that fall into this classification are the typical endurance sports like the
marathon and triathlon.
One I have determined the Sport Classification then I
look closely at the positions or events within the sport. One of the biggest
mistakes I see made is to condition everyone the same regardless of position
demands.
Then look at the individual. What does each athlete
bring to the table? How do they play the game? Finally yet importantly, look at the pattern
of injuries and make sure that you are designing a program that addresses the
common injuries. This should be transparent.
Simplicity yields complexity. Then take this and design
your program to get your athletes fit for their sport. Be creative, but stay
basic. The simple periodization plan is as follows:
Get
Strong
Get
Fast
Get
Fit
Get
Specific
Play
the Game
Notice
where get fit is placed in the sequence. It is very easy to get game or match fit
after you are fast and strong. I will explain this paradigm in future posts. However,
remember that all components of training must be trained at all times in appropriate
proportions, so the components are blended. Not rocket science but a
fundamental creative process based on sport science and experience.
