It seems every year I write on post on this subject. This is the time of the year when American football is in the midst of their training camps both at the collegiate and professional level. In addition it is training camp time for volleyball and soccer. Old traditions and beliefs die-hard. These training camps generally start with some sort of “fitness” tests. My question always is what do you do if results on these tests are poor? You are at most three weeks away from the start of the season, so now what? You do not have enough time to make any significant impact on their fitness. Then they go immediately into two practices a day for eight to ten days (New NFL CBA has now mandates only one practice may be padded). It has been done this way so long by so many sports that no one seems to question it. By the fourth or fifth day the players look like they are moving in slow motion. Despite the advent of ice baths and other recovery modalities the player’s susceptibility to injury do to cumulative fatigue is high.
Lets look closer at this whole thing. There are very few sports today that do not have some sort of organized off-season training programs so the players should come into camp prepared and “fit” to play. Those off-season sessions usually last around two hours on the outside. Now you go to training camp and add a second session, conservatively you are increasingly training time by at one third and some times fifty percent depending on the length of practices. Then you factor in the increased intensity and you have problems.
Training camp should be a time to get specific. It should be a time when the number of practice sessions and make-up of the practice sessions should be carefully controlled and manipulated based on the players recoverability and proximity to the first competition. So the goal of training camp should be specific preparation for the competitive season. The goal is to transition the team from the off-season to in-season ready to compete. Sharpen conditioning, do not dull it. Instead tradionally as the workload accumulates, fatigue increases exponentially and is often carried deep into the completive season.
Is there a better way? Absolutely! I have designed several training camp plans in international basketball (an eight week training camp), DI women’s soccer and an elite high school soccer team. They gradually built up the training times and progressively cycled the load to address speed, strength, fitness, technical and tactical components with planned recovery that was both active and passive. The following are some of the things that were included:
Morning Wake-up Session – Ten to fifteen minutes before breakfast of loosening and dynamic flexibility work
Morning Technical/Skill Session – Two to three players working on specific aspects of their skill. There was about three minutes of verbal instruction and then anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes of physical work. This was followed by a short sharp speed acceleration session or light agility session’s mostly emphasizing footwork (No hard change of direction because they were going to get that in their practice sessions.) Players were rotated through the morning sessions so that they did not have these sessions every morning. If they were not on the field for these sessions they would have a video session. If there were on the field then they went to pool for ten minutes after for a recovery session.
Tactical Session – This was scheduled mid afternoon for up to forty-five minutes in duration. This was usually small sided games or in basketball three on three. This was followed by a strength training session that lasted from twenty to thirty minutes depending on the emphasis that day.
Evening Team Session – This was the whole team working whole filed or full court in basketball putting it al together. This session could last from 30 minutes to one hours depending on the stage of training camp. Extensive static stretching followed this.
Recovery Sessions – Sleep is most important. A post lunch nap is essential for recovery. I do not believe in daily ice baths, instead I try to cycle them strategically throughout the camp based on the workload and the individual player's needs.
It does not have to be a boot camp or a replay of Bear Bryant’s Junction Boys. The training camp should insure a seamless transition from the more general work of the off-season to specific preparation for the competitive season. Get them sharp, ready and eager to compete.