Coaching Hint of the Week

Sport and Game Skills are basic to Good Coaching

The goal of the competitive phase in training is to maintain gains that have been achieved during the preparatory phase. This can be accomplished by reducing the number of training sessions per week, the number of exercises per workout and the length of each training session (Rothbert, G – Tudor Bompa Institute, Canada).

Managers and coaches need to trust that the pre-season training has achieved its aim and to trust the fitness levels of the athletes and players by spending the in-season work on sport skills, game skills and player skills with the important ingredient of speed always on the radar.

We often hear of teams that still spend so much time at running training when they should be using the ball every minute of every training session as soon as the key games approach. The only running should be 5 or 6 flat-out sprints over 10m, 12m or 15m after the dynamic warm-up to develop or maintain speed and perhaps a few speed repeatability sprints at the end of the session to maintain stamina. Suggested here is 3 or 4 sets of 4 sprints over 25m with a 25m or longer walk or jog back – that believe it or not is the recommended stamina work during the key game periods.

Quote of the Week