Player Preparation Off Season and Pre-Season

Introduction Background Beliefs Athletics (Athlete and coach) Rugby League Cricket Simple is best 4 both players and coaches Hard work is a habit driven by all – you cant make people do it Be as professional as possible All work / drills should aspire to be ascetically good as well as functionally specific

Off Season Training What happens when the season finishes Period of 7 weeks between end of season and start of pre-season 3 weeks active rest – 4 weeks prep work Why the need for an off season programme and how many will do the work Body will close down very quickly 3 to 1 rule 30% 30% 30% 10% Fitness Testing Weight, body fat %, 10 & 30m, No endurance based testing Different groups for off-season programmes Lean muscle gain, Cardio Vascular Improvement, General conditioning

Off Season Considerations Warm ups and downs Perform before and after each session Right footwear Good condition running shoes Football boots Well moulded pair of boots ready for pre season – no new boots 1 st day Hydration Drink before, during and after training sessions Nutritional Decrease calorie intake, decrease fat intake

Pre-Season Aims Prepare the players to play a 90 minute game – eventually… Prepare the players for the long season ahead – long accumulation for long retention Increase aerobic base Increase lean muscle mass Increase strength and power Increase speed and agility Increase anaerobic threshold There must be a progression to all the above in with the football work being done

Pre-Season Week 1 Volume 80% Intensity 70% Focus Aerobic base, joint conditioning & plyometrics integration No games

Pre-Season Week 2 Volume 100% Intensity 80% Focus Aerobic base, joint conditioning, plyometrics and football integration 1 Game – in house

Pre-Season Week 3 Volume 100% Intensity 90% Focus Aerobic base, anaerobic threshold, plyometric's, agility endurance and football specific 2 Games

Pre-Season Week 4 Volume 100% Intensity 100% Focus Anaerobic threshold, plyometric's, agility endurance and football specific 2 Games

Pre-Season Week 5 Volume 100% Intensity 100% Focus Anaerobic threshold, plyometric's, speed and agility, football specific and match preparation 2 Games

Pre-Season Week 6 Volume 100% Intensity 100% Focus Speed and agility, football specific and match preparation Build up to 1 st game of season

Pre-Season Nutrition Meal structure is very important Traditionally 3 meals per day Not always optimum Try to eat 5 smaller meals per day Breakfast, early lunch, late lunch, dinner, supper Eat 2-3 hours before exercise and within 30 minutes post exercise Extra protein is needed to repair muscle tissue

Pre-Season Nutrition Calories need increasing Pre-season a period of high volume and intensity Monitor weight every day Hydration Drinking water is vital during training Dehydration leads to decrease in performance Re-hydration Post match or training is essential to aid recovery Must train at 100% to be able to play at 100%

Pre-Season Issues Problems encountered during pre-season Players who did not follow off season programme – 12.6 min bleep test Double sessions 10.30am and 5pm, nutritional implications, sleep patterns Large number of players for sessions, setting up adequate number of drills – be prepared Number of games in a short space of time Hot and cold contrast bathing

Pre-Season Sessions Posters 4 teams, 2 teams start at side lines on opposite ½ ways Around 1 end up middle of park Around posts at far end, finish on other side 2 resting teams walk across middle Sets of 4 – 3 or 4 secs Hurdles 400m laps on 5 min secs Circuit 12 stations 30 sec on 30 off General body weight exercises

Pre-Season Sessions 200s x sub 30 sec 90 secs recovery Long Doggies – 25, 50, 75, 100m 6 teams 6 to 1 recovery and back and back and back and to and back and back, 50 and back, 75 and back and back, 50 and back, 75 and back, 25 and back, 50 and back, 75 and back and to and back and back and back and to and back, 50 and back

Pre-Season Sessions French Connection 200, jog, 200, jog, 100, walk, 100, walk, 400, walk/jog, 200, walk/jog, 200 Long Doggies – 25, 50, 75, 100m 6 teams 6 to 1 recovery 6 min run 5 rest, 5 run 4 rest, 4 run 3 rest, 3 run 2 rest, 2 run 1 rest, 1 min run Can be used as a fitness test indicator, High scores 59.75, low scores 48

Pre-Season Sessions Chain Run 1. Single Teams of 4 Single man doggies at 25, 50, 75, 100, 75, 50, 25 4 to 1 recovery 2. Pick Up and Drop Off Teams of 4 Chain Run doggies to 25, 50, 75, 100, 75, 50, 25 1 st man to 25 and back, picks up 2 nd, runs again, then Picks up 3 rd, runs again, picks up 4 th, runs again Then 1 st drops off, run, then 2 nd, run, then 3 rd, run Then 4 th tags 1 st who then repeats process over 50 etc. 3. Pick Up and Follow 1 st man runs to 25 and back and picks up 2 nd who runs to the 25 as 1 st runs to 50, the 2 nd runs back and picks up 3 rd who runs to 25 while 2 nd runs to 50 and 1 st runs to rd runs back to pick up 4 th who runs to 25 while 3 rd runs to 50 and 2 nd runs to 75 and 1 st runs to finish at nd, 3 rd and 4 th all run through to finish following the pattern of 1 st man. Players change position each time so different player leads each time. Do 4 sets

Pre-Season Sessions Warm Ups Line Drills A dynamic warm up Great control – no cheats Easy to coach technique – players see other players working Lowers soft tissue injury rates Dont coach static stretching Can be repetitive but players will adapt 6 months 1 year Be strong – stick to it