The season is over, time to relax…right?

The offseason for many sports people is just that – time off. It is time to hang the boots (or shoes, or skates) up for the summer and take time to relax and unwind. Unless you are a professional athlete who trains year round, you will at some point have time off from training. This article is aimed at the non-professional yet serious athlete who wants to make some offseason improvements. I am also aiming this at team sport athletes, however, there will be take away points for most athletes no matter what the code so if you want to get a little better…read on.

Take a fortnight off

The first thing I tell my athletes once the season is over is to take 2 weeks or so and just do nothing. If they must do something, it should be absolutely nothing to do with the sport which they play. In my case, in terms of my sports coaching, this is football (or soccer for those that way inclined). The reason for this is that it gives them a mental break from the sport. This is important. If you take your sport seriously enough to want to train hard over the offseason then chances are you need the break. Your mind needs time to think about other things. By taking time out, you will also feel fresher when the time comes to get back into things, and more motivated. These are two very important factors in getting quality training time.

Set goals

After those two weeks, it's time to set some goals. The offseason is a great time to think about what you want to get out of next season and out of your sport in general. This is something I realised recently with an athlete I was coaching. We regularly set goals which we worked throughout the season to achieve. However, what we had not thought about for a few years was where he wanted to get to as a footballer. By this I mean, did he want to play for the All Whites, did he want to stay a top-level club player, or did he want to end up somewhere in between. 

By sitting down and thinking about this, we were able to look at where he wanted to be in 2-3 years time. From there we worked backwards and set goals for next season, and also for the pre-season work that we were doing. On a side-note, as a coach, this exercise provided very valuable information to work with. It allowed me to tell him that if he wanted to get to the level he was aiming for we would need ‘x’ number of training sessions on the field, ‘x’ number of sessions in the gym, and ‘x’ number of sessions outside of this (recovery swims, road runs etc.). I highly recommend this type of long-term goal-setting to other coaches out there.

Check yourself for injuries

After the goals are in place my next step with athletes is to assess what injuries they are carrying from the season. This does not mean just serious injuries they may have sustained, but any little niggles or knocks as well. The offseason is the perfect time to get these sorted. If they have a physiotherapist that they see regularly or their club has one then get any injuries assessed so that you both know what you have to deal with before getting into the serious training again. The offseason is also a great time to work on any muscle tightness or weaknesses that may be present.

Strength and speed

Now we are getting into the meat and potatoes of offseason training. For team sport athletes, strength and speed are very important. For athletes, in general, speed is usually a critical factor (for more information on this check out my article on speed). In order to increase speed, I recommend for most athletes some strength training in the gym. By using the offseason to train hard in the gym you can make some serious gains in terms of muscle strength and power. In terms of what specific gym work to do this will come down to the sport you play, and even the position in that sport. 

For most team sports you require all-around strength and speed. As such it is vital to focus on the big movements. These are the squat, bench press, deadlift, rows, and a vertical pull such as a lat pulldown or a pullup/chinup. As always, my advice is to get in touch with us or another qualified trainer who can write you a good programme in order to ensure you get the most out of your time at the gym.

The other big part of offseason training that I believe will give you great improvements in your game is technical training before your team’s pre-season actually starts. By doing your own technical work prior to pre-season training starting it gives you a head start not just on your competition, but on your own teammates. This is vital if you are looking to improve your place on the team – if, for example, you are a bench player looking to grab a starting position. 

By taking a month or two prior to the pre-season training to kick a ball around and perform some technical dribbling/passing/shooting drills (to use a football scenario) you will not only have a head-start on the opposition you will also feel a lot more confident heading into pre-season training.

These are just some examples of how I go about training my athletes in the offseason. I can’t give away all of my techniques but if you would like some further information or would like to talk to me about training for your sport please get in touch with me and I will do my best to assist.
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