How to Approach Sport Specific Training
Training for sports is so much more than just the time your spend in the gym. When you approach your sports training, the programming you follow is essential in order to develop the qualities you are after and to strengthen the weaknesses that you possess. It's important to never forget that no matter how strong you are, If you don't practice your sport you wont get any better at it.
Sports require a series of abilities specific to the manner of playing it. For instance, soccer players require foot eye coordination, powerful kicks, explosive accelerations, and multi-linear movements. Football requires extremely intense pushing, a lot of squatting, etc. Basketball requires hand eye coordination, vertical leaping, arm extensions... and we can list every sport with it's own unique skill set. Sufficient to say that just because you can bench press really well, doesn't mean you can perform your duties on the field efficiently. There is a method to developing elite level athletes, and this method comes from an important progression starting from pre-season all the way through the final game.
Fundamentals are the most important piece of the puzzle. Fundamentals lay the foundation for advanced techniques and other related skills in competition. Fundamentals are the key to an elite players performance. The first part of any sports specific training program is teaching how to apply the strength developed in the weight room to the fundamentals of the sport. Like a squat strength to a sprinter. Being able to fully extend the hips and push all the way through the leg extension and transfer that energy into the ground. Training the fundamentals for your sport is done through drills, and circuit training following the progression of a game... Taking the individual pieces of a sport and breaking them down, and as practice progresses, combining them until the full chain of skills is perfected. Fundamentals practice should continue throughout the season as they never stop being integral to performance.
Combinations occur when the various fundamentals are strung together in a sequence of movements requiring the use of more than one of the basic skills. Wide receivers running a route and catching the ball or blocking for a running back would be a combination of basic skills. This is the next phase of your sports training because it is always necessary in every sport to combine skills in various sequences in order to compete in a game. Situations always arise calling for the need to utilize a number of skills, not just one. Practicing in-game situations that call for combinations of skills accomplishes two tasks: it keeps the fundamentals at a high level of efficiency and it applies the fundamentals to real situations making them feel more natural and fluid. Boxers accomplish this by creating combinations of punches in specific orders to get around their opponents guard. Practicing combining skills comes from scrimmages, situation specific drills, running individual plays, developing tactics, etc. Things that put the game into motion.
Advanced skills practice is something unique to individuals. This area of practice for athletes comes from using their strengths and developing moves or techniques that are not commonly practice by their fellow athletes or opponents. Usually done outside of regular practice time. This is where you really focus on the strengths you possess and develop them into a weapon or advantage of yours on the field. Developing these skills takes time and patience as this is where most athletes experience a lot of struggle trying to perfect the skill.
Sport Specific training is an important part to the athletes training routine. From pre-seaon focusing on the fundamentals and transferring strength gains to those fundamentals, to the final game focusing on the more advanced skills that apply to individual performance. Training is always a progression, adding onto previously learned skills. Much like strength training, sport specific training is also a process of improvement building constantly.
Typically Sport Specific training can be done every day. Since most skills are done utilizing body weight or very little resistance, recovery for these training sessions is fast. As a general rule, you should dedicate 1 to 2 hours to focusing on enhancing your sport specific abilities. You should take a break for at least a couple hours if you are wanting to do more. When training for sport specific improvements, a coach is a must. Having an extra eye and someone to help analyze your technique is extremely valuable. Remember to practice smart, listen to your body and focus on doing things properly!
Every Day... A Little Stronger
