Does Your Off Season Workout Show Up On The Field?
Have you ever been part of an off-season football workout and right after you finished you asked yourself, “What the hell did we just do there?” If so, you are not alone. We have been a part of off season workouts that looked more like prep for the marines than it did football. The question begged to be asked, “Where does that drill show up on the football field?”
Offseason football workouts are normally designed to accomplish several things:
-Get your team in shape.
-Develop a degree of mental toughness, discipline and endurance.
-Foster team bonding while fighting through adversity together.
What often gets lost in the shuffle is that workouts should be used to make your team better football players. Now before any of you jump up in objection, we are not saying to practice, because obviously that is illegal.
Here is what we are saying. Before you or your strength and conditioning coach implements any drill in your off-season program ask yourself “What movement used in actual football play is being simulated here?”
You Should Find “Football” In Every Off Season Workout Drill You Conduct
You can still accomplish all of the things listed above and do it with football movements. To take it a step further, get your special teams coach involved. Why? Well because special teams play involves moving in space, hand to hand combat and changing direction as much as any phase of football.
Face it. You will be stealing from your special teams practice time when the season begins so offset that now. Find drills that get your team in shape, makes them mentally tough and teaches them special teams fundamental movements. Instead of running a sprint. run a sprint and work on a cover avoid technique.
At the end of the day, you are not training a track team or an army. You are training a football team. So tomorrow morning when you roll out of bed at 4:30 for that 5:30 off season workout make sure that your football team gets better at a lot of things, including football.
