January/February 2019 - 18

AN IN-SEASON
PLAN TO KEEP
PLAYERS HEALTHY
By Adam Menner, contributing writer
You spend much of your time preparing players for the
season. You mandate early morning lifting sessions and
after-school practices. The season rolls around, and your
players look better than ever. Ten games in and, suddenly,
you have two players with major injuries. You also have
a few players who pushed too hard during the preseason,
and they're burned out.
We've all been there. As coaches, we understand that
healthy players are our No. 1 commodity, but it's easy
to get deterred from the little things in the midst of the
season. Your focus becomes player development, play
calling and scouting for the next game. However, the team
that consists of a full, well-conditioned roster is in the
best position to win down the stretch.
In-season training and recovery are often overlooked.
Coaches push players hard during the preseason only to
shift gears once the season tips off. But to keep players
healthy during the season, coaches must continue to
strength train, implement proper warm-ups, moderate
training volume, increase caloric intake and create an
off-day recovery protocol.
Here's a breakdown of how coaches can keep their
players in top shape during the season.
1
Training must continue. Strength is the foundation
for which every other athletic endeavor is built upon.
Improving strength in the muscles, tendons, ligaments
and connective tissue allows athletes to generate and
withstand greater forces on the basketball court. Stronger
athletes are more durable.
Remember, coaches must differentiate preseason and
in-season training programs. During the preseason, the
objective should be to use higher intensities to improve
strength. During the season, the goal is to maintain
strength to withstand the physical demands of a long
season. That means including two strength training days
each week after practices or early in the morning.
Coaches should avoid scheduling strength training
sessions on game days. Limit athletes to three or four
exercises per session.
2
.Don't neglect warmups. Warming up could be
.the most important recovery and injury prevention
protocol that exists. But I still see players get to practice,
grab a ball and starting shooting. They make no effort to
increase their heart rate or perform specific movement
patterns to help prep them for the training, practice or
game ahead.
I like to perform a full-moving warmup prior to every
training session, practice and game. Over the course of
the season, players' bodies become less mobile. A proper
moving warmup is an easy way to avoid this.
An in-season strength training template
Warm up
* Perform five to 10 minutes of
light cardio.
Training protocol
* Choose one press/pushup
variation.
* Choose one pullup/row
variation.
* Choose one lower body
barbell/lunge variation.
* Choose one core variation.
After the four-week plan is
Four-week strength training
parameters
* Week one: Perform three
18 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
completed, choose four new
variations within each category
and repeat the progressions.
sets of five to 10 reps on each
exercise.
* Week two: Perform three
sets of five to 10 reps on each
exercise.
* Week three: Perform four
sets of five to 10 reps on each
exercise.
* Week four: Perform five sets
of five to 10 reps on each
exercise.
It's an easy way to accumulate
volume without taxing the
athletes.
If you pick a compound
movement - barbell squat,
bench press - stick to the
lower rep ranges and keep the
weight lighter. If you choose
the bench press for advanced
athletes, have them perform
sets of five reps as opposed
to 10. The intensity should be
between 55 and 65 percent of
their one-rep max. This is the
same for lower body barbell
movements.
January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2019
