The trials are just a few days away and that means it’s time to start whipping your body into football shape. Constant workouts are a great way to shake off the rust and get ready for your assessments.
And while you may be excited and ready to go, it is unrealistic to go straight from the couch to the field and expect to perform at your highest level. We believe that preparation prior is crucial for an athlete’s performance and well-being.
“The assessments are physically expensive,“Training on a properly constructed program will help you develop general athletic qualities you will need in tests and in the games.”
We advise players to be dynamic in their training and to maintain a healthy balance between cardiovascular exercise and weight lifting.
“Players should focus on improving basic movement skills,”“This means running, jumping, landing and the general characteristics of football needs. Lifting weights is just a piece of the equation.”
The assessments can vary in length, intensity and purpose. No matter what, Derwin believes there are some core elements that athletes should focus on when prepping for camp.
Nutrition. Identify personal nutrition goals that work best for you in order to optimize performance. Regardless of needed nutrition, players should never skip meals before, during or after camp and should be properly fueled to participate. Training on low or minimal daily calories will severely limit a player’s ability to work at maximum capacity. Avoid over feeding!
Sleep. After training, Make rest and recovery a priority. Keep your phone away from your bed and focus on getting quality rest for seven or eight hours each night. Getting strong isn’t about lifting heavy weight, it’s about recovery.
Have balanced workouts leading up to camp. Extensive cardio shouldn’t be prioritized over a properly structured resistance training program focused on improving strength and power. Don’t avoid cardio but rather use it in an organized and strategic manner that doesn’t interfere with the primary goals of a football player. Players will be doing a lot of sprinting and jumping during trials and will need both the strength to properly absorb those impacts as well as the endurance to sustain proper positions when they start to encounter fatigue.
Don’t forget to stretch. Mobility of the hips and shoulders are incredibly important and often overlooked. Football players don’t need to be gymnasts but they should be limber enough to easily move in and out of squat or push-up pattern with easy control. Some light stretching after a warm-up can be good to prepare for training but extensive stretching done for the purpose of improving range of motion should occur after players have completed practice or training.
Focus on your ability to accelerate. At most trials players are required to run the 40-yard dash. In order to run the best possible time, it is crucial for you to prepare for the drill. This requires relentless practice and good understanding of “quality reps” when it comes to speed training. Posture and positioning play critical roles in a player’s ability to maximize acceleration. Strength training can help you provide the structural stability to hold more efficient positions at higher speeds as this is a prerequisite in Portugal.
Hydration. Hydration is critical, We recommend players get into the habit of taking a water bottle with them throughout the day so that they are always staying hydrated throughout the day.
Be consistent with your workouts. Stay consistent on the long-term goal. Don’t get caught up trying to have one single massive workout at the expense of being fresh enough for 1 training. Success comes from the cumulative total of all factors associated with training.