Question: Should I have my players do off season conditioning to prepare for next season?
Answer: Well Coach, I think there are a lot of issues that come into play when you talk about off season and preseason conditioning. You have to understand that young players really, really play a lot. We don’t understand that. Most of us are really concerned about conditioning when we really should be concerned with their overuse and how much they are playing. Many moms and dads think that off season conditioning will lead to better players. And, what I believe it leads to is players who have been playing all year and don’t have fresh bodies and fresh minds. The mind and body are things that need to be refreshed, so they are anxious to come back and play. When I talk about rest, I’m talking about getting away from the sport. I truly understand that we as coaches want our players to come in the best shape they possibly can, but we don’t have the ability to really train off season conditioning. And, even if we gave them a plan to do off season conditioning, many of them wouldn’t follow that plan. My recommendation is to give your players the off season off. Truly let them take it off. I think you’ll have athletes who come back healthier are ready to play when the season starts.
