VFL REQUIREMENTS

This comes from an article from Northern Blues strength and conditioning coach (unsure if current coach) Sean Potter and looks into the requirements of preparation for VFL footy as well as detailing some of the things they do to measure progress.

The good bits were:

- Players will cover 10 - 15kms per game

- 20% of total game time is spent at steady state speeds

- High intensity efforts range from 158 - 208 total meter

- 80 - 85% of high intensity efforts last 3 seconds or less

- 100% of high intensity efforts lasted less than 6 seconds with a 1:2 - 1:6 work: ratio

- Walking is any movement at speeds of 0 - 1.66 meters per second

- Jogging is movement at speeds of 1.94 - 3.88 meters per second

- Running is movement at speeds of 4.16 - 5.55 meters per second

- Sprinting is movement at speeds of 6.11 meters per second or faster

- Strength test used include bench press, chest supported row and box squat 1 rep maximums looking for 1.5 x bodyweight for the upper body exercises and 2 x bodyweight for the lower exercise

- Tests 3 times in the off/pre-season and then another test for upper body during the season depending on fixture

- For power test velocity for squat jumps for lower body and bench press throws, both at specific %'s of 1rm's at the start and end of the pre-season

- It can be quicker to do a vertical jump and medicine ball test though if restricted for time

- For player monitoring he compares them to themselves, the team average, rank among position, height, the competition they compete against and also higher competition

- Break the team up into 4 groups at being beginner, intermediate, advanced and core

- Hit the gym 2/week during the season if you can

- He starts with the ideal amount of work he wants completed and then modifies on a player by player case so essentially ideal world - real world = actual work completed

- Intensity is broken up into very heavy (95 - 100%), heavy (90 - 95%), moderately heavy (85 - 90%), moderate (80 - 85%), moderately light (75 - 80%), light (70 - 75%) and very light (65 - 70%)