FOOTY POST COVID-19 PART 2 (FREE CONTENT)

POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT YEAR

With a shortened season and potential partial playing list maybe it gives you the perfect time to try something you've always wanted to try but always "having to win" stopped you from doing so.

This could relate to anything from training to games to off-feild developments.

Maybe try that full ground press you've never really gotten to implement, a new structure of bringing the ball out of the backline, whatever.

If you do this then ensure, reiterate and ensure again and again that any errors that occur during this time WILL NOT be discouraged or punished.

Richmond were terrible in 2016 but half way through the season they changed their game plan to look more like they have been from 2017 onwards and look how they've gone in that time.

You won't lose anything by trying something like this this season, that's for sure.

MAKE THE CLUB FUN

Round 1 for season 2020 could potentially be played in 8 degrees, hail and gale force winds - not fun on it's own that's for sure.

Tagging on the back of getting players back in the fold after this lay off is the idea of fun - yeah novel I know - but at adult levels of sport we often disregard it as we "seem" to have other motivations to play, whether that be said or implied.

Making your club the most fun place a player can be at can bluetack over those cracks a little, off setting what night be a tough year on the feild.

You might have train at your sponsor nights, joke of the week videos, player game commentary - there's a million things you can do to involve as many people as you can and then share it with them all on your socials public or private.

Another question you can ask - when you are enjoying footy the most, what does it look like?

This information can help you shape your club to what the players want it to be.

MINIMUM REQUIRMENTS/MINIMUM IMPROVEMENT

Getting back to fitness for a bit, physiological adaptation, the act of actually improving fitness of any sort, cannot be done in probably less then 6 weeks.

When I'm talking improvement I'm actually talking being to provide a consistently output higher then the year prior consistently every season.

Most players will at some time in their career put in the "big year" where they do all the training and get themselves to the highest physiological level they have ever been at.

It's easy to reach new levels when you've never really put the consistent effort and time into it beforehand but to do it like AFL players do is bloody hard work.

The cycle of most players is for their fitness to drop when the season ends then build it back up to the same level, or thereabouts each year.

That's it.

No actual improvement and that's fine for the most part bcecause that's all you can hope for in the best case scenario for this season.

What will have the greatest infleunce is if players can stay injury-free or not (player availability from part 1).

Lesson #3 - "Don't Run the Skill and Speed Out of Your Players"

MANAGE AROUSAL LEVELS

We've all got those keen-as-mustard players who are great and extremely infectious around the club, and they will be valuable when we return to play but as a coach you will be in charge of keeping these players, and all players for that matter, at the relative arousal level.

Yes we want to "train like we play" but this year is completely different - we won't be close to doing that.

Just be aware that some players might try to pick back up where they left off in Jan but without the work behind them.

High Arousal = Higher Outputs = Increased Risk of Injury.

You will need to guide some players through training and into early season games as well and this may well be a part of your rotations strategy on game day.

Shorter stints per player and greater rotations overall which may require a system of some sort.

TRAIN LIKE GAMES WILL BE BY THE TIME WE START

If we start in June or whatever, it'll be winter football.

Here's another lesson for you all: "Train How the Gme Will Look Like, Not What You Want It to Look Like".

This means congestion, stoppages, clearances and ground balls in wet conditions.

This certaintly does not mean clean, fast moving football that we train for in the dryer summer months and hope to continue with in the wet months.

It just never happens.

This season will be exclusively tough football so train like that.

The grand finale part 3 will be posted tomorrow.