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The Off Season, A Time For Action

03-09-2009

This term always intrigued me when applied to professional sport. (There are, of course, very few sports played at elite levels which aren’t professional these days). Presumably players are paid an annual income.

Basic exercise physiology informs us of the importance of the recovery phase in training. Apart from allowing the body to adapt to the training load, it also allows the body to repair the inevitable wear and tear associated with training.

With major sporting codes filling major roles in the entertainment industry, there is pressure to prolong seasons to maximise their earning potential. This increases the likelihood of a significant injury.

Chance injuries can occur in any sport, especially body contact sports. However, the real worry in prolonged seasons is wear-and-tear injury (a result of so-called “micro trauma”). These “niggles” usually effect joints, tendons and muscles under repetitive loads. They become a major problems when players compete and train before minor injuries have recovered.

Of course there is a lot of pressure on players to “turn up” (continue to compete) where they are members of teams. There is the problem of letting your team mates down. There is also the problem of possibly losing your place in the team. Competition is hot for the limited numbers of places in elite teams, especially where sport is your career.

We have all seen top performers (in individual or team sports) go through form slumps. In my opinion, many of these decreases in performance are due to playing on, despite injuries.

As competition increases there is a tendency for elite players to seek some small advantage over the opposition. They usually look to increase their training loads; “more is better”. However, this approach usually stresses the active side of training more than the passive (recovery) side. It is here also that the “drugs in sport” issue arises.

When anabolic steroids first made their way into sports, one of their main benefits was that people could tolerate greater training loads (especially with resistance/weight work). This meant that they recovered more quickly from micro trauma, so they could comfortably train harder and more often.

Recent attention has been paid to perfecting recovery techniques. We’ve all seen the photos of footy teams in the ocean in the middle of winter. Most contact sports use some form of hydrotherapy after game day. Hyperbaric oxygen is used to accelerate recovery from injury. Most teams have elaborate warm-down/ stretching routines these days.

All of this gets competitors from one week to the next. However, there is also a year-to-year, season-to-season perspective which also gets more attention. Elite players are never really “out-of-training” for long. The so-called “off season” is used as a chance to focus on different areas of development from those emphasised during the season.

The psychological aspects of being in a competitive environment are worth some attention. Teams, for instance, are comprised of individuals from diverse backgrounds. In professional teams the players earn their livings on the back of their athletic prowess. To “sell” their wares, they have to be seen on the stage of their sport. The same applies to athletes in individual sports, where attracting sponsorship is a major priority. In teams, much is made of the “team spirit” ideal. This is about a commonality of purpose, a camaraderie where people support their buddies, the idea that sometimes some magic happens where team performance is “greater than the sum of the parts”. This is a fairly intense environment. Add to that the immediacy of success and failure and it gets complicated. Small animosities are normal in groups of this size. There is also an underlying tension about “star” status in view of the associated earning potential.

The top coaches regularly mention the importance of their roles as mentor/counselor/advisor to their charges. Coaches often have a quasi parental role here. Senior players sometimes occupy this role for young players.

I wonder what can be done in the off season to help individuals prepare better in the non-physical area. Here are some thoughts.

1. Learn to appraise the previous season’s performance in several areas.

A statistical analysis of performance relevant to their particular sport, especially about which areas improved and which didn’t.
Which aspects of training/recovery did they actually enjoy or otherwise.
Seek an appraisal of their performance (in detail) from an expert they respect.
How did injury occur? How did they manage it? Could it be prevented?
How was their relationship with the coaches and their team mates? If there were problems, could something be done to improve these?
How was their work/non-work balance over the season?
Did they set SMART goals (see below) and were they achieved. If not, why not?

2. After appraising the previous season, work can begin on planning the next season, and the intervening off-season and pre-season.

The first priority is full-recovery from niggling injury. This might involve a period of training which doesn’t put stress on particular musculo skeletal structures. It might even involve specific medical investigation and possibly surgical intervention (followed by verbals).
Start working on a list (not too long) of SMART goals.
S-Specific and stretching (the more difficult, the better the outcome)
M-Measurable (so that prognosis is assessed objectively)
A-Attractive (you’re more likely to do it if you enjoy it)
R-Realistic (according to resources and environment)
T-Time frame (achieving a goal by a particular time)
This might well be the most cost-effective use of your time. If you use SMART goals there is a greater chance of achieving measurable improvement. This “success” experience encourages individuals by showing that they’re on the right track. This will act as motivation in itself.
Having appraised performance, your goals should encompass a means of working on your “weaknesses” rather than perfecting your strengths.
Some help might be required regarding problematic relationships. Someone who works in this area might be worth seeing, eg. a psychologist.
Looking at work/non-work balance is worth some time, because this usually requires action. What is it that you look forward to away from your sport? The idea is to find time to actively pursue other interests. This could include some specific training or a course to improve your expertise. Apart from decreasing the intensity associated with the team environment, it might even lead towards a career after sport. If nothing else, it can provide a sense of perspective in a world based on the underlying issue of winning and losing. The best time to explore this is the off season.

Executive Coaching can help with many of these areas, by applying a solution focus to the problems.

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