Only a couple of weeks since Spain demolished Germany in the 2008 European Championships and professional teams are already back into the full swing of pre-season training. This period is an essential part of every player’s preparation for a long hard season. Often players that miss this foundation building period struggle to catch-up their match fitness. This ultimately can lead to them experiencing greater injuries as their bodies have not had adequate time to strengthen to the daily demands of training and matches.
Generally, the pre-season period will last 6 weeks culminating with the first match of the league campaign. It will have a small periodisation from general aerobic conditioning through to high-intensity football specific work.
General Preparation (Weeks 1-2)
During this period, the focus must be on preventing injury wherever possible. This process will incorporate a comprehensive range of testing including endurance testing (VO2 Max), functional movement screen and various speed and power tests. Other assessments would include body composition.
The majority of the training should be low to medium intensity (up to 80% HR Max) although specific intensities will depend upon the actual fitness levels of your players. Football work would focus more on the technical and skill components of the game avoiding high pressure sessions until the players have become accustomed to the daily demands of training once more.
Other areas to consider are the hydration status of the players. The weather is usually warmer during this time and the volume of training is higher than normal meaning players may be in a de-hydrated state during sessions. This will put the players at an increased risk of injury and will inhibit physical performance.
This period is of a high volume, moderate intensity and is also a great time to incorporate other types of conditioning that will motivate the players. Sessions would include boxing, swimming, spinning, circuit training and speed golf.
Football Specific (Weeks 3-5)
During this period, most teams will begin playing matches increasing the level of the opposition as a means of increasing the match demands and intensity. Teams often go away during this period as well, creating a change of environment and allowing the coaches to have a greater focus on the technical and tactical components of training.
The conditioning sessions will have a greater emphasis on high intensity aerobic conditioning combined with strength / power development. The difficulty during this period is ensuring there is adequate rest to enable the super compensation effects to occur. Often teams incorporate a high match schedule with long-haul travelling and a high intensity training regime! This invariably leads to injury at a time when the shape and tactics of the team are being developed.
This period is also when teams and players focus in on their specific roles and targets for the new season. This is why injury prevention is so important. The weekly training schedule will also allow for greater specificity with designated sessions for individual work. Players may be split into smaller groups dependent upon their position or physical abilities. Areas that they work on will be specific to their needs.
Match Preparation (Week 6)
This week is the culmination of the pre-season period where the focus is on the first match of the season. This week will be as controlled as possible and will be reflective of the typical training week for the coming months.
The intensity will probably be lighter than a normal training week during the season as there should be a super compensation effect occurring following 5 weeks of hard training. The emphasis will be football related and will incorporate set-piece work and tactical training. Conditioning sessions will be lighter than normal in terms of volume but intensity will be quite high, focusing upon speed and footwork drills.
Conclusion
The pre-season period is a vital time in terms of getting the players ‘battle hardened’ for the season ahead. Invariably, the players have done very little in the off-season period before pre-season starts. This must be taken into consideration during the early stages and the volume / intensity of training should reflect the fitness levels of the players.
The highest priority should be given to injury prevention to ensure the players get the necessary volume of training. Research has shown that the highest number of injuries occur during the pre-season period yet players that miss some or all of this training period struggle to recover and have an impact during the season.