Maximizing the Transition Season to Season
Maximizing the Transition Season to Season
Many athletes are currently transitioning from winter to spring sports or, in the case of the basketball athlete, going from the HS season into AAU/club basketball.
We want our athletes to focus on taking a few days down (full rest) before starting the next sport or season. Most schools already have these requirements in place, but athletes typically fill it with some form of activity to prepare.
Outside of taking advantage of the few recovery days, here are a few important bullet points that we'd love for you to share with your son or daughter as they make the seasonal transition.
Mindset
Do a "self-check-in" to see how you're feeling. Are you excited about the upcoming season? Dreading it?
Feeling burned out and haven't even started yet?
Be transparent with yourself, as your mindset walking into a new season is critical to your overall mental health and performance. Hopefully, you're excited about a schedule change and possibly sport, as that can be a much-needed positive mental shift for many athletes.
On the other hand, if you're pretty beaten up and feel low levels of motivation, overall energy, and strength, then you'll likely be setting yourself up to under perform.
Click here to read our Hoopers blog, which provides an essential list of "self-check-in" questions to help reflect on the past season.
Injuries
You may be coming off a rough season and have a few nagging aches and pains. Do your best to address any issues early on, so they don't become more significant issues. Finding time is always a battle for student athletes, but give your best effort as you don't want something small to turn into a bigger issue and lose the season.
Check-in with your local HB Physical Therapist or Performance Coach to ensure you're ready to roll.
Sport Specific Movement + strength
Knowing what specific movements are required to succeed in your sport is helpful. Understand that if you haven't practiced your sports movement patterns in a while, that first week of practice will likely be accommodated with serious soreness.
This is where weekly in-season strength training is critical. This is a huge opportunity to not only help you build strength and become a more durable athlete, but also to involve muscles and movements that you may not do in your current sport but will help you prepare for the upcoming one.
Trust me when I say the soreness will be much easier to deal with if you're fully prepared.
This past winter was one of our most successful crops of in-season trained athletes based on several performance metrics. This is important for all sports/athletes.
Conditioning
Similar focus as the previous note, but understand what conditioning level is required in your sport. Think about what actions are needed and at what speed.
Yes, practicing and playing games will help you get into proper shape, but how long does that take? It won't take long for those who stay in high-level conditioning shape, but it could be several weeks for others who have trouble getting and staying in shape.
If you think you could be under prepared in the conditioning category, check out our Healthy Baller Supplemental Conditioning PDF. This offers several time-efficient conditioning sessions to help you speed up the process with minimal time demands.
Hopefully, these bullet points are helpful. Please share if you found this post helpful!