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The Overlooked Importance of In-Season Training

 

In-season training has long been a controversial topic for athletes and teams.

Many coaches have long believed that when their athletes are in-season, their sport should be their only focus. But as the season progresses, what happens?

The common issues of production output and injuries rear their head and cause problems to most of the roster. Therefore, in-season training has become a huge focus throughout the industry and can be seen prominently throughout most college and professional athletics.

This is why I have always been confused as to why High School and Youth athletics neglect to keep training throughout the season. Is it fear of being tired or sore from a workout? Fear of cutting into practice time? Or just lack of education?

At BVT LAB, we have made it a focus to educate our clients on the importance of keeping a consistent training schedule once the season starts.

Now, this schedule does look very different from our off-season programs. Our protocols are vastly different because we have to tailor our program to the stress and demands of the season. But, we make sure that our athletes train throughout the season to maintain and elevate their performance.

What are the main goals with in-season training?

 

1. Injury Prevention/ Maintain Mobility and Flexibility:

While all of our programming throughout the whole training process is always centered around injury prevention, our in-season protocols ask for even more attention to injury prevention. We do this with a multitude of exercises that help increase flexibility and mobility. We also pay extra attention to our CNS activation and corrective exercises so that athletes perform to their optimal performance levels on game day.

 

2. Maintain power and performance (maximal strength):

Skipping out on the weight room for the entirety of the season can have significant detrimental effects on an athlete’s strength levels. The stronger an athlete is, the more force they can produce. The more force they can produce, the faster they’ll run, the higher they’ll jump, and the harder they’ll hit.

The residual effects of a power phase (which most coaches should be putting their athletes through before the season ) are sometimes only 6-8 weeks after the athletes stop performing the phase. So it’s vital for athletes to continue training in order to maintain their power throughout the season.

Consider this: In the week leading up to Super Bowl LI, the New England Patriots were squatting 80% of their max. They were 20-plus weeks into their season by that point, but they knew how important their weight room work was to their continued success. For what it’s worth, the Patriots went on to win that game after overcoming a 25-point deficit.

 

3. Manage fatigue, limit muscle soreness, and improve recovery from games:

The main goal for all athletes during the season is day-to-day game performance. One major way to help with this is to manage the volume of both practice and training.

Most coaches are not going to move their practice times around to help manage athletes’ fatigue. This means it’s pivotal to limit the amount of fatigue that occurs in the weight room, while still trying to achieve the ultimate goal of keeping power production with the athletes. Focusing on strength and power rep ranges for the proper amount of sets will give athletes just the right amount of stimulus without creating fatigue or injuries.

Another problem that occurs during the season is muscle soreness and decreased range of motion. Two surefire ways to elicit soreness for athletes are excessive eccentric loading and introducing too many new exercises during the season.

We still want to control the weight, but focus should be more on the concentric strength component rather than attempting to overload the eccentric contraction. Too much volume can cause micro-traumas in the muscle that can result in additional soreness. New exercises can also bring about DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness) as athletes’ bodies trying to adapt to new stimuli.

 

Although all in-season programs depend on a multitude of factors such as scheduling, time commitment, sport, athletes needs, etc., we typically suggest that athletes still train 2-3 days a week to accomplish all the goals we have listed above.

In conclusion, if an athlete or team wants to be able to accomplish their ultimate goals of winning a championship and playing to the best of their abilities, it’s imperative that they train throughout the season

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An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure – Injury Prevention at BVT

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin Franklin

 

The benefits of resistance training in both athletics and training within the general public has been well studied and documented for years. Improvements in power and performance, as well as increased muscle size are always things that come to mind when thinking about the benefits of resistance training, but resistance training also has direct correlations to reduction of injuries. 

Studies have reported that the direct effect of resistance training helps physiological adaptations seen consequent to resistance training on bone, connective tissue and muscle to provide enhanced protection against injury for individuals who participate in such training programs. 

Effects on Bone: 

The bone is living tissue. This means it has the ability to remodel and adapt to physical stresses imposed on it. 

Individuals that are physically active have been shown to have greater bone mineral density than those who are sedentary. In general those that are active reduce risk for osteoporosis, fracture, or other ailments related to bone deterioration. 

Studies have found that through resistance training these effects are amplified. Resistance training provides greater osteopenia effects, increasing beneficial bone strength that will help reduce stress fractures. 

Overall this means that as muscular strength improves so does bone strength. 

Effects on Connective Tissue: 

Connective tissue is the framework of the body. It consists of cells and fibers embedded in a gel-like material containing tissue fluids and various metabolites. 

The primary fiber of connective tissue is collagen. Studies have found that resistance training has a direct effect on connective tissue adaptations, in addition to increasing both the size and strength of ligaments and tendons. 

Increasing the size of the connective tissue is thought to be a result of an increase in collagen content within the connective tissues sheaths. One study comparing body builders to untrained individuals suggested that increase in collagen content is proportional to the increase in muscle. 

Body builders seem to have greater absolute collagen content, but relative values are similar to untrained controls. This means that increases in muscle mass are likely met by increases in the size and strength of the connective tissue. 

Effects on Muscle: 

It’s no surprise that as we age, a decrease in muscle mass (sarcopenia) occurs. This means a subsequent reduction in muscle strength results in a loss of functional ability and also an increased risk for falls and fractures. 

When looking at the aging adult population, resistant training programs have benefits for increase in both strength and muscle size just like athletic training programs do. The functional ability to maintain and improve the risk of injury is significantly reduced when resistance training. 

Resistance training has a huge role in reducing the risk for musculoskeletal injuries related to muscle imbalances, expressed as either agonist to antagonist ratios or as bilateral comparisons. Correction of these imbalances through resistance training is pivotal in reducing risk of muscular injury. 

Resistance training also has a positive effect on reducing lower back injuries by increasing strength in the lumbar extensors and lumbar vertebrae. This will shield your body from a multitude of muscular injuries that can occur with aging and sedentary lifestyles. 

In conclusion, resistance training is almost like the fountain of youth. 

As we age we lose the ability to produce power due to the decrease in muscle mass and bone density, which directly correlates to our connective tissue. 

Any individual that is in a properly progressed resistance training program will see drastic benefits in their everyday life performing functional movement patterns and the benefits of injury prevention. This means that.

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Intention

intention

 

Intention. 

Webster defines intention as a determination to act in a certain way.

Bobby Valentine’s Training Lab, also known as BVT, is not about running through hoops and ladders or dodging in and out of cones.  We are about producing athletes through proper principles of science to elevate performance. 

As many strength coaches realize very quickly, there are a ton of hours spent with sets, reps, exercise selection, the load, etc…the list goes on and on.  But coaches realize that none of this matters unless you have total buy-in from your athletes.  This “buy-in” is one of the most difficult things to achieve in all of sports, whether that be in the weight room or on the field.   At BVT, the buy-in starts on day one.   We strive to hold an extremely high standard not just through our programming and exercises, but also in the way we mentally prepare our athletes.  How do we do this?  It’s simple.  We take extra time to focus on not just the physical approach, but the mental approach as well. 

Unfortunately, as simple as it seems, it is one of the most difficult things and can often be overlooked.  It’s about doing the little things right through sacrifice and discipline and an extreme attention to detail.  We ask all of our athletes to hold that within themselves to truly elevate their performance and take them to the next level. 

Lewis Caralla, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Georgia Tech, says it best, “You don’t have to do anything that isn’t required for you, but you also don’t have to win.”  At BVT, we hold the same standard and believe this is what takes our athletes to the next level.  People become successful through discipline and that is how they achieve great things. What you do in the gym is what is reflected on the field.  

As coaches we commonly see two types of athletes. There are the compliant athletes, and then there are the competitive athletes. The compliant athletes come into the gym, put their bag down on the floor, look at his or her workout, then proceed to do the bare minimum and go through the motions the entire time. The competitive athlete comes in and does the same thing, but they mentally prepare.  They come up with a game plan and attack.  Every rep means something to them and you can see it through their intent. So how does a coaching staff get the competitive athlete everyday that puts intent into their workout?  

The BVT coaching staff does this through a few different methodologies. First, we make sure that our coaching staff is always supplying our athletes with the educational background as to why we do what we do.  As an athlete, if you do not understand the “why” behind what you’re doing, it’s extremely hard to put full intention into the act you’re trying to perform. An example of this can be something as easy as a Wall Drill exercise. From the outside looking in, it’s very simple to set up and perform. However, if the athlete is not educated on why we perform this, it can become repetitive and they won’t reap the benefits of the exercise. By taking the time to make it a learning experience, they understand the “why” and will put more effort into it resulting in a high-level of performance. 

Although measuring intent is difficult, we have found that following a few simple steps to mentally prepare our athletes for their workout helps as well. 

These steps include: 

  1. Preloading your workout mentally: What type of workout do I have today?  What does this require of me?  What will be challenging, and how will I fight that adversity? 
  2. Remember why you’re doing this type of work: What are my long term goals?  What are my short term goals?  What are my goals for today and how will I achieve them?  Why am I doing these exact exercises and how do they fit my goals? 
  3. How am I going to do this work?:   What will it take for me to achieve the questions above?  Will I be able to give enough effort and intent to achieve my goals, and if not how do I change that?  
  4. Put away your work:  Take a mental review everyday of your work.  Did I achieve what I set out to do?  Did I achieve my daily goals?  Did this chip away at the stone of my ultimate goals?  

At BVT, we’re constantly asking our athletes these questions. We’ve seen drastic improvements in performance when athletes take the time to mentally reflect through this process. When they mentally take charge of their actions, intent and attention to detail become second nature.

Attached here is a video of one of our athletes performing simple exercises.  What makes these exercises applicable is the passion and desire to get better combined with scientific principles that are proven to work. If you watch closely, you can see in the athlete’s intention how he asked the simple questions above in the steps. You can see through his aggression and violent intention in every step that he understands his ultimate goals.  He understands what type of work it’s going to get him there.  The purpose of the exercises and why we are doing them.  Most importantly he’s taken the time to improve on these exercises over time through mental reflection.  

Although not simple, this type of mental coaching applied to high-level athletic performance training can create the coveted “buy-in” that coaches work so hard to achieve.  At BVT, we pride ourselves in elevating performance physically and mentally. It’s these steps that separate us and our athletes from the rest of the pack.  

BVT coaching is about attention to detail, intentions in every step, combined with proper scientific principles in our training methodologies to elevate athletic performance.  

Sources: 

“Setting the Mind to Boost Athletic Performance.” TrainingPeaks, 3 Dec. 2021, https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach-blog/setting-the-mind-to-boost-athletic-performance/.

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Understanding Acceleration

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Understanding Acceleration

Understanding that acceleration is the most common and important motion in all team based sports is important. Points, games, championships are won on an athlete’s ability to get from point A to Point B the quickest. Acceleration and speed are often interchanged. However, according to physics, they’re not the same. Acceleration is the rate you change speed divided by time, and speed is the distance travelled divided by time.  When you’re moving at a constant of 20mph, your speed is 20mph and your acceleration is zero mph. As a strength coach it’s important to understand this distinction and have a basic understanding of physics.  Important components to understand acceleration in sports are Newton’s First and Second Laws of Physics.

Newtown's First Law

A body at rest will stay at rest. A body in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force.  Newtons first law predicts the behavior of objects when forces are balanced. The object will not accelerate unless forces become unbalanced. Next is Newton’s Second Law, the law of Acceleration.

Newtown's Second Law

Newton’s Second Law – The 2nd law states acceleration is dependent on the net force applied to the object and the objects mass.  Acceleration is equal to net Force divided by Mass. Let’s say Athlete A is 185lb and Squats 405lb while Athlete B is 205lb and Squats 405lb. Athlete A will have a higher potential to accelerate their body.  Newton’s second law explains how force production, rate of force development and the athlete’s relative body strength collaborate in developing acceleration ability.

In conclusion, Newton’s laws help us understand the laws that govern motion. BVT Lab uses that understanding to design the training framework which helps athletes improve their acceleration. The next part of this article series will cover Newton’s 3rd law and biomechanics.

BVT Lab

BVT Lab

Director of Performance

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Bio Motor Abilities and Athletic Potential

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Bio Motor Abilities and Athletic Potential

As a strength and conditioning coach a little over the last four years, I’ve been lucky to train athletes across all levels and abilities. During my time as a coach, it’s apparent that not all athletes are created equal.  Some athletes possess innate abilities that others do not. It’s not by chance that some athletes improve significantly faster than others; once exposed to training stimulus, or learning a new sports skill. All sports require the mastery of certain skills and complex movements for athletic success. The athlete’s ability to learn and master skills and movements is strongly dependent on their genetic bio motor abilities and other biological systems.

What are the main Bio Motor Abilities?

Speed- The least trainable ability, it’s the function of your CNS to move your limbs and your body to perform movements as quickly as possible. Stride Frequency X Stride Length=Speed.

Strength – The ability to produce force

Endurance – The athletes work capacity, their ability to perform work at an intensity over a certain period of time.

Coordination – Intra-muscular and Inter-muscular coordination to perform movements and sports skills efficiently.

Flexibility – Range of a joint. Joint angle will dictate muscle recruitment.

There are countless other abilities that are the combination of the main abilities, Power (Strength and Speed), Mobility (Flexibility and Coordination), Agility (Power, Speed, Coordination, Flexibility).

Why understanding these abilities are important for athletic success?

It’s important to understand that most sports are going to be the combination of 2-3 of these abilities. As a coach, we analyze the physiological demands of their sport/event to help prepare an athlete for their specific sport. In order for the athlete to have a better chance at performing the skills and movements required to succeed in their sport, we have to train and develop the bio motor abilities and qualities demanded by the sport.  All athletes have a genetic ceiling. However, it’s only through training all these abilities can be maximized. Usain Bolt was gifted with more fast twitch fibers than most humans and the advantage of being 6ft5 while still having a stride frequency equal to other world class sprinters. However, he would’ve never reached his peak and set the world record for the 100m without hard work and dedication to training.

BVT Lab

BVT Lab

Director of Performance

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Strength and Conditioning

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Strength and Conditioning

This is my first try at writing an article.  Hopefully there will be many more to come about sports performance training and the science based approach we take at the BVT Lab.  I think every strength and conditioning coach at their core begins their career in this field with a genuine desire to help every athlete they train reach their goals and potential. Some of my criticisms in this article aren’t directed towards coaches but the field as a whole.  My intention is to contribute what I can to help in the progression and professionalization of Strength and Conditioning.  All of my inspirations in the field of strength and conditioning have one important thing in common. That is their willingness to share knowledge and information with younger coaches such as myself, parents, and athletes for free in the hopes of progressing the field. The Strength and Conditioning field is young and has really exploded the last 20 years. However, it’s behind the fields of sports medicine, and physical therapy in terms of knowledge and professional standards, even though they’re all different points in the same spectrum.

Lack of Knowledge and Misinformation Is Holding The Field Back


Most coaches make the mistake of training their athletes like how they train, and letting ego dictate the training. The beginning of my career was no different. I was very fortunate early in my coaching career to learn from Seth Foreman.  He was lucky enough to have learned from Pete Bommarito and Loren Seagrave during his time at IMG Academy.  I wasn’t aware enough then to realize how valuable the information I was learning.  Most coaches might never have the opportunity to learn from more experienced coaches.  As a result the amount of qualified strength and conditioning coaches is very small.  Due to this lack of knowledge from coaches, misinformation spreads to parents, and athletes.  I don’t believe it’s the intention of most coaches to mislead parents and athletes. However, the lack of knowledge leads to unrealistic goals, failure, performance decline as well as increases chance of injury. I’ve experienced it countless times. For example, a parent and athlete walking in and asking me to get the athlete faster for a showcase or combine coming up in a few days.  I have to be the person that tells them that speed is the least trainable bio-motor ability, and it will take minimum 8-12 weeks to cause enough adaptation to improve it. 

The growth of social media has led to the rise of the Instagram coach.  As a result, anybody can become a strength and conditioning coach as long as they have an endless list of drills and exercises. Having a vast library of drills and exercises alone is not what makes you a good coach.  There needs to be some understanding of physiology, anatomy, programming and manipulating training variables for specific adaptations, and communication. The “Sports Specific Training” phenomena is the result of lack of knowledge from coaches and realizing it’s easier to sell to clients when coaches say “Sports specific training.” Parents and athletes walk in the gym for the first time and believe the athlete will get faster and improve performance if they perform the sport motions with their lacrosse stick. The lack of understanding across the board has created this misconception that the sport can be recreated within the training, it cannot. The exact stimulus while playing the sport can’t ever be recreated in the training. The development of strength is the foundation of sports training.  “Sports Specific Training” in reality is to transfer this strength to enhance the qualities demanded by the sport using joint specific angles, and specific velocities that are similar to the sport actions performed in the sport.

BVT-Lab Approach To Sports Performance Training


I have learned in this field to ensure the most success for your athletes, the training must always be in the best interest of the athlete.  As a coach you must always have an open mind, and be the first one to continuously scrutinize your own training methods. There are different methods to training athletes correctly, all these methods will always follow universal scientific principles of sports science. As a coach, I would be lying if I were to say I was all knowing or I’ve never made mistakes training athletes.  Learning from others with more experience and knowledge than myself, I make it my obligation to never be satisfied in my quest for more knowledge in order to keep helping athletes reach their goals.  Come down to the BV Training Lab at BVSA to learn how to get faster and stronger through science!!

Special Thank You To:

Seth Foreman
Pete Bommarito
Cal Dietz
Niccolo Del Duca 

Renick Jeune

Renick Jeune

Writer and Editor

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BVT Lab

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BVT Lab

BVSA is excited to introduce the Bobby Valentine’s Training Lab. Bobby Valentine and his team are rebranding the BV Training Lab at Bobby Valentine’s Sports Academy (BVSA)! BVT Lab is now the official strength and conditioning program of BVSA’s 40,000 square foot facility.

Since moving to our new location in March of 2017, BVSA has been very fortunate to have tremendous trainers in our gym, working with our athletes.  They have each had a proven track record in making athletes and individuals bigger, faster, stronger and healthier resulting in improved performance on the playing field and a better lifestyle for non athletes.  

Originally a part of the AAD team, Renick Jeune and Carrington Beckford transitioned into their own partnership, Overdrive Elite Performance.  They  continued to gain the trust of our community and beyond.   As Overdrive continued to grow and help athletes reach their goals, the partners also had their own goals and have decided to pursue their individual goals separately.  

Carrington is going to carry on the Overdrive name moving forward in nearby locations while Renick will now become the leader of the BV Training Lab at BVSA, along with Mike Statuti.  The BVT Lab will be proprietary to BVSA, personally created by Renick and his team along with Bobby Valentine and our many resources.  It was originally the goal of BVSA to own and operate BVSA Fitness but the transition to our new, much larger space in 2017 created many challenges on it’s own.  We now believe the timing is perfect for us to transition into our own fitness culture. 

We are very excited for the BVT Lab and what it will offer our athletes and non athletes.  Using a scientific approach to training, the BVT Lab lines up perfectly with the mission at BVSA: Inform, Instruct and Inspire.  If you or anyone you know is looking to run faster, hit harder or just have a healthier lifestyle, the BVT Lab is the place for you.  

“Renick and Mike really know how the body works and it shows in their programming.  It has been fun to see them help shape some great athletes.  The adult training they have developed has been a hit as well.  We are excited to see how their formulas will continue to crank out high end results.” said Anthony Conte. 

BVT Lab will be joining a group of great organizations that have already made BVSA their home.  First County Bank, YB Realty, Instant Replay Sporting Goods, CT City Lax, JA Elite Soccer, NC Rams, Lady Titans, BVSA Fury and so many others are all under one roof with the same mission: to help provide opportunities for future generations to live healthy and fulfilled lives! 

Sign up for the BVSA mailing list to stay up to date on all upcoming programs!

Anthony Conte

Anthony Conte

Writer and Editor

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