Entering the late spring sports season at Hempfield, we see the immediate results of games, meets, tournaments, and invitationals, but behind the scenes, hours of work are being put into preparing for these competitions. Becoming more athletic by using different training methods translates over to competition day and helps improve performance significantly. There are many specific sectors that fall under the umbrella of  “training” such as speed, reactive, core, strength and conditioning, cardiovascular, balance, and plyometric training, however the main themes revolve around getting a wider range of movement and getting stronger and more powerful. Most commonly, we see weight lifting being used to achieve these results.

Dr. Mackey, Hempfield High School’s sports performance and health teacher and girls’ soccer coach, shares that the main goals of sports performance are: “Don’t get injured [while training], reduce risk of injury, and improve performance.” Methods such as weightlifting and core training build and strengthen muscles to support oneself and reduce the chance of injury. Speed and agility training gives athletes the up they need in games to execute their play or accelerate to the goal and score. Cardiovascular training increases one’s aerobic capacity and builds endurance.

One misconception that most people have about sports training is that it should all be done before said sports season, and during the season the focus should be on drilling the actual sport. This is not the case, and Mackey even says that “it is just as important to train in the season as out of.” Training should decrease in volume but still happens. Ideally, all sports teams should be weightlifting twice a week during the season and three to four times a week out of the season to reduce the risk of injury. Mackey recommends quick but effective thirty-minute maximum training sessions, calling this “minimum effective dose” to get the results wanted with the least amount of work possible.

If this is interesting to you, take sports performance! Learn more about how your body works and how to become your best possible athlete.