We’re getting close to the start of practice for fall sports, and with that, many athletes are preparing for conditioning tests. Coaches use these tests to scare athletes into “staying in shape” during the offseason, and make roster decisions easier on themselves. I’m not against all conditioning tests, but I am against certain “tests” in particular, and I believe that in general, athletes would be better served to spend time on other aspects of their athletic development.
How Testing Can Limit Development
When conditioning tests are at the beginning of a season they tend to force athletes to work on their conditioning and neglect the improvement of their sport specific skills and strength/power. Sport specific skill is the most important factor in many sports, and when athletes are forced to turn their attention to a conditioning test that takes place on the first day of practice, skill work often gets pushed to the back burner.
The general offseason period, which usually begins 1-2 weeks after the season ends, and goes through about a month or so before the season begins, is a time for athletes to gain a lot of strength and work on any other weaknesses they may have. At the high school level especially, this a time when athletes can make big improvements from one season to the next, but high volume conditioning can attenuate these gains.
High school athletes require especially careful consideration due to the large discrepancies in biological age that may be present. Biological age is the physiological state the athlete is currently in-this involves hormone levels, growth, and skeletal/muscular development. Whether or not the athlete has hit puberty or not can greatly affect their ability to gain strength and muscle mass, due to the differences in hormone levels, such as testosterone. Difficulties with gaining strength and muscle mass can be compounded by trying to “stay in shape” year round in order to pass a conditioning test.
An athlete who has not hit puberty.
An athlete who has hit puberty.
By limiting aerobic conditioning through most of the offseason, you allow for the greatest possible window of adaptation for the athletes. Too many coaches try to have the best “conditioned” team, and not the most skilled team. It’s really cool if your soccer players can run for days, but if they can’t out-sprint an opponent to the ball, pass, and dribble, their endurance is useless. Strength and skill progression are much more useful for on-field performance than elite endurance.
Balancing Conditioning with Development
Aerobic conditioning is the most easily trained athletic attribute, and takes a relatively small amount of time to improve. Most sports have about a month of practice before the season begins, which is generally more than enough time for athletes to play their way into shape by the time games begin. Even without a specific portion of practice devoted to conditioning, athletes will improve endurance through constant movement during drills and scrimmaging or intrasquad games. This approach allows for balancing offseason development and conditioning enough to perform well during the season.
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