I speak with parents, coaches and athletes on a daily basis. Conversations are based on how weight training is as cool as the other side of the pillow and how being strong can get their athletes more playing time. A common question pops up from time to time and that is the sports specificity question…Is there such a thing as sports specific training? No…blog done…
Just kidding…
You probably want to know my two cents on the matter.
Luckily for you, I spend a lot of time with my own inner monologue.
Let’s zoom out for a second.
When talking with parents about their athletes, we want to make sure that they understand our disposition.
We are not in the business of making crazy promises of decreasing 40 times in a short duration of training or getting them a scholarship to play sports. I prefer the slow cook method.
I am not looking at our youth 1 month or 1 year down the road. I want them to be as well-rounded as possible by their senior year and that’s it. I do not care if there is a big tournament coming up in two weeks or if there is an elite tryout in two months. We take the same approach with every athlete. Quality work over time + as many different movements as possible to make them very movement literate.
Are All Sports The Same?
What do all athletes need?
Speed, strength, balance, power and coordination. A fairly simple concept…
Are there different ways to train the above qualities? Yes. And those different methods depend on a whole host of things. Training age, goals and level of sport. But…I am going to let you in on a big secret.
My pro hockey guys do dumbbell snatches.
My high school football players do dumbbell snatches.
My middle school volleyball players do trap bar dead lifts.
My college basketball players do trap bar dead lifts.
See the trend?
When I am trying to increase acceleration for my football guys , I do not open my football specific book that they handed out in college.
All athletes need acceleration…so we train them the same.
That is why I do not market for sport specific summer programs or trying to do sport specific weight training regimens.
Now…there are some nuances.
Conditioning can be sport specific depending on the bio-energetics of that particular sport.
Sport Coaches
The weight room is a means to an end. As strength coaches we have a very small lane that we stay in and try very hard not to go out of scope.
Our job is to build a stronger, faster and more resilient athlete. So when we turn over that athlete to a coach, they are able to perform for them at a higher level.
Sports specific falls on the coaches.
It is not our job to teach our baseball players how to swing a bat.
It is not our job to teach our basketball players how to dribble.
These are all sport specific skills that can be enhanced by weight training but fall on the coaches to teach.
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