off-season philosophy

The key to any successful program is the work that is put in during the off-season. We will introduce and follow a year round strength and conditioning program for all athletes. While off-season is not capable of making someone a great player. It is responsible for improving them. Off-season takes players from average to good and from good to great. A solid off –season program can improve your team both mentally and physically. A strong emphasis on psychological development, power development, speed training, multidirectional improvement, flexibility, competition, and discipline will produce noticeable results on the field and in the gym.

Consistency in All Grade Levels

Success of our program will be contingent on consistent success in the off-season from sixth grade on. It is imperative that all elements of our off-season are taught using the same terminology. All elements of the off-season program will be taught in a consistent teaching progression. The expectation and focus for each grade levels program may change, but the way things are taught will always remain consistent. Our focus for each grade level program is as follows:

6th Grade – Movement Phase with Skills. Flexibility and Form Running will be stressed.
7th Grade – Continue Movement Phase add Dynamic Stretch. Introduce and teach Weight Lifting. We will use On Air, Light Bars, and Dumbbells. Free weights by ability.
8th Grade – Continue Movement Phase. Reteach Weight Lifting.
9th -12th Grade – Phases 1, 2, 3 Off-Season Program.
Year round off-season program will begin for all high school athletes. (Middle School students may attend if desired)

Psychological Development

The first focus of our off-season is to improve the athletes mental approach to the game. We will attack this for several different angles. The first is taking the opportunity every day during the off-season to stress and explain our philosophy towards the game to the young men. We will also use this as an opportunity to show the team how each player is dependent upon the next. We are only as strong as our weakest link. Pushing young men past the limits they previously thought possible also further develops their self-belief as well as builds our Trust and WIN Today philosophy. Our offseason will challenge young men in a way that allows them to grow as a man, an athlete, and as a teammate.

Building Athletes

While development of strength and power are very important in the off-season program, they are not the only factors. All activities we do will be intended to improve athletic movements. The common belief a few years back was centered around the power lifting style of lifting. Getting athletes to push a ton of weight. So often what happened is that teams that did great at power lifting did not transition that success to the football field. Our focus will be on trying to develop total athletes. Emphasizing not just the lifting aspect, but the speed agility, explosive development, work capacity, and mental discipline. We will also implement elements of yoga and cross fit into a portion of our offseason training. This program has been very successful in taking average athletes to college level players.

Three Segments of Winter

One of the hardest things about off-season is the monotony of it. It can be a very long time from your last game to the start of spring ball. We will divide this up into three different segments. The style of lifting and the emphasis will change with each segment.

The first segment will focus on work capacity and intensity (strength and flexibility)
The second segment will focus on strength, power, and explosion.
The third segment will then focus on agility, max velocity, and pre spring preparation.

This is not to say that all of the elements will not be addressed in each segment. There will just be a more clear emphasis on the different focus areas in the design of the workout from the rep and set load, to the number of days spent on a certain activity. This method of designing will also help in keeping things new for the muscle groups in an effort to help eliminate the plateaus that may occur.

Commitment Period

Each workout will end with a short period in which all athletes come back together and do an activity. This will be an activity that will condition as well as mentally challenge each athlete to show his commitment to the program. It can range from something as simple as a 400 meter sprint to a complex activity like full field mat drills. This period will be challenging, and it will show who is in and who is out.

It Takes a Little Extra

Due to UIL policies the coaches are only able to work with athletes during the school day in the off-season. To achieve a championship level it will take more than that. Young men need to be willing to put in extra work on their own or in smaller groups to get our program where we plan to go. As coaches we will make sure that the facilities are available, but it is up to the student athletes to realize the need for additional work. Senior leadership often takes a big part in making this aspect of the team a success.

Controlled Chaos

Working out a football program of over one hundred young men takes a lot of organization. To make sure that they maximize their fifty minute workout takes even more. In our off-season we want very little standing around. We want constant activity. There should be sprinting from station to station. Pushing for extra reps. Rapid weight changes. We will also try to incorporate several different phases of workout into each day. Coaches need to know where they are assigned, and constantly be pushing young men for more. In a perfect scenario there should be six to eight different activities going on all at the same time, and then rotating that like clockwork.

ABC - Always Be Competing

Competitive fires need to be consistently feed. As coaches we need to continue to create ways in which our athletes can compete. It may be competing with themselves, in a small group, or team activities. However we can get competition we need to push for it. Our young men need to know what it feels like to win, and know what it feels like to fight to win.

QB Development

At times the quarterbacks in our program will go through a quarterback school during the off-season period. Because of the importance placed on that position, and the complex physical and mental demands that are required, we need to continue to work on their skills year round. They will work with the quarterback coach during the off-season period, but will come back together for the commitment period. They will go through a variety of agility and footwork drills as well as some throwing mechanics and read progression drills. It is then expected that they get their strength training done outside of the school day.

Testing Week

We will only formally test twice a year but we will make a big deal out of that week. We will test the week prior to spring ball. Our “Top Athlete Week” will consist of nine tests that are each scored on a point scale. These test range from bench, squat, and clean to a forty yard dash, pro agility, and ball toss. The last event is a 400 meter run to assess their mental drive. The top performer in each position group as well as the overall top performer will be recognized as part of the spring game awards presentation.

Summer Workouts

It at all possible we need all athletes at the school for summer workouts. All of the work we have put in during the off-season and spring ball can go to waste if we just relax in the summer. This is a time for the captains to step up and assume a leadership role. We will recommend a summer program and it is strongly encouraged that athletes take part in that summer program.

Individualized Lifting Plan