When Is the Off-Season?
Four weeks of two-a-days in the hot, humid August sun. Ten regular season games, plus the post season if you played for a successful team. For multi-sport athletes it is on to the next season, but for those who only play football it is much needed rest period. Or is it? For those individuals who have reached the highest level of football, they know that there is no off-season.
There are two parts to playing this game; physical and mental. The physical involves running and lifting, blocking and tackling, and passing and catching. The mental includes long film sessions, chalk talks and diligent playbook study. In preparation for a football season, players across the country indulge in intense lifting and running sessions, as well as long football meetings, to hone their physical and mental football acumen to ensure success during the season.
Not having an off-season does not mean that you continue to lift weights and run as if two-a-days are starting in January. It means that football never leaves your psyche. As you catch up on your academics and physically heal from the bruises and aches of the season, great players reflect on the previous season. What plays did I make? What plays did I not make? Why did I not make them? What is my role? How can I be better? All of these questions (and more) are things that serious football players will ask themselves and answer.
After these questions are answered, great players make a plan and stick to it. They map out the rest of the "off-season"; treatment sessions, film sessions, lifting, running, and skill work all planned out on a calendar to the day so that when the next season roles around...their performance will be perfect.
Leonard Stephens
Performance Enhancement Coach, Perfect Performance, LLC
www.perfect-performance.com
