Whether you are an athlete, coach, technical staff or just a spectator I am certain you may have heard the terms pre-season and off-season before. Naturally, the indicator of what they’re referencing is in the name: pre-season is usually the weeks just before an athlete’s competitive season begins and the off-season is the weeks following the end of the athlete’s competitive season prior to the beginning of pre-season. Given that all sports are not played at the same time of the year one athlete’s off-season might be another athlete’s main competitive season and as such many athletes and teams revolve their training schedules around their respective competitive seasons.
During the off-season, you may still find many athletes and coaches pushing training regimens, technical and conditioning work and tactical training. But as written in a previous article is more really better? Should we really have athletes working intensely and sport-specifically during the off-season? Realistically much of the research is suggesting not as much as you think…
So, what is the value of this break in transmission? Some of you may even suggest that surely, it’s of more value for athletes to continue training and not risk losing form/technique/strength etc. especially if they’re coming off a great season. In short, the answer is that the off-season rest is incredibly valuable to both the physical and mental health of an athlete or team.
For many athletes, their competitive seasons are long, intensive, and high demand and research has shown that focusing on one sport for a majority of the year can lead to overuse injuries and mental burnout. This is where the value of the off-season comes into play. Having that prolonged period of physical and mental rest from sport-specific activity can aid in complete recuperation and recovery for athletes.
According to Bullard (2021), “The off-season protects athletes from mental burnout, injuries, and performance slumps. It is prime time for an athlete to self-reflect on the previous season, areas to improve upon, and goals for the upcoming season.”
Particularly for young/junior athletes who, depending on the sport, may not have defined competitive seasons it’s imperative for their coaches to build an off-season into their training calendars. It’s quite easy for coaches and parents alike to encourage young athletes to participate in every tournament available for the sake of exposure and experience and to continue year-long training without much rest. Although it may appear that their bodies can withstand the training, they too require physical and mental rest.
Allow me to state that this is not to suggest, however, that for an 8-week period an athlete is left to do nothing, but the intensity and type of work that is programmed should be considered.
According to Rivera (2022), “when it comes to off-season training, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Off-season workout plans should focus on an athlete’s interests and goals and avoid sport-specific drills or exercises. When assessin
