training athleticism at practice

The best athletes have the most potential to be the best players.  If coaches are going to progress athletes in multiple sports, they must train them as athletes during their participation in each sport.  A player does not optimize their athleticism by merely participating in a sport.  For example, a personal trainer who is an experienced and qualified movement specialist may incorporate elements of the player’s sport into the training, but they certainly would not limit the drills and exercises to the sport skill drills.

Here are the components to a comprehensive athleticism training program at practice:

General Principles

• Athleticism training should have its own separate dedicated phase(s) to every practice.
• The word coach is a verb, an action word.  At least one coach on every staff should be qualified and present every day to properly teach and demonstrate every drill and exercise being taught to the players. If such a coach does not currently exist, a qualified personal trainer experienced in that sport should be hired by the league to design the programs for each level and should teach the coaches how to properly perform the skills.
• The players should be assessed every day in their ability to perform the skills and what is being taught should be progressed and regressed to be sure the entire player ability spectrum is being taught.
• Leagues and their coaches must be as committed to progressing the players’ athleticism during the season and season-to-season as they are committed to progressing the sport skills of the players.
• Coaches must have the ability to mentally, and sometimes literally, take the sport implements out of their players’ hands and analyze the athlete’s movements from the ground up when performing the sport skill.  Many times, the solutions to sport skill flaws are in physiology and athleticism and not in doing more sport skill drills.
• Train the mental as well as the physical when training athleticism by asking them sport IQ questions or life skill quotes to interpret while they are moving.
• Train reaction, as well as action, during the training using auditory, (“Go!”) or visual (point) commands or by using kinesthetic cues such as incorporating ball tosses or placing discs on their heads during the drills.
• Athletes need to be continually educated about the importance of proper nutrition, particularly the need to consume enough healthy calories every day, hydration, rest, and quality sleep to support their athletic training. Athletes who want to be elite and optimize their development should keep daily nutrition and sleep journals.

Dynamic Movement

• The exercises and drills must be done in all planes of motion – sagittal (forward, backward, up and down), frontal (side-to-side) and transverse (rotational) and they must work on change of direction, too.
• Develop proprioceptive skills by being sure that the players are using their arms and legs in a coordinated, synchronized and appropriate (contralateral or ipsilateral) manner for every exercise and drill and do not look at the ground or their feet during the drills.
• Specifically, players should be taught to crawl, walk (yes, walk – there are very few players on any team that can walk using their arms properly in a coordinated, contralateral manner because they spend most of the time outside of their sport holding a phone or a device when they are walking), march, skip, bound, run, sprint, shuffle, hip turn, backpedal, jump and hop.
• Every footwork pattern a player will be asked to perform when doing position fundamentals later in practice and in games should be taught and trained here first, e.g. chatter steps, power steps, drop back steps, foot replacement, and box shuffle drills.
• Every exercise and skill should begin with teaching the players how to properly breathe while performing the drill.
• Train the players symmetrically by having them do things leading with both legs, e.g., leading with right leg and then left leg when starting the speed ladder and by moving in both directions – forward/backward and laterally, e.g., when skipping, shuffling and bounding.
• Incorporate dynamic stretches into the movements to work on mobility (e.g., increasing range of motion in the shoulder, torso, and thoracic spine), flexibility, elasticity, stability and balance.
• Use discs, cones, hexagons, hurdles, and speed ladders for drills and shuttle runs to train agility and quickness.  This is a great opportunity to have the players compete by establishing individual personal records and team records and to compete against their teammates individually or in teams.
• Train sprinting techniques and skills at the beginning of practice as a basis for baserunning and chasing balls in the air and at the end of practice for building endurance.

Strength Training

• This should be trained at the end of practice when the sport skills are done.
• All schools and leagues should be sure every team, at minimum, has access to kettle bells, med balls, sleds, bands for the legs and bands for the shoulders to use as equipment for strength training.
• The basic movements of push, pull, squat, hinge and carry should be individually assessed, taught and progressed.
• Technique should always be prioritized over maximum strength goals.
• Design a careful progression of absolute strength with reasonable limits as a foundation for power development and ultimately functional strength relating to sport skills.
• Core development is an essential part of strength training and should be taught holistically involving all the joints and muscles of the torso and hips, not just the abdominal muscles.  The progression of absolute strength, power, and functional strength are also essential components of core development training.
• At the high school level, partners can be used for arm/shoulder manual manipulation and resistance.
• Beginning at the middle school level, coaches should work with qualified trainers to design a year around strength and conditioning periodization program to be integrated with the sports the athlete plays and during off-season periods.

Resources for Content and Training

• Chris Barnard - Overtimeathletes.com and on YouTube
• Shea Pierre - Pierreseliteperformance.com and on YouTube
• Eric Cressey - Ericccressey.com and The Elite Baseball Development Podcast
• Mike Boyle – BodybyBoyle.com
• Nolan Grinstain, Hyperthrive Athletics,
  How Movement Frameworks & Foundational Patterns Shape On-Field Success

           ABCA Barnstormer Clinic, 11-08-25

• Miranda Esmonde-White – essentricstv.com