Athlete Training – Is Group or Individual Best?

As an athlete, is it better to train as an individual or in a group?

If you think about most sports, a certain level of reaction is inherent within the sport. This is most apparent in team sports.

That being the case, having the ability to complete tasks and drills while reacting to something outside of yourself (like another athlete) will help you get better at reacting in sports.

In addition, within a group environment, a certain amount of friendly competition generally happens.

This competition not only motivates an athlete to push themselves harder than if they were training individually, but it also may help prepare the athlete for competition within a sports team or even in competition. Knowing how to react in a competitive environment can benefit an athlete.

If an athlete can only train individually, is all hope lost? By no means. Training speed and strength will almost certainly make an athlete better. But within a group, we train things beyond speed and strength.