Summer is fast approaching. And with that means the Summer Athlete Program. We often get asked what athletes do in a typical session in the Summer Athlete Program. Here’s a sample of what an athlete can expect from an SAP session.
Over the summer, we roll out a big chunk of turf outside, and that’s where we start (assuming no rain). Here, we work on building the speed, quickness, explosiveness, and reaction time almost all athletes need.
We accomplish this through a variety of sprints, a change-of-direction drill, and even a few games. The goal is to slowly transition from closed drills where athletes are grooving the technique to more open drills where they have to move in reaction to another athlete, much like they do in sports.
Next, we move into the weight room. Here, we’re going to work on building strength and power in the athlete. We’ll move lighter weights fast with weighted jumps, cleans, medicine ball tosses, and heavier weights more slowly (relatively) with squats, presses, and pull-ups.
We try to use big, full-body movements to try to get as much muscle moving at one time, as would often have to happen in sports.
We finish each session with a “finisher” (a favorite among the athletes, as you can imagine). Here, the goal is to build up some fatigue resistance through longer work periods. We may do some sprinting, shuffling, or hopping for longer periods, or we may do some lighter, higher-rep strength movements in specific areas where athletes tend to see injuries occur, such as the hips, core, and shoulders.
An athlete who can continue to perform repetitive movements for long periods will be better able to perform at the end of a sports contest.
This is done to better help the athlete be prepared for any situation they may encounter from a physical (and maybe even mental) demands standpoint.
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