For many out there it is already winter and maybe even snow has been seen and felt. For others you have never seen snow...
Regardless of what the climate in your particular area holds, some teams have introduced strategies to develop skills in the 'off-season'. Most would agree that there simply are not that many opportunities to play at tournaments during the months of Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb (Our Turkeybowl 3 is one of the last published HS tourney of the fall and the next one probably won't be until late February with Slopfest VI). (It should be noted that there is the Sue Inge Memorial Tourney for 8 youth open teams on Dec 9th in Chesterfield, VA but that is the last tourney scheduled on score reporter until Spring Reign).
So, with virtually no tournaments in the next couple months, what is your team going to be up to? Do your players play other sports like basketball that should be starting sometime in the next few weeks if it hasn't already? Do you do indoor ultimate? Do you weight lift or run or maybe even do some hill climbs like Alameda did this last spring? Or do you just go into hibernation? Discs and cleats get shoved into an old shelf or thrown behind the door to not be seen or touched until February or March...
For us in Eugene, OR, the rainy season is now upon our Churchill (and South Eugene & Sheldon squads). Though the temperatures don't dive into the teens here, the rain prevents us from using grass fields (we'd ruin them) and thus we are again looking for ways to keep skills up. This winter we hope to use a bit of the program that Aaron Bell developed for the UofO team back in 2002 (available on RSD) and maybe even partner with them on a few of their 'off-season' work outs.
What are other teams up to? Do you have a plan?
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
'Off Season'
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In addition to their regular practice schedule (the rain doesn’t hit too hard here) Alameda will be in the gym four days a week, stacking N.O. Xplode, GAKIC and delicious Chocolate Mint Cyto-Gainer to achieve maximum muscle growth and performance. And then do the Ego workout.
No, in all likelihood Hameed and I will sit in his van all winter, pump up our egos by talking smack about B teams and then walk calmly through the spring season throwing swill hucks to Pat, only to later be humiliated at Westerns.
International School practices year-round(although practices are less and smaller in the winter)
find a turf field. buy some hand warmers. and be thankful you dont live in seattle where it rains buckets for half the year.
LM managed to finangle some gym space once a week which we practiced in all winter, working on ideas and throws (gaining confidence is important); running was done on the outside also... but not enough.
At ARHS each player is expected to arrive at tryouts in top aerobic shape. They train throughout the winter starting in December or January, working on long distance first, and then, as we approach tryouts (which is the third week in March), they work on quickness, mainly by running stadiums and hills. There are also those who join indoor track or work on improving their vertical on their own.
At tryouts they run a timed 1.5 mile, and we also time them on short sprints. I have found that the more you can quantify the results at tryouts, the better off we are when the kids want to know why they didn't make a certain team. We also, of course, evaluate them in other areas, such as skills, field sense, and coachability.
In addition, the players run a winter ultimate league, playing at an indoor facility once a week.
I do virtually nothing in terms of motivating them to do any of the above. They derive most of their motivation internally or from each other.
This year the Paideia Cup is 3 weeks after tryouts, so we have no time to waste in the beginning of the season working on conditioning.
At Hopkins we just get out our boots and parkas and go to the school fields. If you can cut in two feet of snow you can cut on anyone.
...but most of the time we just practice in gym space along with track practices.
carl is right, i cut on him all the time
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