“The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly; who know the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” –Theodore Roosevelt

Strength and conditioning coaches develop athletes year-round. Improvement is within the daily grind. Training performed during the pre-season, in-season, post-season and off-season is critical for injury prevention and performance enhancement. Without it our athletes will turn into steaming piles of amphibian crap. In-season our athletes compete week after week. We must continue this competitive drive in the off-season. This concept was first brought to my attention during my time at Central College (Iowa) as both an athlete and an intern under strength and conditioning coach Jake Anderson. This same idea was also the topic of a presentation I recently saw by Brijesh Patel, strength and conditioning coach at Quinnipiac University. It inspired me to write this article and share this information with anyone who is willing to sit down and read this.

Human nature thrives upon competition. Since the dawn of time humans and animals alike have had to compete for survival. The athletes we work with compete for the thrill, the rush of the fight. It is your best against someone else’s best with the season on the line. There is nothing more gratifying than standing with your hand raised, victorious, after an exhaustive battle of guts and glory. You know you gave everything and that is why you prevailed. However, during the off-season how do you continue to instill this rush of excitement when training? Compete year-round! You can’t play a scrimmage against ‘Nobody University’, so go with the next best thing; create the competitive environment in training! I’ll cover how we divide teams, make a point system, devise the competitions themselves, and reward the victors.

TEAMS

With our competitions we will separate each of our sports teams into smaller individual teams. These individual teams will be selected by holding a public draft, a captain’s draft, or a selection draft by the coaches. The public draft is the most fun as well as the most intense. We have all the athletes sit in the middle of a large room. Much like the NFL draft we will have a moderator for each team. This moderator can be a coach or a captain who selects their team. Each round lasts one minute and the athletes are selected in front of the whole group, by their peers, until all have been chosen. We like to have the moderator write down on a piece of paper who is to be selected and hand it in to the strength and conditioning coach. The coach then announces who has just been select. Some sports teams may react more positively to a public draft than others would, so choose wisely.

A captain’s draft is held with apart from the team, with captains and coaches only. The teams are chosen through a draft scenario as well and then posted for all to see. A coach’s draft is held by the coaching staff only. Teams are chosen by the coaches to be as even as possible. Once the teams are finalized each chooses a team name to represent them. This name must be appropriate, agreed upon by all team members and hopefully clever. This helps each team identify with each other and build unity within the group. The next important factor is the point system.

POINT SYSTEM

You can develop any point system in which you feel will work best. What we do here is evaluate each team member individually and each team as a whole. During each training session every single athlete has the opportunity to gain a point for their team, or a big, fat zero. After each session we meet as a coaching staff and discuss how each athlete performed. If there were any problems with effort, attitude, execution, following directions, or punctuality, that athlete will not receive their point for the day. If there were any major issues such as arguing with a coach, fighting, not showing up at all, they will receive a -5 for their team (as well as additional punishment). No matter what team they are a part of, they must all learn to work together and be held accountable for each other’s actions. For example, if a player receives a red card during a soccer match it is the team that must suffer with only 10 people on the field finishing the game. We instill in all of our athletes that every single thing they do has a cumulative effect on their performance and their team. You skip a rep, miss your times, show up late…it all adds up!

The individual competition point system revolves around ranking, according to each athlete’s performance to others. For example, if there were 18 athletes who competed in the competition, the person who got first place will receive 18 points and the person who got last place will receive 1 point. We form spreadsheets that keep track of each week’s competition status and post them for all to see. At the end of the off-season competitions, each individual’s total will be added to the team’s total. Thus, the athlete’s individual success or failure will either help or hurt their team.

In the team competition point system the points received are also ranked according to the team’s performance. Again, if there are a total of 18 athletes on the team, the team who receives first will get 18 points, second will be 12 points, third place will be 6 points. Every week we post the results and the total scores for individuals and the teams. Again, you can solidify any type of point system you wish. It can be as complex or as simple as you would like, just help the athletes understand how they are being evaluated.

COMPETITIONS

Each week we perform one individual competition and one team competition. Some weeks may require more than the usual one of each, however that is for the coach to decide. We like to challenge the athlete individually because it forces them to compete for themselves and not rely on others. The young cub must fight for its dinner against the rest of the pack! For the team competitions, we like to involve scenarios that require them to work together both physically and mentally. Sometimes these competitions are not all about brawn, but brains and team organization. Many times it is not the strongest or fastest team that wins, but the team that is willing to work together. Sounds like life doesn’t it?

Below is just a small portion of the competitions you can do with your teams:

INDIVIDUAL TEAM

Broad/Vertical Jump                                                                        *Puzzles

Push Ups for reps                                                                        Team Sit Ups

Wall Sits                                                                                    **Move the Mountain

Jump Rope                                                                                    Fireman Carry

Strong Man Medley                                                                        Strong Man Medley

Sled Push/Pulls for time                                                            Sled Push/Pull Relay

MB Throw for distance                                                            Tug of War

Tire Flips                                                                                    Wheel Barrow Relay

Bar Hangs                                                                                    Dodgeball

TUG (tournament)                                                                        Trivia

Pull Ups/Dips                                                                                    Farmer’s Walk

Grip Challenges                                                                        Towel Wrestling

Slideboard                                                                                    Slideboard

Tendo Unit Speed Squat/Bench                                                Obstacle Courses

Sprint/Conditioning Drills                                                            Sprint/Conditioning Drills

*After taking a look at this list you are probably thinking, “Is this guy seriously having his athletes do puzzles?” I respond with a most definite YES! They are mentally challenging and will require each team to work as one to complete. They are great after a training session when the athletes are tired and have a short fuse. Puzzles, riddles, trivia, anything that requires clear, consistent thought!

**Move the mountain is having each individual athlete move a stack of Olympic bumpers one by one for a certain distance (we usually do 10 yards). Each team member will have to move the stack on their own before the next team member goes to move it. The mountain must be moved by every team member at least once. If you have uneven teams, say a team of 6 and another team of 7, the team of 6 will have one person go twice.

The possibilities are endless! Use your imagination, but at the same time keep your athletes’ safety and health in mind. Just because it looks cool does not mean it is effective and rationale. Always have a specific goal in mind for implementing the competition. No athlete should become injured performing a competition. Always make them competitive but safe. The benefits must always outweigh the risks!

REWARD

Finally, a reward must be present in order to receive full effort every week. Athletes should be intrinsically motivated, but an external reward will aid as well. We have a Champions Club established, wherein the team that comes out on top at the end of the off-season is the champion. They will receive an exclusive dinner with the coaching staff and t-shirts upon completion. Also, on in-season road trips they will be able to be first in line during meals and bus loading.

If you haven’t figured it out by now I love competitions! I always tell my athletes that I think I enjoy this stuff more than they do. It puts your athletes’ character on display. It separates those who are stronger mentally, physically, and emotionally. It shows you who can lead as well as follow. Often times you will find a team or two that has too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. It also shows you how your athletes handle defeat. Can they pick themselves back up and rise to the top, or do they continue to dig themselves and their team into a deeper hole? Most of all it will build trust and unity within your program. As Vince Lombardi once said, “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.”

Yes, this will demand more time and effort. As a fellow strength and conditioning coach, I know we do not have a lot of extra time. However, we must be involved and stay on top of what is going on. For your athletes to give you 100% of their effort they must receive 100% of yours. I will tell you this: the reward you will receive from involving competitions into your program will outweigh all the work you put in to setting it up and implementing them. Your athletes will give you everything they have to compete and succeed. Create the environment and they will respond! Also, I welcome any fresh ideas that you can come up with. Please feel free to contact me.

Brandon O`Neall is a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Maine. He holds a bachelors degree in exercise science from Central College, and a master’s degree in kinesiology from Western Illinois University. He is certified through the NSCA and the CSCCa. You can reach him through email at brandon.oneall@umit.maine.edu.