Training Sports Teams

Deliver high-quality, effective training programs to large groups. Program design for large groups of athletes is a daunting task, with far more factors to consider than in one-on-one training. Training Sport Teams: Principles, Strategies, and Programming for the Strength and Conditioning Professional offers practitioners invaluable guidance on the creation of training programs. While many resources discuss what practitioners do with their teams, the practical application of these approaches is often not provided. Each team has its own set of constraints that must be factored into the program design. Training Sport Teams provides explanations, tools, strategies, and programming frameworks that address the challenges posed by large-group training. Author Tim Caron brings technical concepts into a practical light, sharing his experiences as an assistant strength coach, head strength coach, and business owner. He describes the parameters programs should follow as well as the rules that help create an effective structure for training large groups of athletes. Team training, says Caron, should be bound by two basic principles: biomechanical rules through structural balance and physiological rules through periodized program design. Programs need to address progression, progressive overload, specificity, individuality, diminishing returns, and reversibility. While most strength and conditioning professionals know these key elements, scaling them up to work in a team setting takes special expertise. With guidance on communication, variance, and application, professionals will feel equipped to make changes, try new things, and deliver quality programming to athletes regardless of group size.