Rugby is a very British sport. In US, however, this high impact game has a long way to go to work its way into the hearts of the public.

The basics of the sport are the same as those of American football: with some variations, players tackle, run, pass, and make touchdowns through goal posts. The field is slightly larger, and the ball slightly fatter.

But a big difference between rugby and football is protective gear… rugby players don’t wear any, which has heavily contributed to the sports reputation for being rough.

However, rugby is far more than just rough and tumble. Unlike many other team sports where players sometimes stand on the field idly, rugby is a fast-moving game with few pauses, and every one of a team’s 15 players are on the field.

Rugby’s growing popularity comes in part from more exposure in the media and from its appeal to younger Americans, many of whom start playing in junior high. Its enhanced image is all to the good. There’s not a very big forum for publicizing the sport, and it has a somewhat negative stigma from people who don’t know the game. If there’s anything I’d like to do it’s to put it in a better light with the general public.

Fortunately, Americans have ample opportunity to learn more about rugby, both by watching and playing the game. For newcomers to rugby in the US, watch it on cable TV, view DVDs and reading. Then if you’re still interested, search for local clubs and get involved in some training sessions.

The largest organ in the human body is the epidermis, that is to say human skin. It is a fascinating evolutionary strategy for such an elite carbon biped-based species. Your sense of touch works because there are sensors under the skin connected to your nervous system and to your neurons. Anytime something touches the skin, you immediately feel it. It’s something itches, or you feel pain, you know right away. The other day, I was reading some research papers on this, and some new studies which are helping biotech science figure it all out.

When your skin is too hot, or starts to burn, you immediately feel it. That pain on your body tells your brain that you need to do something quick. Itching is yet another sensation which is connected in a different sort of way, but nearly the same. If you become agitated when your skin is itching, it will elevate your heart rate and nervous system. What if you wanted to use this strategy to help increase your athletic performance during competition? What if you wanted to cause an itching sensation in order to improve your agility? Would that work? How can it not? Let me explain my theory here.

When you touch something hot your muscles quickly contract and you jump back. It’s almost an involuntary motion. This is because your skin, just under the surface is so well connected to the rest of your bio system. It is because of this, that I would suggest that those who participate in sports which require an abundance of agility, fast acting maneuvers, and rocket like reflexes, might try some sort of a powder which causes an itching cessation. How about for those who play Rugby?

Maybe runners might put it on their legs? The same with soccer players – maybe boxers might put inside of the gloves, itching powder that is. Unfortunately, after perusing through Google Scholar I found no real legitimate research papers to back up my theory Pro or Con. Nevertheless, it does stand to reason, and I must ask once again; how can it not work? The question would be to do experimentation and get empirical data from actual research of athletes and their performance to see just how much itching would provide optimal performance without frustrating the athlete or taking their mind off of the important tasks needed to play the sport.

If you are researcher involved in such things, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it. I think there’s more to this story, and we need to know the answer. It might be a simple way to boost performance by 5 to 10%?

Looking through my wardrobe, I discovered a brown paper parcel tied up with string (If, like me you could not guess its contents, the fact that it was wrapped in brown paper and tied with string should give you a hint as to its age) knowing that brown paper and string disappeared from earth along with the dinosaurs who knew how to wrap a parcel, sometime in the very early 60s.

Intrigued by the parcel, and admiring the craftsmanship of every folded corner and carefully tied knot and twist of the yellowing string, I proceeded to untie the string wrapping it around my fingers and placing it carefully to one side, recalling my gran doing the same thing, my father on the other hand would put the string in his pocket, he always carries a piece of string in his pocket, even to this day, (he celebrated his 90th birthday in January.)

Prompts the question; how long is a piece of string?

Answer: 90 years long.

On opening the parcel I was greeted by a very old friend who had stuck to me through thick and thin, mud and rain, snow and ice, now showing the same traces of age as myself, going a little thinner, faded, and now having as many creases as surface area would allow.

My old rugby shirt, preserved in time, back to join me once more, or would it? The passage of Time, Food and Beer, on both the shirt and myself was more than obvious. Would we still fit together skin to skin? there was only one way to find out. Stopping for a moment to consider, as one does when an old school friend tries to contact you on Friends Reunited pondering whether it is best to forget the idea of getting in touch and just remember things as they were so as to avoid any embarrassment or disappointment.

There was only one solution to this question, off came my top, standing ceremoniously, in ritualistic fashion with the red and white hooped shirt spread across the bed in front of me, no 5 staring back at me, waiting to be transformed from this flat shapeless form into the fine physique it once enjoyed, gripping the bottom of the shirt with my thumbs tucked inside I proceeded to gather the shirt into a ring to slip over my head, once inside,eyes closed, the shirt transformed into a time machine, whisking me back to the changing room, at the bottom of that muddy lane, the freezing cold floor and showers the mixture of aromas, winter greens liniment, dubbing, wet socks, sweat, smoke coming from the open fire in the bar area of the club.

Opening my eyes I now pulled the shirt over my head, Relief at least that still fitted, Now to maneuver my arms into the sleeves (did I mention it was an old shirt) being careful not to put too much strain on this old-timers already stretched seams, sliding my arms through gently until my hands popped out of the cuffs, relief they still fitted, gripping the bottom of the shirt which was still in a rucked up state across my chest I decided to go for it and pulled with all my might to bring the bottom of the shirt to its rightful resting place, feeling proud that at least it was on and now had form, it felt great, or was I looking at it with my time machine vision, turning to the mirror, for that “mirror, mirror” on the wall moment we all like to take part in, I saw before me not a transformation, but more of a shape-shift, what was once a red and white hooped rugby shirt now resembled a barbers pole, the shirt had developed what can only be described as a beer belly, taking one last look and appraisal of the still proud shirt, I decided that the distorted shape was the result of being enclosed in the brown paper for all those years and too much tension applied to the knots in the string, after all it never looked like that when I last wore it 42 years ago!

The origins of the rugby shirt or jersey as it was Known then, date back to 1839 At Rugby School, the School House team of 1839 was the first side to adopt a uniform. All their players wore red velvet caps during a match that Queen Adelaide, is thought to have watched.

These velvet caps, together with white trousers and jerseys, became accepted for players ‘following up’ although each wore his own favorite colors and carried a personal motto on his shirt (equivalent to today’s Tee-shirt slogan). I bet it wasn’t “rugby players do it with odd shaped balls”

With the fast approaching Rugby World cup my wardrobe will be seeing a new addition, after a visit to the rugby Store, my old friend will nonetheless have the honour of watching the games with me just hanging around together, unless he can get back in shape in time?

The announcement of Brian O’ Driscoll as IRB player of the year underlined the importance of style over substance. O’ Driscoll in truth wasn’t even Ireland’s best player in the six nations, never mind player of the tournament. That award was won by a country mile by the excellent Gordon Darcy. It sadly raises the issue of profile in modern day sport. The higher the profile the better the chance of recognition, when the gongs are being handed out. In fairness to Brian, he looked every bit as surprised as the rest of the rugby fraternity. Awards are at the best of times, just an excuse for marketing the cream within your crop. Like David Beckham before him, O’ Driscoll is incredibly media friendly,a marketing agency’s dream. In modern day sport a status is difficult to acquire, and even more difficult to lose.

After bursting on the scene with his try fest in the Paris, Brian’s legend gathered apace for the next couple of years. Like Becks who stole the lime light at Old Trafford, the golden boy of Irish Rugby could do no wrong. One try scoring pass or a great tackle a game was by now enough, to elevate the ‘Bod’ to the top of the page. A flick pass here and a feint there, and commentators were drolling into their Microphones. Objectivity flew out the window, as the by now Teflon coated centre; could do no wrong. Except of course if you recall his no show in Cardiff as Golden boots Gavin Henson and the fiery dragons of Wales, fed our super hero a large cache of Kryptonite. Brian’s no show was blamed on the lack of quality service, a suitable refuge for all sporting kop- outs. The endorsements kept rolling in as well as the scarcely deserved plaudits. Rugby purists were noting that teams by now had little difficulty, snuffing out the life of Brian.

Another no show against Munster in the all Irish Heineken Cup semi-final,confirmed that our Messiah was human after all. The electric pace and lightning change of body shape, don’t look quite so threatening now. The edge appears to have gone off O’Driscoll’s game. The fire in the belly, that light the touch paper to the legend; is flickering out. Our hero already appears to be eyeing the Tunnel. Luckily Eddie O’ Sullivan wont be kicking any boots in his direction; aka Alex Ferguson. The only Hair dryer treatment the ‘Bod’ will be receiving will be on his own wavy locks. O’Driscoll’s place in the pantheon of Irish rugby is already assured. Ireland is the home of myth and Legend, the myth that Brian O’ Driscoll is a true great of the oval ball game is already assured.

Those brave enough to bet against the favourite would have made a healthy profit this weekend. In a unique opening to super rugby 2015, six of the seven matches were won away from home and three of those games, by the rank outsider.

The competition began with the Rebels defeat of last year’s finalists and seven times champions, the Crusaders, in Christchurch. Although beaten in the set piece, the Rebels defence was exemplary and they made fewer errors than the opposition. As usual, the Crusaders were slow out of the box, tended to rush things, kicked poorly and were short of ideas. For the winners, McMahon was exceptional.

The Brumbies restored normality at home vs the Reds, who looked completely disorganized. The referee did not help them but they were poor all round. The Brumbies looked solid and the backline was particularly dominant, with Kuridrani and the under-rated Coleman to the fore.

Without several All Blacks, the Chiefs began quickly and established a good lead early. They faded later and their continuing tendency to lose the ball in contact needs to be addressed. Sonny Bill Williams made an immediate impact, the backs were good in the first half and the McKenzie brothers showed up well. If the Blues play to their potential though, the Stormers will have their hands full this weekend.

Lions vs Hurricanes was a strange match, which the visitors did well to win but the result could easily have been different. Too many turnovers and a lack of finishing cost the Lions dearly and the Hurricanes made the most of limited opportunities. The result will hurt but there was much that had promise in this Lions performance.

Predictably, the Bulls resorted to type but without the scrum muscle to back it up, they floundered against a motivated Stormers team and suffered a rare defeat at Loftus. They were largely outplayed by a team which fully deserved its victory.

Each year the cash strapped Cheetahs lose top players to other South African franchises and in their match at Durban they lost Bok lock, de Jager early in the game. However, they always battle away manfully and while their forwards held their own, they were lit up at the back by Pretorius and le Roux. They appeared sharper and more focused and despite a nervy finish, left Durban with a full bag of points. The Sharks were simply disappointing.

Last but not least, the gutsy Force, who have never won the first game of a super rugby season and who were without talismanic captain, Hodgson for the first eight weeks of the competition, fronted up magnificently against the star studded champions. Even the loss of their international prop, Pek Cowan did nothing to blunt their efforts. The Waratahs looked as if they thought all they had to do was turn up and that arrogance was their undoing. Despite set piece dominance, they were slow to react and appeared unmotivated. Next weekend should prove interesting.

Highlanders vs Reds

In a battle of teams which are unlikely to figure in the knockout rounds of the competition, the Highlanders deserved their 20-13 victory against the injury depleted Reds, who boasted several new names in their line-up. For the losers, Genia appears to have found a new lease of life and O’Connor hinted at his talents. Anthony Fainga’a is always committed but gives away far too many penalties. The Highlanders will struggle up front against the more powerful sides but their backs, with the Smiths, Ben and Aaron, Banks, Fekitoa and Naholo all prominent, will continue to pose problems for any team.

Force vs Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have given new coach Chris Boyd the best possible start to the season with three away wins from three. Allied to their consistent spreading of the ball wide in the backs, the Hurricanes now have a competitive pack of forwards. They were quick to the breakdown, strong in the scrum and have added a rolling maul to their armoury. In the absence of Jeremy Thrush, Broadhurst and Abbott were splendid at lock. At the back, Barrett is full of ideas but Julian Savea’s hands let him down on occasions. Lee-Lo turned in a useful performance in Conrad Smith’s absence and Smiley was fair but he is no Perenara.( Force 13 Hurricanes 42)

Cheetahs vs Blues

It is becoming a somewhat worrying trend in rugby that the team winning most aspects of a game is ending up the loser. The Blues completely dominated this match in terms of territory, possession and just about everything else. However, as is customary with them, they wasted several opportunities, gave away soft tries and took wrong options. The substitution of Faumuina late in the game led to a scrum penalty, which enabled the Cheetahs to kick the winning points. West continued his excellent form with the boot and Kaino, in his hundredth super rugby game, was a powerful presence. Those dynamic game breakers, Willie le Roux and Sarel Pretorius, eventually won the day for the Cheetahs, who are punching above their weight at the moment. (Cheetahs 25 Blues 24)

Chiefs vs Crusaders

This was a physical encounter in which the Chiefs were hard hit by the loss of Retallick early on, while the Crusaders lost Robbie Fruean. Judging by some of the penalties awarded in this game and in other recent matches, any contact between players competing for the ball in the air results in at least a penalty and often a yellow card against one of them, which is a ridiculous situation. Both defences were aggressive, with Tameifuna for the Chiefs and Taufua for the Crusaders putting in some huge hits. The Chiefs were far more effective in attack with excellent chasing of kicks and speedy support play, while the Crusaders continue to run their attacks from side to side, making them far easier to defend. The selection by the Chiefs of Pulu instead of Weber was crucial and Elliot’s lineout throws are much improved. Heem and to a lesser extent, Weber are the only weak links in this Chiefs team at the moment. The Crusaders are struggling but will shortly welcome back several resting All Blacks. (Chiefs 40 Crusaders 16)

Rebels vs Brumbies

This was another match which the dominant team lost. The Rebels dominated both halves but made some poor decisions, failed to finish opportunities and made too many silly mistakes. Higginbotham’s poor discipline is a bad example for a captain and scrum half Nic Stirzaker takes on too much on his own. The Rebels were not helped by the fact that cynical play by the Brumbies went unpunished, while Steve Walsh had one of his worst games as referee. The Brumbies played more intelligent rugby and their use of the rolling maul, together with their defence of it, were greatly superior to the Rebels. (Rebels 15 Brumbies 20)

Bulls vs Sharks

This was probably not an appropriate match to award to a debutant referee but it was rather the fault of the TMO Johan Greeff that certainly one and perhaps two tries, which should not have been given, were awarded to the Bulls. The match showcased the skills of what are obviously the best flyhalves in the country, in Lambie and Pollard. The work rate of Labuschagne and Strauss for the Bulls was exemplary and they are proving terrific buys for the Bulls from the Cheetahs. Matfield turned in an improved performance and for the Sharks, Kankowski made a successful return while Marcel Coetzee was excellent at the breakdown in particular. The Bulls will be happy but the Sharks were a little unlucky (Bulls 43 Sharks 35)

Lions vs Stormers

In a turnaround from last year, things are tending to run for the Stormers rather than against them. In wet conditions, which do not suit the Lions, the scrums were fairly even but the Stormers lineout suffered from poor throwing by Mbonambi, who otherwise was quite good around the park. Muller was effective in contesting the Stormers lineout and the Lions did well at the breakdown. However, in the first half in particular, they appeared disorganized and tighthead prop Koch continued to impress for the Stormers in the scrum. Behind the Lions pack, de Klerk struggled and this affected Jantjies, who did not always take the right options, gave away a crucial penalty and dropped a high kick, which led to the only try for the Stormers. More of the skills and fluency of last year’s Currie Cup campaign appeared for the Lions in the second half but some will say their insistence in going for the win, rather than an easy kick for a draw, was foolish. That is, however, part of their positive rugby approach and had Mnisi not dropped the ball over the line after his colleagues had managed 28 fault free phases and then minutes later again dropped it a few metres from the line, the Lions would have been victorious. De Jongh and de Allende were good in the centre for the Stormers. The Lions should think of giving hooker Armand van der Merwe more game time and consider Jaco van der Walt at flyhalf. (Lions 19 Stormers 22)

We have become used to seeing New Zealand top the annual Sevens World Series, for they have finished winners of 12 of the 15 tournaments but we may shortly be in for a change.

Although they are once again defending champions, it has become apparent that they are not quite the force they once were and are now not the leaders in physicality, pace, skill or intelligence of play. Marvellous record that he boasts, coach Gordon Tietjens is no longer ahead of the field and some of his strategies are, if not obsolete, lacking in creativity or even intelligence.

Instead of looking for space or attempting to put players into gaps, the general objective seems to be to make contact and re-cycle the ball repetitively until the defence loses its shape. Against the South Africans in particular, this is no longer working, as the Blitzbokke are the current masters of the breakdown, their exceptional commitment and intensity driving away and turning over not just the New Zealanders but all teams. It is probably true that they are being allowed to get away with murder at the breakdowns but until referees respond they will continue to dominate.

Despite being neither the biggest nor the strongest team, SA are the most physical and they have greater depth in place than any side. On attack, the Fijians still lead the way with their skills, pace and power but this is not matched by defence, discipline, fitness or commitment. Under a new coach, Australia is at last making progress and may well become a threat, particularly if they can find more pace. Samoa have fallen away badly and do not possess a game breaker. They are short on speed and have no cohesive game plan. England are the best of the rest but after that the standard declines rapidly.

On paper, the South Africans should win this year’s series but as we move towards 2016 and the Olympic Games, everything will change, as some, if not all teams will turn to some of their 15 man rugby stars. Imagine a NZ Sevens ‘pack’ of Dane Coles, Kieran Read and Brodie Retallick backed by Aaron Smith, Beauden Barrett, Sonny-Bill Williams and Julian Savea with Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa and Sam Cane on the bench. It is an exciting prospect, if a little unfair to those who train and play in the Sevens game all season.

On Australia Day 2010, KooGa Rugby, with help from current Wallabies Matt Giteau, Benn Robinson, and Berrick Barnes, launched their new Wallabies rugby jersey. In doing so KooGa started contributing to a rugby history dating back to 1899 when Australia played their first series in 1899.

In this edition of the jersey, KooGa have retained the traditional Wallabies green and gold, although the green is a little less prevalent in this edition. When the Wallabies played that first ever series their jersey was actually blue or red, and had a predominant coat of arms. After the first World War Queensland took a break and Australia was solely represented by New South Wales in tests. When they combined again in 1929 Australia was finally represented using its current colours, green and gold.

There have been a few exceptions in order to avoid colour clashes with opposing teams. For example in 1933 Australia reverted to blue to play the Springboks, and white with a little green and gold to play the All Blacks in 1938.

While the new colour scheme on the KooGa rugby jersey sticks with the green and gold tradition, which began in 1929, that is where the similarities to those historic jerseys end. As Australian Rugby Union CEO said at the launch, “Obviously the Wallabies jumper of that era is a far cry from where we are today with state-of-the-art, body-hugging, temperature controlling apparel, but the Wallaby Gold remains consistent”.

This has been a trend for all international rugby playing countries, and the body-hugging style of rugby jerseys was first really showcased on mass at the 2003 World Cup. This has seen a change in appearance if not colour to the famous jerseys worn by the likes of England, Ireland and the All Blacks. All use their traditional colours of white, green, and black respectively, but all have moved on from the baggy, thick cotton and collared jerseys of the past.

Technology has continued to improve since that World Cup, which saw rugby jerseys, particular the new All Blacks jerseys by Adidas, falling apart. This latest instalment by KooGa Rugby is described as “‘bullet-proof” and “virtually indestructible”, even containing such materials as hydrosteel and carbon fibre. They are also light and body temperature controlling, which has become standard across professional rugby jerseys. In all ways, certainly a far cry from the first international Australian rugby jerseys first worn in 1899.

Rugby Union is a complex physical sport, which continually has talking points on how the game is played from a safety and entertainment point of view. The scrum is currently at the forefront and has raised many questions.

The scrum is regarded as a restart after an infringement but is a crucial part of the game and a dominant scrum can determine the winner of a game. This has made scrummaging more important and more competitive. Due to this tactics, players and laws have changed over the years with the large majority thinking at the detriment of the game of rugby.

The professionalism of rugby changed the game in many ways mainly training and the size of players. Props have shifted from short fat players to athletes such as Andrew Sheridan who is 6″ 4 and nearly 19 stone. This has put more power and pressure on the scrum and the players involved.

The scrum has always been a controversial part of the game. Though a very low percentage, there have been serious injuries and deaths caused by scrummaging.

“The proportion of scrum injuries is tiny compared to those caused by the tackle.” The “catastrophic” injury rate is 0.8 per 100,000 players, compared with 8.2 per 100,000 in gymnastics.”

The rugby authorities are very aware of the dangers and have commissioned research and introduced new laws to hopefully reduce the risk of injury or worse.

In recent years the introduction of “Crouch, touch, pause, engage” has been implemented to control the engagement and stop charging in scrums. As a front row player myself, the touch aspect does control the distance between the two teams but the sequence as a whole doesn’t work. If you have crouched and touched you are already pausing in a crouched position. The introduction of this law is to make the engage safer but in some aspects it has made it more dangerous. The front row has to hold the impending drive of the other 5 players behind until the exact time of the referees engage. This can cause early engagements as teams try to preempt the referees timing or struggle to hover in the crouch position with 5 players driving on them.

Rugby is played at many different levels and the scrum can raise different questions at the varied degrees of the game. At the professional level reffing is the main concern. As rugby players at the peak of the game compete in the scrum, many collapse and referees have the job to establish who the offender was. TV pundits and fans alike are confused by most decisions. These continued collapsed scrums are not just the referees fault but if they fail to control them a game can be spoilt. The scrum is an art form that unless you’ve played in the front row, you probably have no idea of what is going on. This makes referees ill equipped to adjudicate them. Do rugby boards need to consult ex props to discover how best to control and preserve the art of scrummaging?

At a junior level the main concern is safety, which is understandable. Some campaigners want scrums to be outlawed at age group level to avoid any injuries. Although this would be true until 16 or 18, I feel it would cause more in the long run. Only players with front row experience can play prop or hooker. How are players meant to gain this experience if not at junior level?

Through the age groups scrummaging is introduced slowly, firstly with only six players, then 10, then onto the full 16. This allows young players to learn how to scrummage under less pressure and by the time they are old enough they have the experience and strength to play open age. If a player who is classed as a prop at junior level then steps up to senior rugby, he would have to then learn how to scrummage or risk being seriously hurt.

Also another massive impact would be the players who prop. Rugby is known as a game for all shapes and sizes, abolishing scrums at junior level would leave the players of ‘prop mould’ on the sideline as their weight and size would no longer be an advantageous attribute. These players maybe lost from rugby altogether and thus we loose the games future props.

Scrummaging is an important part of rugby and to loose it at junior level would risk future injury and risk the future of the scrum its self.

At what ever level the scrum is an important part of the game and for safety and the spectacle of the game it does need addressing. There is no obvious answer as this would have been implemented long ago. The result will have to keep the competitive art of scrummaging alive but at the same time ensure the safety of players and keep the game flowing for paying spectators. The suggestion of eradicating the ‘hit’ has been suggested, this may have long term benefits to the bodies of players and reduce the amount of collapsing engages that hinder the game at the moment. The ‘hit’ is one of the scrums oldest factors and is a skill in it’s self. If it was to disappear it may be the start of the end of scrums and no one wants to see a rugby league scrum in union, do they?

I am writing this article for the benefit of the Amateur Rugby Coach who may be well versed in tactics and skill training of their Rugby Team but are not so up to speed on the Conditioning Element of training. This will give a simple insight into how a team coach should put together a pre-season programme and how to maintain any gains that are made throughout the playing season.

Rugby is a complicated sport as far as conditioning is concerned. It is neither an Endurance Sport nor an out and out power sport. If you were to draw a straight line and place Sprinting at one end of the line and a marathon at the other end of the line and call it a continuum, then Rugby would fit somewhere in the middle, maybe edging toward the power end.

Before you can put any training programme into use, it is important to carry out what is known as a needs analysis. This means looking at the physical demands on the player and the team that the sport makes. A short list would look something like this.

1. Skill
2. Speed
3. Power
4. Strength
5. Endurance
6. Suppleness and Mobility

Each of the above subheadings show what the demands of the sport are, however, some positions will require more of one aspect than another. That is to say, an outside back would need to concentrate more on Speed work than a Prop forward, this is because, the Prop forward requires great strength and good stamina as opposed to the Outside back who needs great Speed and Power and not so much Stamina as his continuous involvement in the game is less than the prop forwards.

At a professional level where the team has conditioning coaches, each playing position can be conditioned individually, however, this is not usually possible for the amateur coach as there is a lack of knowledgeable coaches to deliver position based programmes, not only that, but the amount of time the amateur coach is exposed to the team is far less than in the professional game. So the Amateur coach has to adopt a plan that will get the most from his team with the time, tools and coaches available, to do this, using Periodisation of training will be the most effective way.

Periodisation of training is a fancy name for time management. It was first used in the Eastern Block back in the 60’s. It means that each stage of training is allocated a particular time frame.

Pre-season training will normally be around 12 weeks long with the playing season taking into account the weather and postponements of games being around 30 -36 weeks long. This means that the coach has to prepare the team in 12 weeks and then keep them at a good level of conditioning for a further 30-36 weeks, no easy task.

First things first.

Before starting out and making any plan, the coach must do some form of basic testing, to find out the current conditioning level of the team. From the results of these tests, he will be able to decide where he/she must direct the main effort of conditioning training.

I am going to assume that these days; most Amateur clubs have access to a gym that has free weights and also a field that they can train on.

Common tests that can be used and are simple to administer are the following

1. Speed. 10 and 30 meter speed tests
2. Agility. The Agility T test or the 5-10-5 Pro Agility Test
3. Power. The Vertical Jump Test & The 5 standing Broad Jump Test
4. Strength. The 1 Rep Maximum Bench Press. The 1 Rep Maximum Squat Test. The 1 Rep Maximum Pull Up Test
5. Endurance. The 5 minute Run Test

After the testing phase and the coach has decided what needs training the most he/she can sit down and make out his/ her basic Periodisation plan.

I have set out a Hypothetical pre-season training programme below. I have decided that the team needed to concentrate on all aspects of their training equally after seeing the testing results. During the pre-season and your competition phase, some weeks should be lighter in volume than others; I would suggest every fourth week is good for this.

We have established that 12 weeks are available for Pre-season Training. Now we have to split these 12 weeks up into smaller training phases. Each Training phase will last 4 weeks (These we will call Mesocycles) and each week in each training phase is called a Micro cycle. The whole season will be called a Macro Cycle. So Periodisation has Macro cycles (the whole training period), Meso Cycles (Phases of the training period) and Micro cycles (weeks within the training phases).

Now to split the Pre-season up, you can have Macro cycle 1 = 4 weeks. Macro cycle 2= 4 weeks. Macro Cycle 3 = 4 weeks. The competition period (when you have your games) is split up similarly.

You will now have to allocate the type of training you want to be the main effort to each of the Macro cycles. At the start of the pre season, fitness training is very important and so is strength training. These two elements are called General Preparation. So Macro Cycle 1 will be called; The General Preparation Period (GPP)

During this period it is suggested that you work on Basic Strength work, mainly Muscular Growth (Hypertrophy) which means that your strength training should revolve around 8 – 12 repetitions at 65-80% of 1 rep maximum Lifts.

Running should be based around longer distance Interval Training. For example 2 x 5 x 400 mtr runs at 80% effort, with 120 seconds recovery between runs and 5 minutes recovery between sets.

You would build the training volume up over the GPP.

Next is Macro cycle 2. That will be known as the Sport Specific Preparation Period. At this stage you would start to put your main effort toward Skill and Team development, physically you would now have a shift toward Basic Strength training, this means your lifting would be 3 – 6 repetitions at 75-90% of 1 repetition Maximum weight. Your Conditioning work would still be running based, but now is the time to bring the distances down. Now you should be looking at more intense interval work Distances should be 100 – 200 meter sprints. Up to 5 x 200 and 6 – 8 100. Rest times should be around 2 to 3 minutes between repetitions. And they should be run at 85-90% of maximum speed. You should also start to bring in some type of Agility training at the start of your conditioning sessions; these can be skill based and could last 10 – 20 minutes. This phase is abbreviated to SSPP

The final phase of the Pre-season training programme is referred to as the Pre-competition Phase (PCP) as a coach you should now be concentrating much more on Team Drills and getting all your set piece sorted. Physically it is now all about the team peaking for optimum performance for the first game; the majority of fitness work should be Power related, High intensity sprint drills with longer rest periods and a lot more skill bases agility work. Just keeping your fitness gains topped up. In the last week prior to the first game of the season, training should be intense but probably only a third of the volume that you have been doing over the pre-season.

Now that you are into the competition phase of the season, you should split the season up into further Meso cycles where you can concentrate on topping up your fitness, power, speed and agility etc, throughout the season, these Meso cycles can be from 4 -6 weeks long.

Please bear in mind that the above explanation and examples are exactly that, examples! The model has been written purely so that you as a coach have a basic understanding of a Basic Periodisation Model. I hope you have found the article informative. For further information on Periodisation please visit my website listed in the resource box below.