In the last few weeks Strength Coach Sarah Cahill has implemented a series of competitions into the NU Women’s Soccer training program.  I know that this is a relatively common practice amongst strength coaches, and after seeing it in action it is evident why.  The athletes seem extremely motivated to compete against each other and the intensity that this brings, then carries over into the remainder of their training.

For the competition or “challenges” the team has been split up into three evenly distributed teams that they will maintain throughout their off season training.   These teams can earn points to vie against each other to become the off season champion.  One of the challenges that the team has already competed in was a chin up hold challenge.  For this all of the times for each member of each team’s time was recorded and averages were taken.  All three teams average times were within seconds of each other, and it made for a very tight competition at the end.

All of the team challenges that have been chosen can be completed by all the athletes, even the ones recovering and rehabilitating injury’s.  This is critical because one of the teams is composed completely of the athletes rehabing injury’s.  This is where the second benefit of the team competitions come in.  It has served as a great way to reincorporated these athletes into the entire teams training.

I feel as though the athletes are responding so well to these challenges because of the nature of youth sports.  It seems as though many of the athletes that make there way to Division I programs have never really been introduced to formal resistance training before college, not because they are lazy or do not want to improve their craft but because they don’t have any time.  Most of these athletes either specialize in a sport very young, which they will play year round or they are multi-sport athletes through high school.  Before college the only form of training is actually playing and competing.  Initially, when they are first introduced to formal training it may be hard to transfer the intensity they have on the field or court to the weight room.  Although these competitions are facilitating a competitive atmosphere that will undoubtedly transfer into a higher intensity during training.