As the elite touch coach of 3 representative sides this season I have a number of aims and goals for my teams. .
1- To retain performance excellence.
2- Retain high representation level.
3- To instill in all of my players the up most confidence in themselves and their team members.
4- To encourage and nurture mental and psychological capabilities.
One of the first things that will be done at the start of the season is for each athlete to write down their own personal goals for this season and then their goals for the team. These goals must be achievable and will be reviewed at various stages of the season. .
Physical.
At this level of representation of touch football all players would be in the autonomous stage of skills/learning. Because of this I am making the assumption most skills will have already been perfected and players are very competent in all physical areas of touch football. My training program is designed so that athletes retain this physical excellence. The training program will include relevant to touch training principles such as progressive overload, frequency, intensity, duration, and specificity. Fitness components covered will be speed, agility, co-ordination, aerobic capacity and anaerobic. All athletes will be trained using all 3 energy systems through out the season. It is important that athletes retain physical fitness in the off season (although not to as higher level as in competitive season), which each athlete will be responsible for. Testing of physical fitness will be taken through out this part of the season to make sure players are not putting themselves at a physical disadvantage in the pre and competitive seasons. .
Psychological.
Although the physical side is very important my main focus for the season will be the psychological side of my athletes and there mental performances. To achieve this, certain strategies will be put into place. The most significant factor in ensuring a good performance or explaining the bad is the mindset of the athlete.
