HOL In-State Tour Anonymous feedback: Strength/conditioning, multisport

HuskerOnline hosted its annual In-State Tour in Omaha and Lincoln and had 22 coaches and 136 players from across Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa fill out anonymous questionnaires.

The questions varied between coaches and players and ranged from the number of multi-sport athletes to which coach got the most out of his team and the best players.

Not all of the coaches and players submitted a questionnaire but HuskerOnline will be running several features based on their responses.

In this installment, we will be reviewing the coaches' and players' answers to their typical off-season strength/conditioning program, how many of their players have private trainers and how many play more than one sport.

All by one coach answered with how their team conditions in the summer. 14 coaches said their team works out four days a week during the summer and two said three days a week with a large time commitment per session.

Coaches mentioned the change in how they focus their team's workouts and a larger emphasis on speed and agility training and strength training that translates to the field. Many schools provide weight lifting classes along with workouts during the school year.

A few coaches mentioned the importance of sharing athletes with other sports.

While multiple coaches said they have changed their strength and conditioning to get slightly different results but haven't changed the time commitment much over the last 10 years.

"Two days per week during the school year or four days during summer. We also offer a strength training class. Focus more on movement, flexibility and SPEED."

"Four lifts per week, three to four workouts (sprints, agility, footwork, plyometrics), been doing the regiment for 25+ years."

"Four days per week with strength and speed training. This has been consistent for us the past 10 years."

"Summer - two hours of lift/speed. Little bit of 7-on-7 or OL/DL work."

"Three to four days per week. Adding a lot more agility work and injury prevention."

"In school, we have weights offered during the day. After school is an option as well. Less commitment."

"Four days - 60 to 90 minutes each day. It is a huge focus. We want multisport athletes who are physically prepared."

"Mostly, it's seasonal, you want your kids to build strength over the off-season but during the season maintain that. Past 10 years: the commitment level."

"Four times per week (one hour per session). Strength and conditioning has changed a great deal. More about strength that translates onto ta field instead of just being strong."

"We require lifting four times per week. Many kids come in five. Throwing with quarterbacks and wide receivers two times. Full team conditioning two times a week. 7-on-7 one time a week."

"Summer: Monday through Thursday - 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Three hours must always consist of speed, lifting and skill development. We really have altered our type of training based on the physical demands of the players."

"If want to be elite, it starts in the off-season."

"We work out four days a week. We ask for about two hours a day for the kids. It has been a huge change over the past 10 years."

"It's about the same, workouts are the sweat equity of any program."

"The only thing that has changed for us over the last 10 years is adding the winter segment and the amount of participation that's increased as a team. We're more consistent lifting as a team."

"We haven't changed. We approached quality over quantity. Plus, with mostly multi-sport athletes, we wanted them time/recovery. Our routine barely changed during summers overthe last 10 years. More 7-on-7 competitions versus just intrateam work."

The coaches were asked what percentage of athletes play two or three sports while the players were simply asked how many sports they play besides football.

Here is a chart of the number of coaches that reported what percentage of their players play two sports and how many play three sports:

Below is a chart that organizes the 135 player answers to how many sports they each play besides football:

Of the 20 coaches that answered the question, 17 of them specifically stated some of their players work out with private trainers. The answers ranged from some or a few to 50 percent.

Several coaches stressed the importance of getting the right trainer that will be mindful of what the high school team's are doing in the weight room. Many said they worry about overuse and/or injury.

More players have been working with private trainers over the last five years as coaches have noticed more.

Again, the location of the school has an impact on the resources available and if players can afford to get a private trainer. Teams in Omaha and Lincoln have more accessible trainers in their vicinity.

Here are their answers:

“Yes, probably around 1/3 to 1/2 of our kids train all year round. Yes, more advanced development.”

“Very few… mainly because we are quite a ways from Omaha and Lincoln. We did adopt the Xplosive Edge training program this past year.”

“Some players will do supplemental workouts. Very important that communication occurs to make sure we keep players healthy and don’t overlap on training.”

“Very few if any. Some speed stuff we want out guys to be three-sport guys.”

“Two to three, not much due to the population not affording. (Private trainers add no value!!)”

“A handful. The difference is tough to tell as some guys make big gains in speed and strength and some don’t. I think it depends on the quality of the private trainer.”

“Personally, I think there is a big difference from the kids who train year-round to the players who wait to start when sports specifically start.”

“30 to 40 percent train privately. This has grown a ton over the last five years. I’ve seen this grow kid's confidence and drive.”

“We ask that these things happing in addition to not instead of. I worry about overtraining but haven’t had any negative situations as of yet.”

“We have some. Maybe 25 percent. This has increased a lot in the last five years.”

“Probably 1/3. Gets more and more prominent. We make them do our workouts. The outside stuff is “extra”.”

“Very few of our guys have private trainers and only a couple go to sports-specific trainers. I know more players are attracted to this but many of our guys are multi-sport athletes. The biggest change is on the football side of development.”

“50 percent. It’s grown a lot. Great player development but team development is even more important.”

"Approx. five to eight. They have facilities/abilities during winter we don't, so yes, they do improve if the right people are doing the training. Trainers who care bout the high school program and what is done prior to working the kids out are beneficial. Overuse injuries are real and some do not factor in what kids do for workouts at the high school."

“I would guess 25 percent of our guys work with private trainers. The number varies from year to year. I think it helps if it is meeting the athlete's needs.”

“We have around 40 percent of our guys that have trainers. This has grown tremendously.”

“A decent percentage of players seeing separate trainers along with what we do in the weight room. Most of them go to work on speed and agility training now which has helped improve them in that area. Gyms and trainers are popping up all over the place for the last few years so kids and parents feel like they can take advantage of someone’s expertise. The trick is to not do too much. We want kids lifting as a team to build a culture so if they lift away from us, we need to coordinate workouts to keep them healthy.”

“We have about 10 guys that do work with private trainers. This is the fastest-growing thing in the last 10 years. I really don’t see a difference.”

As for the players questioned, over 60 percent train privately with a trainer. I marked that 87 players train privately with a trainer. Their answers range from once a week to every morning or every day after school.

Many players said they workout/lift outside of school often but did not list if it was with a trainer. They were not counted in the tally unless they were more specific so there is likely more players that train privately.

The players that attended HuskerOnline's in-state tour are some of the best players at their schools and in the state. Depending on location, some towns outside of Omaha and Lincoln don't have as many private trainers. Economic status is also a factor into affording extra training.