Training Seasonality: A Basketball Case Study - Part 1

Let’s start with what ‘off-season’ means…... This is the period between one season ending and the next season starting, a time for rest and recouperation both physically and mentally. Sounds simple right? well there’s a little more to it than then just resting. We like to call it active rest, where although resting from the competitive side of the sport, players will use this opportunity to enhance physical fitness, refine skills and elevate their game ready for the season ahead. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just looking to enhance your game so you can impress with newfound skill and athleticism, here are all the key components you need to not only to improve your individual performance but also enhance team success.

We can break down the off season into stages. How long each of these stages lasts will depend on the length of your off season. In the UK Professional basketball leagues this is around three months for the men and slightly longer for the women. The parameters in this article are just a guide and you should tailor them to the length of your own off-season.

Phase 1 – Recovery (2-3 weeks)

It is important to let your body heal from the stress of the season. You should use this period to do light workouts and break from any basketball related activity. This is also a good time to speak with your coach and work with them to see what areas of your game need improvement. You should use this the time to recover from any minor aliments you may have been carrying over the latter stages of the season.

Activities

• Active rest - Yoga, Pilates, walking, swimming
• Sleep – sometimes underrated but an important aid to recovery, make sure you are getting 7-8 hours per night.
• Nutrition – focus on a balanced diet to aid healing
• Physiotherapy – this is a good opportunity to get an assessment even if you haven’t got any specific injuries. Knowing any key areas that you may be weaker or more vulnerable in now means you have the rest of the off season to improve them. There are various modalities physiotherapists can use aside from just exercise prescription, for example  Soft Tissue Release, Shockwave, Acupuncture, TENS to elevate your training and best prepare you for the season ahead.
• Planning – Knowing what areas of your game you need to work on means you can pre-plan your off-season sessions around these aspects.

Phase 2 – Foundation (3-6 weeks)

Here your focus needs to be on building a solid base of strength and conditioning and correcting any imbalances. It is important to correct any imbalances now so there is sufficient time to allow changes with the muscle tissues prior to the start of the season. If not corrected at this stage, then there will be a higher chance of injury when moving into the later phases. During this period, you should also look to improve your general fitness. After some rest time in phase one you now need to build your cardio capacity to prepare for the high intensity that basketball demands. Lastly in this phase, time to pick up that basketball again and reintroduce some basketball specific skills.  

Activities

• Strength Training – focus on major muscle groups using compound exercises. If you have access to a coach with your team then asking them to prepare a program tailored to you is a good idea. Think squats, lunges, deadlifts, bench press. If you need some help you can always book an appointment with one of our strength and conditioning coaches here at White House who would be happy to aid in putting a programme together.  
• Core strength training – we’re not just talking six packs here. It’s easy to think of tight abs when we hear the word core, but you should be training all the muscle groups involved. Having a good support system for your spine will allow better mobility on and off court and will also give protection against injury. Having strong and agile core will also allow for better balance and quicker changes of direction.
• Cardiovascular training – light workouts like a steady run or cycling. Choose something you enjoy so it doesn’t feel like a chore. Aim to gradually increase the intensity over the weeks.  
• Light basketball drills – This is a good time to incorporate some of those key points you asked your coach about in phase one – choose drills that are specific to the things you need to work on. Use this time to perfect your fundamental skills.

Phase 3 – strength and Power  (4-8 weeks)

Ready to bring on the big guns. Throughout phase three your aim is to gain maximum strength and power to support explosiveness, agility, and overall physical dominance on the court. Maximising muscle strength and power through high intensity strength training and plyometrics, that target major muscle groups and incorporate dynamic movements can significantly boost player performance.  This phase also has an emphasis on refining quickness and co-ordination to cope with performing repetitive maximal or near-maximal efforts that require high levels of agility and power to achieve an advantage during a competition.

Activities

• High intensity strength training – enhances muscle power, jumping ability, and speed. Exercises like squats, deadlifts and bench press with heavy weights and low reps will help to boost explosiveness and agility, crucial for peak performance and quick movements on the court. You should aim for 3-4 sessions per week. It’s very important these exercises are performed with correct technique to avoid injury.
• Plyometric exercises – many different jumps are performed when playing basketball, jumping for height, distance, taking off one foot or two feet. It is important to ensure proper mechanics within these jumps to unlock your full potential on the court. However, you do need to be a little cautious with these exercises to avoid too much unnecessary stress on the body. Exercises such as box jumps, depth jumps, hurdle jumps are all great if done within the correct volume for you. Rest 1-2 days between plyometric sessions and perform before strength training or conditioning ensuring good quality movement without prior fatigue.  For elite athletes it is recommend not to exceed 120 ground contacts per week.
• Speed and Agility drills – Drills like ladder drills and cone drills enhance quickness and coordination. These exercises are crucial for improving reaction time and lateral movements, essential for effective play both defensively and offensively on the court.
• Increased intensity basketball skills – here you can further build on those things you were working on in phase two. You have the fundamentals down, now time to increase the intensity. Think about breaking down and simulating game conditions, defensive footwork, high tempo shooting, dribbling under pressure.

Phase 4 – Skills and Conditioning (4-6 weeks)

You’ve done all the groundwork, now it’s time to further up your game with more focus on those higher intensity basketball specific skills. This phase emphasises refining things like shooting, dribbling, defensive maneuverers while also incorporating intense conditioning to boost endurance and agility that you will need come that all important opening game of the season and throughout.

Activities

• Sports specific conditioning – This involves high-intensity drills like sprints and shuttle runs, tailored to mimic game conditions. While there is an aerobic element basketball is 80% anaerobic and so this should be your focus. Short intense bouts of activity at medium to high frequency.
• Advanced basketball drills – like phase three but with higher intensity aiming to improve decision making and accuracy. This could be involving other team members so that you can work together and mimic game scenarios, things like - Spot up shooting with close outs, 3-man weave with transition, dribble attack and counter drill.
• Scrimmages – An informal game that gives opportunity for thinking on your feet and allows real time reactions. Putting into practice all those skills you have been working hard to perfect.  It’s important to note that this shouldn’t just be 5x5 at this stage. 1x1 and 3x3 will really help with increasing fitness and give you more opportunity to practice specific skills that can then be transferred to the 5x5 game.
• Maintenance of strength and conditioning – by this point you have worked hard to gain muscle mass and power and now you need to maintain that going into pre-season and throughout the season itself. Sessions should be 2-3 times a week and focus on maintaining the same muscle mass. It’s not wise to still be increasing muscle mass in this phase as fatigued muscles may l lead to injury within the other higher intensity aspects you need to focus on.

Phase 5 – Pre-season (2-4 weeks)

Over to the Coach. Well kind of…. At this stage you should have good base level strength, fitness, and skill level ready to fine tune your physical and mental readiness. There should be a focus on strategies and working together to reach ultimate team goals. After moving through stages 1-4 you will now be guided by your team coach in your team training sessions, but you still need to put in that work individually and continue with maintenance off the court, including sleep, proper nutrition, and injury prevention.  

Conclusion

As with any sport a well-structured off-season training program is essential for players aiming to enhance their performance and readiness for the upcoming season. Working through these phases focusing on recovery, foundational strength and power, refining skills and sports specific conditioning ensures players not only maintain peak fitness but also develop the agility, strength, and skills necessary to excel on the court.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is meant as a guide. If you are unsure of how to perform any of the aspects detailed here, please seek advice from a professional who can guide you. All of our physiotherapists or strength and conditioning coaches here at the White House Clinic would be happy to assist.

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• The importance of basketball scrimmages, https://www.buzzerbeaterbasketball.com/the-importance-of-basketball-scrimmages-in-player-and-team-development/ (date accessed 29/07/2024)
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