How to Plan Training: Mastering a Skill

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” ~Bruce Lee

This quote from Bruce Lee is a personal favorite of mine. It emphasizes the importance of concise training. The goal of training should always be to master a skill. It is impossible to master a skill if you only practice it every once in a while. This principle is relevant for not only life but football as well. Athletes often

• “Have a plan, detail the plan!” 

This first one seems simple but it often is not done by most athletes when we train. It is important that you plan and detail your training. If you are training to increase your bench press numbers then you must have a written out goal and training plan that you will commit to in order to accomplish this. You then must detail your week to week progress in order to assess if you are on track to accomplishing your goal. This will help you to adjust.

• “Train to be the best at ONE thing first.”

 As football players we are told that the more we can do the better. This is true, however you never want to become a man of many things and master of nothing. For example, it is hard to become a great cornerback when every practice you are playing safety, cornerback, nickel, and linebacker. Yes these skills do transfer and it is not impossible to do but it does make your training much harder if you are training for 8 different positions. This is why the Bruce Lee quote was inserted.  Find out what you are good at and relentlessly train to become the best in the world at that.

• “Identify your weaknesses and enhance them.” 

It is important not to misconstrue the meaning of #2 or the Bruce Lee quote in regards to football training. Training to master one thing does not mean abandoning your weaknesses. For example, if I am trying to increase my bench press numbers that does not mean you stop doing squats, lunges, and other football specific exercises and lifts. Or if you are a running back who wants to increase speed and agility doesn’t mean you don’t also work on weak aspects of your game like pass blocking. You still need to set aside time to work on the weaknesses you have identified.

• “Make sure your drills can transfer to the game.” 

Don’t waste your time doing drills that can not transfer to your game on the field. We live in a digital age where we can see how all of our favorite athletes and trainers are training. It is important to always ask the question “how does this transfer to my position?” or “how will this make me a better football player?” If you or the person providing these drills cannot answer these questions then do yourself a favor and do not waste your time doing these drills. You need to ensure your training will make you a better player and not just make you look cool on social media. 

Refer back to the Bruce Lee quote at the beginning of this blog. Hopefully reading that quote holds a different meaning in regards to your training. You are a more dangerous player in your opponents eyes if you truly master a technique. Randy Moss was not feared because he could run the whole route tree like Jerry Rice but because he mastered the art of running and catching the deep ball. Derrick Henry did not rush for 2000 yards this past season because he was training on catching 80+ passes like Christian McCaffrey or Alvin Kamara. He relied on his strengths. Master your one kick. Once you’ve mastered that kick, then it is time to master another kick. 

Perfect Performance has started position specific Football training in Lorton and Tyson’s VA. Also for 5th-9th graders looking for training and gameplay then sign-up for our house 9v9 league. We will offer position training, practice, and games! Please  Email [email protected] with any questions!

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