General Goals for a Performance-Based Training Program

The design and implementation of a performance-based training program for athletes should strive to accomplish the following:

Enable players to:

· Become stronger

· Become faster

· Become more flexible

· Become quicker

· Become more agile

· Improve sport performance

Specific Objectives for a Performance-Based Training Program

Once general goals for the program have been established, more specific objectives should be created to ensure that the goals are achieved. The following should be the main objectives of a performance-based training program for softball and baseball players:

· Create a general strength base

· Increase performance enhancing and sport-specific strength and explosive power

· Reduce susceptibility to injury

· Increase range-of-motion and flexibility

· Improve athlete’s endurance and level of stamina

· Enhance athlete’s confidence level

Points of Emphasis in Program

To ensure that the athletes maximize their potential both in their training and in competition, the coach needs to emphasize the importance of the following points:

· Consistency in regimen

o Athletes should avoid skipping workouts or a particular exercise if at all possible. Inconsistency will negatively impact the athlete’s strength and power development.

· Proper technique

o Quality reps are more important than the quantity of reps.

· Proper spotting and safety procedures

o Always ensure that the weight room is a safe environment.

· Efficient workouts

o Athletes should work at a quick pace and at a high intensity.

· Increasing overload/challenging the athlete

o Athletes need to progressively increase the overloads placed on the body systems. For example, they should progressively increase the resistance or weight to maximize their strength/power potential. They should be constantly challenged and motivated to push themselves to another level.

· An effective dynamic warm-up routine

o Athletes should include a proper dynamic warm-up before participating in a workout, and should include a cool-down period following their workout as well.

· Creation of general strength base

o Before sport-specific strength and power can be developed, the athlete must create a general strength base from which they will build upon in future workouts.