February/March 2025 (Vol. XXXV, No. 1)

In-season strength training for basketball athletes

As a collegiate strength and conditioning professional for close to 30 years at the Division-I level of intercollegiate athletics, the in-season part of your training year is the most important time of your year.  As obvious as that sounds, too many sport coaches abandon in-season training altogether, and many young strength and conditioning coaches design […]

Q&ATC with GATA president Andy Grubbs

Andy Grubbs, MEd, ATC, LAT, joined the Hughston Foundation as Director of Athletic Training in June 2010. His primary responsibility has been the oversight of the 18 graduate assistant athletic trainers who provide medical care to the local area high schools and professional sports teams. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training […]

Strength & conditioning considerations for the multisport athlete

Designing training programs for athletes who compete in multiple sports throughout the year is a little more complicated than the individual athlete who may only play a single sport. The ability to train the multisport athlete is met with additional circumstances in which the strength coach needs to focus on reducing burnout and maximizing performance. […]

The athlete’s guide to gut health

Stomach discomfort is an unfortunate reality for many high-level athletes. Ranging from acid reflux to constipation or diarrhea, discomfort presents in a multitude of ways and can negatively impact athletic performance.  Studies have shown that nearly 50% of athletes experience some form of gastrointestinal (GI) distress symptom throughout the training seasons. While the problem is […]

In-season strength training for basketball athletes

As a collegiate strength and conditioning professional for close to 30 years at the Division-I level of intercollegiate athletics, the in-season part of your training year is the most important time of your year. 

As obvious as that sounds, too many sport coaches abandon in-season training altogether, and many young strength and conditioning coaches design in-season programs where intensities and volumes are not sustainable for the long haul of the season. Both of these concerns can lead to athlete fatigue and/or potential injury, which we are trying to avoid at this time of the year. 

I have found during the in-season portion of the training year that “less is more” and recovery supersedes everything else when talking about consistent high-level athletic performance through long competitive sport seasons.  

St. Bonaventure is a very basketball-centric university. Our men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure is equivalent to a large metropolitan city having an NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB team. The basketball team brings this university, the surrounding communities, and our fanatical alumni base together and gets us all through the long, cold, and unrelenting winters of southwestern New York. Internal and external expectations for our basketball program are always high. As the strength and conditioning coach, my job is to ensure the machine doesn’t break down during the season and is physically prepared for each game on our schedule.

“Less is More” Approach

Our men’s basketball coach is “old school” in his approach to basketball. He is known for playing entire games with the starters he trusts without relying on his bench. Therefore, it can be a very fine line in terms of getting what we need out of our players performance-wise to be successful on the court while also making sure we keep them healthy throughout the season.

My approach to in-season training is proactive so as not to detriment the product on the court. There are no “cookie-cutter” programs or one-size-fits-all mindsets. That mindset can be detrimental to our players and lead to things like overtraining or time off the court due to injury.

Take a look at the NCAA Data from the 2021-2022 men’s basketball season. Four out of our five starters were in the Top 10 of minutes played per game, and minutes played for the season in the country that year. As the strength and conditioning coach, I have to know how the coach plans to utilize his players and use this knowledge in our in-season strength programming. Too much intensity or volume with the wrong player in-season could be detrimental to our success.

Recovery Methods

If you look at high-level collegiate basketball, the number of maximum efforts an athlete performs in a game and the external loads placed on these athletes are mind-boggling. 

Studies suggest that a typical basketball player can perform anywhere between 100-200 maximum efforts during one game. These are considered high-intensity bursts like sprints, explosive jumps, and quick changes of direction. Yet some coaches think that having their athletes perform “extra plyometrics” during the season in the weight room will increase their athlete’s “explosiveness.” I believe all you are doing is increasing central nervous system fatigue and their ability to recover for the next game or practice by doing this.

So, what do we do to help our athletes recover?

• Active Recovery — After home games, we have a post-game lift. Per NCAA rules, we cannot make these mandatory for our athletes so if our athletes want, we open the weight room for about 30 minutes post-game for them to get a lower-intensity lifting session in. Stacking a lower-intensity activity [lifting] on top of a very intense activity [game] allows us to hit some major movements at a relatively high intensity and keep the volume low. It is a great way to get the central nervous system (CNS) to calm down, get in some quality movement, and aid in the recovery process. We find it reduces next-day soreness in our athletes, and they state that they feel better than if they had to train the next day. 
• Sleep — Sleep may be the best performance enhancement there is. We suggest 7-9 hours/night with 8 hours/night being the goal. Consistent bedtime and waketime as best as possible to maintain the athlete’s circadian rhythm. We recommend sleeping in a dark, cool [65-70 degrees] environment/room, and turning off all electronic devices that emit “blue light” 45-60 minutes prior to bedtime, including cellphones. Napping during the day is encouraged if needed but discouraged past mid-afternoon.
• Nutrition — Our athletes meet regularly with our sports dietitian 1-2x/week to make sure they are meeting their dietary needs. We recommend athletes eat between 5-6 meals/day. The Big 3 [breakfast, lunch, and dinner] plus 2-3 smaller meals/snacks depending on the advice from our dietitian. Every meal or snack has protein, carbohydrate, and fat recommendations.
• Hydration — We encourage our athletes to drink fluids throughout the day. Seventeen to 24 fl oz 2-3 hours prior to activity, 8-10 fl oz 20-30 minutes right before activity, and 7-10 fl oz every 10-20 minutes during activity, and about 20-24 fl oz post-activity. Drinks with high levels of sugar or caffeine in them are discouraged. Gatorade is great, but the use of it is reserved for during activity/competition.
• Athletic Training Room — The athletic trainer is an important resource for recovery. If you are sleeping, eating, and drinking appropriately then chances are you will find additional resources for recovery in the training room. Things like compression boots, cupping, scraping, rollers, cold tubs, heat and stim, and massage guns are all designed to help the athlete achieve full recovery. 

In-season training and recovery are the most important aspects of the training year for your athletes. Make sure the investment they make in the off-season pays off during the season.