SP Performance

Managing Overuses….

Overuse injuries spilling over into the off season and the following pre season are common.

On camp, we may have a week or two weeks with a player.

The key….

Ensuring that the demands on pitch, and how they’re being managed, are aligned with our off pitch strategies to help tackle the ongoing problem.

The overarching aim is to apply the load meticulously on pitch while still providing a basis to strengthen the tissue off the pitch.

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Forces On The Calves…

Your calves take a beating every time you sprint - here’s why that matters.

At top speed, ground contact lasts less than 0.1 seconds. In that split second, forces of 3–5x bodyweight travel through the foot and ankle and the calf complex.

The soleus alone can experience forces of up to 8x bodyweight during sprinting. It’s one of the hardest-working muscles, yet one of the most under-trained.

If your calves can’t absorb and return that force, two things happen:
🔴 You leak speed - energy that should propel you forward gets lost at ground contact.
🔴 The load goes elsewhere - Achilles, plantar fascia, even up the chain to the hamstrings.

This is why we don’t just “do calf raises.” We build calf capacity progressively - heavy isometrics, tempo work, then fast, stiff contacts that mirror sprint demands.

Availability starts from the ground up. Literally.

A Day In The Life…

The off season camp edition.

Session Thematics….

Aligning contextual speed and physical demands.

What is the dose? Is it directional/pattern speed? Cued/reactive? Or constrained game speed?

All food for thought when planning.

Why We Use VBT On Camp?

1. Objective Readiness Monitoring

At the start of an off-season camp, athletes arrive in varying states - different training histories, fatigue levels, and deconditioning profiles. VBT gives you a real-time, objective window into neuromuscular readiness each session, rather than relying on RPE or assumed recovery.

2. Load Prescription Without a 1RM Test

Running a true 1RM in the first week of an off-season camp is high-risk — athletes are deconditioned and injury risk is elevated. VBT allows you to prescribe load using velocity zones without needing a maximal effort test. You can estimate relative intensity from bar speed in real time.

3. Tracking Adaptation Across the Week

A week-long camp gives you a short but meaningful data window. If an athlete is moving a given load faster by day 5 than day 1, that’s a tangible, quantifiable adaptation signal - useful both for athlete buy-in and for informing the next phase of programming.

4. Managing Inter-Individual Variability

Professional footballers in an off-season group will have different strength levels and training backgrounds. VBT allows load to be auto-regulated to the individual’s capacity on that day rather than prescribing a blanket percentage, making group sessions safer and more effective simultaneously.

5. Intent and Effort Quality

Maximal intent on every rep is a cornerstone of VBT. Even with submaximal loads, pushing for peak bar velocity recruits high-threshold motor units and drives better neuromuscular adaptation. In an off-season camp context where loads are conservative, velocity targets help maintain training quality.

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