Written by Coach Andrew Dela Cruz
The season starting doesn’t mean the work stops. It means the training changes.
Every year, we see the same pattern. Athletes spend months training during the offseason. They get stronger, faster, more explosive, and more confident. Then practices begin, schedules get busy, and strength training is often the first thing families remove.
It makes sense on the surface. If an athlete is practicing four or five days a week and competing on weekends, it can feel like they’re already doing enough, but practices and strength training serve different purposes.
Practice develops sport-specific skills, strategy, and teamwork. Strength training develops the athlete behind those skills by maintaining strength, supporting recovery, improving movement quality, and helping the body handle the demands of a long season. The goal during the season isn’t to train harder.
It’s to train smarter.
In-Season Training Has a Different Purpose
The offseason is where athletes make their biggest physical gains. The season is where they protect those gains.
At XIOS, our in-season programming is designed to help athletes:
- Maintain strength and power
- Support healthy movement
- Recover from practices and games
- Manage fatigue
- Stay physically resilient throughout the season
That means we don’t train athletes during the season the same way we do in the offseason. We adjust volume, intensity, and recovery based on their practices, games, and overall workload.
Less Can Be More
For many athletes, two focused strength sessions each week are enough to maintain the physical qualities they spent months building. Those sessions typically fall into two categories:
Performance Preparation
Before competition, training focuses on maintaining strength, reinforcing explosive movement, and preparing the athlete to perform without creating unnecessary fatigue.
Recovery & Structural Support
After demanding practices or games, sessions may shift toward mobility, controlled strength work, core stability, and movement quality to help athletes recover while continuing to address areas their sport may not develop evenly.
Every athlete is different, so training should reflect their age, sport, experience, schedule, and individual needs.
Activity Isn’t the Same as Training
Just because an athlete is active every day doesn’t mean they’re maintaining balanced strength.
Practices include sprinting, jumping, cutting, throwing, and changing direction—but they don’t always reinforce strength, stability, mobility, or movement quality. That’s where purposeful strength training fills the gap.
It supports the athlete behind the sport.
Training Should Adapt to the Athlete
A responsible in-season program should never ignore what happens outside the gym.
At XIOS, we consider factors like:
- Practice frequency
- Competition schedule
- Playing time
- Soreness and fatigue
- School workload
- Travel
- Sleep
- Previous injuries
- Communication with parents and healthcare professionals
Some weeks require more preparation. Others require more recovery. The goal isn’t to force the same workout every week. The goal is to help athletes continue progressing while staying healthy throughout the season.
The Best Ability Is Availability
Talent matters. Speed matters. Skill matters.
But none of those qualities matter if an athlete can’t consistently compete. In-season strength training isn’t about doing more. It’s about staying prepared, reducing unnecessary setbacks, and giving athletes the best opportunity to perform all season long.
Let’s Build a Plan That Fits Your Season
Every athlete’s schedule is different, and we understand that practices, games, school, and family commitments all compete for time. If your athlete’s schedule changes during the season, let’s adjust the training plan—not eliminate it.
We’ll help identify a realistic schedule that complements practices and competition while continuing to support long-term athletic development.
The goal isn’t to add more to your athlete’s week. The goal is to help them get the most out of the season they’ve worked so hard to prepare for.
Join Our Free Parent Q&A
If you’d like to learn more about in-season training or have questions specific to your athlete, we’d love to invite you to our FREE Virtual Parent Q&A.
📅 Friday, August 7
🕖 7:00–7:30 PM (PT)
📍 Google Meet
Coach Andrew will discuss:
- How in-season training differs from offseason training
- How to balance practices, games, and recovery
- Common questions from parents
- Live Q&A
If you’d like to attend, simply reply to our email with “I’m in” and we’ll send you a reminder before the webinar.
We hope you’ll join us as we help athletes stay strong, healthy, and prepared to perform throughout the season.