Complete Conditioning for Football: Part 3

By Michael J. Arthur & Bryan Bailey

Thanks to an agreement with Human Kinetics, NFLHS.com is able to provide our visitors with excerpts from the book "Complete Conditioning for Football."

During the past three decades the University of Nebraska football program has set the pace for successful conditioning. Now, two members of the Cornhuskers' strength and conditioning staff present the same program used by Nebraska to power its way to national championships.

The book includes 98 proven position-specific exercises that help players at all levels improve speed, agility, power, and endurance. The guide covers basic training principles of adaptation, specificity, overload, and periodization. It also lists which drills are beneficial for some players but not for others, and includes guidelines for proper rest and balanced nutrition.

How well you play in a game depends on how well you practice. The game is won or lost by the end of Thursday's practice, because the game is simply executing what you have practiced during the week. The three elements covered in practice are fundamentals, strategies, and mental aspects. Practice also builds on your foundation of character, conditioning and athletic ability.

Every great coach is a firm believer in the fundamentals of blocking and tackling. Technique is the medium through which the power of these skills is expressed; the better a player's technique, the more power he can generate when executing a skill. Conversely, if a player doesn't have the ability to effectively generate power, his technique is limited. A great football player has the ability to generate high power and express it effectively through good technique.

Strategy is a general game plan based on your team's offensive, defensive and kicking philosophies; these philosophies and strategy are determined by the head coach and the type of players available on the team. Plays are then devised to take advantage of the team's strengths. Then you determine your opponents' weaknesses and attack them with your strength.

The majority of the time the team that implements its strategy with the fewest mistakes wins. To eliminate mistakes, each player must know his assignments until they become second nature. The team must also be prepared to adjust to different situations such as weather and field conditions. Repetition in practicing the plays is the key to a well-disciplined and well-prepared team.

Each time a team takes the field, the team members must have no doubt that they are going to win the game. This confidence comes from knowing you have prepared your body well, that you have mentally conditioned yourself to give 100 percent on each and every play, that you know your assignments, and that your team is better conditioned than your opponent's.

Most great athletes admit a great percentage of their success is due to mental factors. Recent research has shown that a mental training technique called visualization can improve physical performance, as our subconscious is unable to distinguish between what is vividly imagined and what is real. For example, a former Nebraska player told of an experience he had in a game in which a long pass was thrown to him and everything seemed to move in slow motion. He attributed this experience to visualizing himself over and over again in a game situation catching a long pass. The key to this technique is to get into a relaxed state of mind and visualize the game situation in detail.

How an individual plays in a game situation depends on factors that can't be objectively measure with a stopwatch or tape measure. The intangibles separate who plays in the game and who doesn't. The two basic criteria that former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne and his staff at the University of Nebraska used when recruiting a player were skill and effort.

A player must have the basic athletic abilities of speed, power, agility, and endurance, but this doesn't guarantee success in football. Athletic abilities are only the underlying parameters of being a skillful football player. Learning football techniques through practice combined with athletic ability enhances a player's skill level. A coach is not concerned with how fast or powerful a player is, but how fast and powerfully he plays.

Effort comes from giving 100 percent on each and every play. Never save yourself for later in the game. Take one play at a time. When things don't go your way, never give up. Play the next play with all you have, from the time the ball is snapped until the whistle is blown. Play from sideline to sideline. Once your block is made, look downfield for someone else to block.

Combine effort with ability to execute your assignment. A 100 percent effort doesn't do much good if you blow your assignment. Mental mistakes in a crucial situation can hurt the team's momentum. Effort doesn't mean fighting; show composure and keep your head in the game. If an opposing player starts swinging, are you able to walk away without fighting back? It is usually the one who retaliates that gets the flag, and a penalty against your team in a crucial situation could lose the game.

The apex of football performance is the ability to make the play. Making the play means making more tackles, rushing for more yards, intercepting more passes, making more pancake blocks, causing more fumbles, and scoring more touchdowns. If you are able to make more of these plays, you help your team win more games. Making the play is the culmination of a player's character, conditioning, athletic ability, practice habits, skill level, and effort. If you can make the play, your future in football is promising.

Find more information about the book Complete Conditioning for Football by clicking here.

Mike J. Arthur, C.S.C.S., is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable strength coaches in the nation. He joined the University of Nebraska staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in 1976. In 1994 he was named assistant director of athletic performance at Nebraska. During his tenure at Nebraska, the university has produced many advances in the strength programs used by athletes throughout the nation. His research helps Nebraska stay on the cutting edge of football conditioning. In 1995 Arthur was named National Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Society.

An AAU wrestling champion at 123 pounds for Nebraska in 1970, Arthur was a collegiate and junior national powerlifting champion in the 132-pound weight class in 1977. A ten-time Nebraska powerlifting champion, he set a world record with a 540.25-pound dead lift in the 132-pound class.

He and his wife Reena have two daughters, Tara and Rachel, and a son, John.

Bryan L. Bailey, C.S.C.S., specializes in reconditioning athletes. He has served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach on the University of Nebraska staff since 1987. Nationally recognized for his innovative training methods for reconditioning, Bryan works with doctors and trainers to modify injured athletes' strength and conditioning programs.

Bryan received a B.S. degree in exercise physiology from the University of Nebraska and an M.S. degree in exercise science from the United States Sports Academy.