Sports Specific Training: Balanced Programs

There are mixed opinions among strength and conditioning coaches about designing 'sports specific training programs.' I think that there needs to be a balance between the general and specific exercises, and the athlete must first develop the proper foundation with performance fundamentals. Some coaches suggest that athlete's should be trained to be stronger and more explosive, with no regard to specificity, while other suggest that general strength and power needs some specificity in the weight room to best carryover to the sport. 


Again, I think there needs to be a balance between sports specific training and athlete specific training. Each athlete should be training to get stronger and more explosive and this new strength and power needs to be trained to be applied to his/her sport. I don't think that heavy back squats, box squats, deadlifts, and bench presses are the end-all, nor do I think that totally functional bodyweight movements are the end-all. I think there needs to be a delicate balance specific to the sport, the individual, and the time of year. It doesn't matter if an athlete can squat 1000lbs if he can't use that strength to his advantage in his sport, or better yet, if he can't do 90 bodyweight squat in 90 seconds, or his vertical jump is less than 20". All strength and functionality needs to be relative to his/her sport.