Why Do You Want Sport Specific Training?

The most common request we get from parents and athletes is for sport specific training. 

Now sometimes as professionals, we want to roll our eyes when we watch the latest Instagram post that is some guru doing “sport specific training.” 


Because just putting a stick in their hand or making them do their sport’s technical drill with a bungee cord is NOT sport specific training.

In fact, we aren’t against sport specific training at all. 

However, as professionals, we know there is a lot more to being sport specific than you may think. That’s why we ask: “Why Do You Want Sport Specific Training?”

We know because when we work with professionals and Olympians, the purpose tends to be specific…play better and WIN!

Why Do You Want Sport Specific Training?

Whenever an athlete wants a training program, one of our essential questions is: Why Do You Train?

It is one of the foundations of Velocity’s philosophy. We strive to understand every athlete’s WHY? What do they want to achieve in their sport? What do they want to feel? What are they willing to work for? 

What does this have to do with sport specific training? 

It’s important because it gives our coaches context.

Coaches have a responsibility to help guide you. We are trying to guide you to the solutions that will give you what you want. That’s why you come to us for help. Any coach who doesn’t seek to understand your goals isn’t a real coach.

If we don’t have any context to your question about sport specific training, we are making assumptions. 

Those assumptions could be wrong.

Do you want sport specific training because you have potential in the sport and want to play at a high level? Some athletes are just trying to make their team and get playing time.

Maybe you want to train specifically to reduce your risk of injury. Or perhaps you’ve had an injury and are trying to get back to your performance level before.

Perhaps you’ve tried some training that wasn’t “sport specific” and you didn’t see results, or worse it hurt your game.

All of these goals are different in ways. Even though a lot of the training may be the same for athletes in the same sport, some should be different. Different choices in training methods come from information such as those goals.

A coach needs to understand this.

Meeting Your Sport Specific Goals

Sport specific training is really; your goal specific training

If a coach doesn’t really understand your goals, then your training might be off target.

Athletes will generally seek sport specific training to meet their particular goals in the sport. If your coach doesn’t try to understand you and your goals, then they might be missing the mark. 

That’s not professional coaching. That’s lazy and ill-informed.

We start by redefining your underlying motivation for sport specific training; 

You want results in your sport. 

You don’t want to waste time and effort on training that doesn’t contribute to those results.

The purpose of sport specific training is to use training to effectively and efficiently reach your goals in the sport. 

Putting It Into Practice

To understand your goals and needs the first step for a coach is to ask. Coaches have to do more than just ask “what do you want?” Professionals know how to dig deeper and uncover what you want. We find where your motivation comes from.

Then we start to assess your level and current abilities to determine what level of specificity is best and how to deliver it.

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