Some NFL teams have officially begun training camp, while several are just days away. But how much do all of a person’s training and commitment in the sweltering midsummer heat pay off?
I started looking into training camps and how they impact a player’s season. The study’s goal was to shed some light on the mysteries surrounding the beneficial impact, if any, it has on playing ability. The findings of my comprehensive investigation into the benefits of such intensive effort were startling. It seemed only reasonable that the potential of discovering data that decreased the relevance of training would be a severe blow to a player with an NFL history.
It’s comparable to a master’s degree holder realizing no link between education and yearly income. Of course, this is just a hypothetical scenario, but it illustrates how perplexing such a discovery would be.
Many misconceptions about camp and its importance in achieving high levels of success have been dispelled, or at least moderated, by the evidence I obtained. However, there are some tangible benefits to attending a boot camp in its entirety.
During seasons in which they skipped the majority or all of boot camp, players scored 7.61 games each year. On occasions where they had at least the majority of a full training camp under their belt, those same players averaged 12.48 games each season.
So, how can Training Camp aid with Injury Prevention?
Nothing prepares a body for the disfigurement that comes with an NFL football season like the brutality that comes with training camp. It appears a little pointless when you phrase it like that. Please hear me out.
The periods of July and August in professional sports serve as a means for athletes to relax their bodies into the game’s rigors without needing to jet around at full throttle for at least a few days. This acclimatization process is rigorous, but it is incredibly beneficial.
Steps have been taken to make the activity less harmful to the body in the long run. The NFL Players Association successfully lobbied for and received a major decrease in summer contact, including training camp, lately. This has made the rigors of an NFL summer a little more bearable for the pros—though it remains to be proved whether a quieter camp atmosphere will help a player’s career last longer.
With this as the norm in the National Football League, the only thing that elevates competitiveness above college is the unrivaled level of competition. The team’s athleticism, agility, ability, and unrivaled effort will more than make up for any loss in time.
But it’s throughout these fully padded training that the body completely has a chance to develop a resistance to cuts and bruises, scratches, fractures, and all the other aches and pains that come with frequent collisions with rock-hard gear, muscles, and bones.
What it feels likes after a game or training
Your body has most certainly been pounded and trampled to the point that you can’t tell the difference between bruised and regular flesh. The short trip from guesthouse to lockers is difficult with sore and weary muscles. Your body cries out for sleep, and your mind is continuously frazzled. On the big toes of your foot, have large blisters.
In Football, pain takes on a new meaning. In the middle of all of this, you have no option but to dig deep and slide those beaten feet into a pair of newly cleaned, tight, practice trousers. Those are the times when you wonder if it was all worth it. As the body adapts to the strain of its hard, new surroundings, this level of ache and fatigue lessens.
This usually occurs at the start of the preseason game, just as daily training begins to resemble the pattern of the regular season. As you can expect, this body-strengthening procedure is quite beneficial. Players that skip this acclimatization stage are plainly at danger of injury since they are thrust into a higher level of intensity in full-speed, game-time conditions. Consider a boxer attempting to go 12 rounds with no pre-fight training.
Training Camp builds Teamwork.
Another notable advantage to training camp arises with the possibilities it provides for players to understand the strategies and create a connection with teammates with whom they specifically need to be on the same level. This is especially true for players learning a new system or getting to know teammates and coaches.
When wide receivers skip training camp, they are likely to trouble. This emphasizes the significance of knowing the offense and communicating with their quarterback.
No post showed a more drastic decline in performance than wide receivers, with the exception of quarterback. It’s no surprise, given that no other post in football is more reliant on others.
Team chemistry is an important aspect of any great team that is sometimes disregarded. It’s during the summer when you sweat, tear, and fight with your colleagues for hours while being cut off from the rest of the world.
Key relationships are built, confidence is established, and reliance on the guy beside you becomes the difference between a large win and a terrible defeat as a result of this struggle and commitment. It would be damaging to a football club’s unity and trust and its ability to perform if management held different training camps for each positional group. Despite its severe nature, this mental exercise can show the necessity of chemistry during this vital period of team growth.
Each year, training camp gives a unique opportunity for few athletes to display their worth by distinguishing from a skilled group. I can only imagine how challenging it would be to come back from a long offseason with no contact or full equipment and without the benefits of a training camp.
It appears incredibly difficult for a player who lacks exceptional physical capability or a rigorous training routine to play at a high level after skipping such an important stage in the preparation process. However, there are few occasions where players succeed in such kinds of scenarios. Training camp, on the other hand, is the greatest hardship simulator.
