The first team will be reporting to the Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena on Monday, 25 June for preseason training ahead of what promises to be once more a gruelling season. Kaizerchiefs.com caught up with Club’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, Joshua Smith to give insight on the conditioning of players.

When will the players be reporting for the preseason and what are your expectations from conditioning point of view?

Joshua Smith: The players will be reporting back on June 25 to complete a battery of fitness as well as medicals. In order to measure the effects of the off-season on our players, as well as to test efficacy of our training in-season we perform a battery fitness tests.

The tests are done during pre-season, mid-season and before the off-season break. They allow us to note how the players were affected by the off-season and if they did do their ‘homework’ as such, and stick to the off-season program they were given. The program was developed to ensure player recovery, whilst at the same time ensure that players maintain the physical attributes they developed while they were with us.

The players also expected to rest during off-season; how important is this?

Joshua Smith: I would like to quote few lines from scientific article I recently read by, Goran Kentta and Peter Hassmen. “Training for success has increasingly become a balance between achieving peak performance and avoiding the negative consequences of overtraining. To date, rest (physical inactivity) is the best known treatment for athletes who have reached an undesirable state because of prolonged excessive training.

Many negative consequences have been associated with the over-training, and some of those most commonly reported include: mood disturbances, immune system deficits (get sick easily), concentration difficulties. In addition, decreased submaximum and maximum heart rates, decreased maximum oxygen uptake, as well as decreased submaximal and maximallactate levels, have also been reported in connection with the negative consequences of too much training with too little recovery.” (Sports Med 1998 Jul; 26 (1): 1-16)

I think the Chiefs team is one of the fittest in the League. As a fitness coach, I am confident every time the guys go out that will be able to maintain a high tempo and pace of play. This being said, the Chiefs team is filled with amazing athletes who are professional and work hard to ensure they are at the top of their game.

Fitness training is not just about making guys run, it’s about making the training loads, ensuring that the team has enough rest and recovery, and that the regeneration protocols in place work well. When the team plays three games in a period of seven days, it’s the recovery work you do that counts, that’s the work that keeps the guys going.

What are some of conditioning methods have you introduced in the team since taking over in July 2009?

Joshua Smith: I try to make sure every training modality and session in-place and planned is backed by science. Sessions are not planned on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis, but rather a month to month basis. That allows us to make sure we control the training loads of the players. If changes need to be made within the planned months training, they will be. Nothing is set in stone, and one’s ability to adapt to a situation and come out on top is key.

Have you spoken to the incoming coach and what does his expectations?

Joshua Smith: We have spoken briefly about his training philosophy, the preseason and his expectations about the season. He is an extremely knowledgeable man, and I look forward to working with him closely as the season plays out.