Indiana University Athletics
Wilson Balancing Workload with Gains
8/11/2015 2:36:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson sees a ceiling on the value of repetitions in practice.
A football practice sometimes risks becoming too much like a soccer match with two hours of continuous movement, Wilson said. Between individual position work, various drills and play simulation, a practice can take a physical and mental toll on a team.
The practice load can make it almost impossible for the Hoosiers to practice full-go all the time if they're working continuously and fighting fatigue. With that in mind, Wilson said he and his coaching staff have been working to find the right combination to improve as a team without overworking players in August.
"I think coaches get used to you've got to have reps, reps, reps, reps, reps, reps, and I think there's a diminishing return with speed to that," Wilson said Tuesday after his team's morning practice. Tuesday marked the team's first two-a-day of fall practice.
Wilson's theory about overworking players is backed by the logic that a game will typically consist of anywhere between 60 and 80 total plays. With timeouts, quarter breaks and time spent on the sideline allowing for rest, players have more time to recover on gamedays than in practice.
It's admittedly difficult for a coaching staff to build breaks into a practice when the NCAA regulates how much time coaches are allowed to spend with players. Limiting the workload becomes even tougher on days like Tuesday where the Hoosiers practice twice.
"I think if you train sometimes, you can almost start training like a quarter-miler, or a distance runner who runs at a different pace," Wilson said. "But the game's played in short bursts. There's a point in time where the way we do practice, we can almost practice so much that it's hard to play at the 80, 90, 100th percentile."
Wilson would rather see his players working at 100 percent less often than going at a lower intensity more often.
He purposely scheduled Monday's first practice in pads in the morning to allow for a full day of meetings, eating and hydrating to recover. Wilson planned for Tuesday's afternoon practice to be light to cap off a seventh practice in six days before a day off Wednesday.
Wilson said he's liked the way his team has responded in practice so far. The veterans have come out strong while freshmen have adjusted to the college game and taking hits well.
Wilson specifically made a point to bring up the running backs, saying that they've played even better wearing full pads than they were when hitting was limited.
"They ran a lot harder when we said tackle than in the non-tackle drills," Wilson said. "As a matter of fact, they got tackled more in the non-tackle drills than the tackle drills because I think that fear makes you run a little faster."
Wilson has been keen on keeping track of recovery times and workloads between practices to ensure his team is working at optimal energy levels.
Wilson recalled previous experiences as an assistant coach where players would lose focus because they feared the unknown aspects of a practice. He wants his players to know that they'll have time to recover, which allows them to practice at their full potential each day.
"Right now, I say to a player, 'What are you thinking?' Because trust me, I'm not going to overdo you," Wilson said. "That's why as we're practicing, we're trying to just get through some segments of practice and have them flying around quicker and work at the game speed."
Defensive backs passing early tests
Competition in the secondary is a good sign for Indiana as the Hoosiers look to replace four regular starters this season.
Wilson said he's liked what he's seen out of his mostly young defensive backs in practice early, mentioning a few freshmen by name.
He said he can see competition developing between some of the veterans and the freshmen new to the team. Freshmen Andrew Brown and Devonte Williams have caught Wilson's attention in particular.
"I think all those freshmen get into the top 10 and maybe top eight, top six," Wilson said. "Those guys are going to push, and that's making (Rashard) Fant and Tony Fields and those guys pick it up."
