Six Week Training Program Summary

The six weeks program is designed for novice rugby league players during the pre-season, the build-up phase prior to the commencement of the rugby season. The program which is delivered three days a week can be sub-divided into three groups of two weeks. The first two weeks of the training program will be focused on aerobic fitness. Weeks three and four target the skill of passing, ensuring that the player knows the correct technique to perform a pass. While during weeks five and six, the program will concentrate on the combination of aerobic fitness and skill, not only on the ability to pass with both the dominant and non-dominant hand, the player will also require to learn run pass, the ability to perform the passing skill at speed. At the

The training involves the player to sprint for a short distance at maximum MAS, follow by light paced activity such as walking as the rest period in between the sprints. This exercise aims to put enormous pressure on the aerobic system, forcing the system to accelerate the recovery process (O’Connor, 2013). To promote unrestricted performance, and relax the muscles, the player is instructed to perform static stretches before and after each session. To maximise the effect of the static stretches, the player should stretch to the point where they feel their muscle groups cannot be stretched any

These testing not only provide a reference point for the coach to examine the progress of the training program. It also indicates the strength and weakness of the player, as the coach could potentially use this information to determine the direction of further development. Testings are to be performed at the end of week one, four, and six, clearly indicating the progress of the player. The first test which examines the aerobic component is the multistage shuttle run. The second test focuses on the skill component of rugby league, in which the accuracy and distance of a pass will be inspected. These two tests are chosen specifically as they represent two of the most critical components of rugby league, aerobic fitness, and passing (Gabbett et al.,