Training Seasonality: Basketball Case Study - Part 3

In-Season Strategy: Maintaining Performance & Preventing Breakdown

Introduction

As the competitive season unfolds, basketball athletes face a new set of physical and mental demands. The high training volumes of pre-season give way to a tight schedule of games, travel, and unpredictable workloads. This phase of the year isn't about building fitness — it's about sustaining performance, managing fatigue, and avoiding injury.

In this final article in the series, we explore how to effectively train during the in-season period. We’ll cover strength and power maintenance, injury prevention, recovery strategies, and how to manage player roles with very different match exposures. The goal is to help players stay robust, consistent, and ready to compete week in and week out.

Load Management: The Foundation of In-Season Training

During the season, it’s essential to strike a balance between training intensity and recovery. Overloading can lead to fatigue-related injuries, while underloading can result in performance decline or reconditioning.

Training frequency often drops, but intensity remains important. Reduced load does not mean reduced intent — explosive lifts, short high-quality sessions, and focused skill work can preserve performance without excessive fatigue.

Key practices include:

• Micro-dosing: Short, targeted strength or power sessions (e.g. 15–20 minutes) integrated into practice.
• Tapering: Reducing volume 24–48 hours before games to improve freshness.
• Monitoring: Using simple tools like sRPE (session rate of perceived exertion), wellness questionnaires, and performance metrics (e.g. jump height, soreness) to track readiness and adjust load dynamically.

Recent research confirms that prior injury status influences how well athletes tolerate in-season training loads. Players with a history of injury may need modified loading and closer monitoring throughout the season.

Another consideration is travel and scheduling density. Back-to-back games or long road trips compound fatigue and limit training opportunities. In these cases, “minimum effective dose” training strategies become critical. A single high-intent lift, or even 2–3 high-quality sets, may be enough to maintain strength without compromising game readiness.

Strength and Power Maintenance

In-season strength and power work is not about making huge gains — it's about holding onto what you built during pre-season.

• Lift once or twice per week: Compound exercises like trap bar deadlifts, goblet squats, and bench press.
• Heavy but low-volume: Work in the 70–85% 1RM range, 3–5 reps, 2–4 sets.
• Minimal fatigue: Sessions should leave athletes feeling activated, not drained.
• Include plyometrics: Low-volume jump work (e.g. pogo hops, bounding, depth drops) maintains reactivity and elastic strength.

Sessions should be scheduled around competition to allow 24–48 hours for recovery prior to games. Players with higher game minutes may do less total strength work, but quality remains a priority.

Importantly, individualisation matters. Younger players or those with limited court time can often tolerate more strength stimulus without affecting performance. Meanwhile, veteran athletes may benefit from lower frequency but carefully chosen “key lifts” to maintain joint stability and reduce muscle imbalances.

Skill Maintenance and Tactical Sharpness

While physical qualities must be maintained, so must technical and tactical skills. The in-season period is not ideal for teaching brand-new techniques — it’s about repetition, refinement, and rhythm.

• Shooting rhythm: Short, frequent shooting blocks can help maintain confidence and consistency.
• Position-specific drills: Focused footwork, close-outs, post work, and defensive shuffles.
• Decision-making under fatigue: Cognitive load training that mirrors real-game scenarios.
• Film review and walkthroughs: Helps reinforce tactical awareness without adding physical load.

Skill work can be incorporated into warm-ups or low-intensity sessions to limit extra fatigue. For bench players, skill sessions may be more extensive to ensure readiness, while starters may only need shorter tune-up sessions to stay sharp.

Recovery: The Underrated Performance Tool

Recovery isn't passive — it should be a planned, active part of high-performance sport. Frequent competition and travel make recovery strategies especially important during the season.

Effective recovery methods include:

• Sleep: 7–9 hours per night, consistent sleep/wake cycles.
• Nutrition: Emphasis on post-game carbohydrate and protein intake; hydration throughout the week.
• Soft tissue and mobility: Foam rolling, dynamic stretching, massage therapy.
• Low-intensity recovery sessions: Light cycling, yoga, pool sessions, or court mobility work.
• Cold water immersion or contrast therapy: May reduce DOMS and inflammation after intense games.

Recovery also plays a psychological role. Building structured downtime — such as relaxation, mindfulness, or team bonding activities — helps players mentally reset and prevents burnout across a long season. Teams that invest in holistic recovery often report better morale and improved cohesion in addition to fewer injuries.

Injury Prevention: Movement Quality Still Matters

In-season injury prevention needs to focus on maintaining neuromuscular control, landing mechanics, and movement quality. Preventative exercises don’t need to be long or complex — they need to be consistent.

Warm-ups are a prime opportunity to reduce injury risk. Studies show that incorporating a neuromuscular warm-up at least twice per week significantly reduces lower limb injuries, especially in the knee and ankle.

Injury prevention strategies:

• Prehab in warm-ups: Glute activation, core stability, ankle and hamstring work.
• Landing control and deceleration drills: To reinforce safe movement patterns.
• Ongoing screening: Watch for signs of overload (asymmetry, repeated soreness, reduced jump height or mood).
• Early reporting: Encourage players to report pain or tightness early to avoid escalation.

Managing Different Player Needs

Not every player has the same workload, and training should reflect that.

• High-minute players: Need more recovery time, reduced gym frequency, and greater emphasis on soft tissue work and mobility.
• Bench players: May require more sprinting, full-body lifting, and court-based conditioning to maintain match fitness.
• Injured or returning athletes: Benefit from individualised re-conditioning programs and a graded return to play.

Teams that tailor training to individual roles can maximise overall squad availability. A “one-size-fits-all” program risks undertraining some players while simultaneously overloading others.

Communication and Adaptability

Even the best training plan won’t work without athlete buy-in and regular feedback. In-season performance is fluid — influenced by injury, sleep, fatigue, and life stress.

Create a feedback loop:

• Use simple wellness questionnaires and RPE tools.
• Regularly check in to monitor pain, energy, and motivation.
• Adjust training load in real time when red flags emerge.
• Keep open communication between athletes and physios, S&C coaches, and head coaches.

A flexible, communicative environment helps athletes thrive — even under pressure. Trust and transparency between staff and players are what allow plans to adapt quickly while keeping the team’s performance goals in sight.

Conclusion

The in-season period in basketball is about strategic maintenance. With intelligent planning and consistent habits, athletes can maintain strength, reduce injury risk, and perform at a high level — week after week.

By combining strength micro-dosing, active recovery, load monitoring, and tactical sharpness, players and teams can stay physically robust and mentally ready for the demands of competition.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is meant as a guide. If you are unsure of how to perform any of the aspects detailed here, please seek advice from a professional who can guide you. All of our physiotherapists or strength and conditioning coaches here at the White House Clinic would be happy to assist.

References

• ‍Gabbett, T.J. (2016). The training–injury prevention paradox: Should athletes be training smarter and harder? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(5), 273–280.
• ‍McGuigan, M.R., et al. (2012). Monitoring training load to understand fatigue in athletes. Sports Medicine, 42(9), 749–768.
• ‍Jeffries, S., et al. (2021). Managing the training load of team sport athletes during the in-season period: Practical applications. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 43(1), 1–11.
• ‍Emery, C.A., et al. (2022). SHRed Injuries Basketball program reduces lower limb injury in youth basketball: A cluster RCT. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56(1), 31–37.
• ‍Woods, C.T., et al. (2022). Prior injury and load tolerance in elite team sport athletes: A prospective study. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4: 887507.
• ‍Calleja-González, J., et al. (2024). Recovery strategies in basketball: A consensus and review. Journal of Human Kinetics, 90, 15–34.