Pre-season once intimidated footballers with its demanding routines, but today’s professionals seldom stray too far physically during the off-season. After a rest following their return to the Championship, Birmingham City players are set to reconvene at the Elite Performance and Innovation Centre (EPIC) this week, ready to face rigorous tests.
Dave Carolan, the club’s former fitness coach with nearly 30 years of experience, offers an insider’s view of pre-season preparations in a Keep Right On Podcast interview. He emphasizes that players now arrive in shape but still undergo intense scrutiny to pinpoint fitness levels and any areas needing improvement.
“The first couple of days focus on baselining and benchmarking,” Carolan explains. “This includes comprehensive fitness testing and routine medical screenings.” The process involves concussion assessments using standardized tests like SCAT, cognitive evaluations, and cardiac exams to ensure players’ health and readiness for the season ahead.
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These early tests provide essential reference points that inform individualized training programs. “Athletes naturally have some imbalance, and the key is understanding their unique profiles to maintain strengths and address weaknesses,” says Carolan.
Physical challenges soon follow, with players undergoing timed runs such as bleep tests or distance races. However, Carolan notes that traditional running tests can be manipulated by effort levels. To counter this, physiological assessments—like lactate threshold tests conducted indoors with blood sampling—offer accurate insights into actual fatigue and performance capacity.
“Your blood doesn’t lie,” he states. These tests help tailor heart-rate-specific training intensities and manage workloads effectively.
On the grass, fitness evaluations also gauge motivation and mental toughness, especially during challenging events like 3,000-meter runs where effort can surpass expectations. Speed, agility, and repeated sprint tests then round out the physical assessment, alongside gym-based evaluations of muscle strength, balance, and power.
This holistic approach builds a 360-degree picture of each player’s aerobic and anaerobic capacities, explosive power, and endurance.
Carolan underscores the critical partnership between the medical team and coaching staff during pre-season. Managing training loads carefully reduces injury risks, especially as fatigue accumulates. He recalls a moment from a training camp in Spain when extra practice beyond scheduled sessions threatened to push players beyond safe limits.
“Even a few extra minutes of shooting can mean 20-25 unexpected high-velocity ball strikes on top of intense sessions,” he warns, “which can tip players over the edge into injury.”
Pre-season is a delicate balance of pushing limits to prepare for competition while minimizing injury hazards. The thorough testing phase plays a vital role in navigating these challenges and setting the squad up for success.