The world’s best athletes make their job look effortless.
With intensity, style and passion, professionals in leagues like the NFL and NBA regularly put on a competitive show for their fans. Thanks to a lifetime of training, they make their sport look like an art form—whether driving to the basket for the 76ers or throwing a game-winning touchdown for the Buccaneers.
That element of star power is important for fans. Aside from offering their team a competitive edge, fans also track star player performances for other reasons—including to inform how they bet on games. Now that sports betting has taken off across the US, it’s easier than ever before to shop around for lines and providers, which includes player props.
Player props let fans dig into the stats and performances of their team’s top players. Rather than wager on the team’s ability to win a game or score points, player props dive deep into the potential difference a single player can make. Those interested in wagering can check the list and ranking from Oddschecker on the best sportsbooks, welcome deals and more.
But how exactly are these athletes training? What’s going on behind the scenes to make them impactful enough to earn their own player props? Let’s dig a bit deeper to explore how athletic training works using the NFL and NBA as examples.
Athletic training starts as soon as a player is scouted and drafted onto their team. In the NFL and NBA, players are recruited based on their performance in the NCAA’s collegiate leagues. Scouts already have access to their stats, which are used to forecast whether they’ll be a good player.
Once a player is officially drafted onto a team, coaches and trainers study their historical data to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses as players. These initial conclusions help inform what sort of training they need to focus on the most. So, athletic training in both leagues starts by studying the data.
For the most part, players in the NFL and NBA work with their teammates to develop strength, speed, endurance and other critical skills. The only difference between the NFL and NBA is that the NFL has two separate offensive and defensive teams that work together separately.
But how do they train?
Over the last thirty years, the scope of athletic training has diversified. Just like scouts rely on data to help inform who they recruit, they also use that statistical information to create tailored training regimes. In most cases, NFL and NBA teams also rely on training technology.
Training technology covers a huge scope—and might even be tailored per position. For example, a quarterback in the NFL might use a VR-based training simulation to improve and measure their throwing accuracy. By contrast, a point guard in the NBA might use wearable sensors to track their movements across the court and improve their positionality.
Regardless of the type of technology in use, it’s commonly used to train athletes in the NFL and NBA during the playing season and off-season.
Athletes must constantly condition themselves physically, work on their competitive skills and collaborate with their teammates to be successful. But modern athletes in the NFL and NBA aren’t solely focused on their speed, strength and endurance. They’re also focused on other physical metrics like sleep, diet and even mental fortitude.
To maintain their peak physical condition, athletes work with dieticians to eat correctly. Some might even work with sleep therapists for more restful nights, especially when travelling on the road. Others use mental coaches to develop positive thinking and perseverance that can help them perform better in stressful situations such as the post-season.
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