Regardless of sport, there are certain points in the year when you need to place an emphasis on training. At other points of the year you need to shift that emphasis to winning games, matches or events.⠀ .⠀ Because training increases both fitness AND fatigue, coaches and athletes need to be careful with the volume and intensity of training during competitive periods. But with a reduced emphasis on training often comes an undesirable reduction in fitness. In a well designed program this can be offset with an even greater reduction in fatigue, and as a result, performance can still improve. But if athletes are allowed to detrain to too great of an extent Or for too long of a time, performance will inevitably suffer. ⠀ .⠀ We must understand that:⠀ 1. High training loads improve fitness but also result in fatigue which can impair performance, and⠀ 2. Low training loads result in a drop-off in fitness (aka detraining) and fatigue which might similarly impair performance⠀ This is why it’s vi...