Travel is integral to every sport, at every level. Whether that travel is national or international, athletes and coaching staff are constantly on the move.
Whether in North America (with its four mainland timezones), the UK, Europe, and other regions, it’s not uncommon for players and teams to spend hours on coaches, in cars, and on planes. Not to mention the time teams spend in hotel rooms, unfamiliar training grounds, gyms, and other facilities.
Athletic challenges of travelling
In whatever form the travelling takes, it adds challenges to training schedules. It complicates, or reduces the amount of sleep athletes can get. It also knocks the quality of nutrition and hydration athletes can get, compared to what they’d normally do at home.
All of this causes challenges for athletes and coaches. With all of the travelling and lack of sleep, players in every sport are usually less mobile. Coaches need to compensate for that, with the right sort of training when a team is on the move.
Not only that, but what about players who have been injured and are recovering?
Impact of travel on recovering players
When a player is recovering from injury, rest, time, a healthy diet, and a program to ease them back up to full fitness is needed. Assuming a player is recovering but travelling with the team, then all of these measures are going to be knocked.
A recovering player:
- Won’t get as much sleep while travelling
- Won’t sleep in a familiar bed, potentially making them stiffer, slowing down the recovery process
- Won’t or can’t eat and drink what they would if they were at home and within the confines of the teams facilities
- Can’t necessarily access the physio and other training elements needed to support the recovery process
All of that combined means an athlete may not recover as quickly if they were at home and using the teams facilities and recovery programs.
Depending on the stage they are in the recovery process, it may make sense to bring them to wherever the team is playing. After all, there’s a chance you may need them, even for a part of the game(s).
However, that does put at risk the recovery process. It’s a judgement call every coach, head coach, and other training staff need to make. Usually, a manager signs-off, with inputs from coaches and the player themselves. If a recovering player is going to travel with the team, then there are actions coaches can take to support them while a team is on the road.
Photo: Adam Troy, Storvreta IBK
5 ways coaches can support recovering players when travelling
#1: Track data with wearable devices
Most, if not all players in every sport and at every level are going to have a wearable fitness device. At the professional level, teams often provide these to players — WHOOP Strap or Oura Ring (and numerous others) are some of the most popular — with data connected into coaching systems.
Make sure, as a coach, you are keeping an eye on this data. Only with the data will you have enough information to make informed decisions on the move.
One indication of an athletes recovery process is tracking heart rate variability (HRV) data while sleeping. In the event of HRV data taking a dip while travelling it’s an indication that extra steps are needed to support an athletes recovery. Some players will take the initiative when they see the data. But with others, they might need a push in the right direction to keep the recovery process on-track.
#2: Plan sleep and exercise around time zone changes
Sleep is always a difficult one to manage when travelling. Sleeping on planes and coaches isn’t ideal, especially when there are early starts and time zone changes.
Light exposure, the comfort (or lack of) when it comes to hotel beds and pillows, and temperature control all impact sleep cycles. As do time zone changes, which knock sleep cycles and circadian rhythms.
In professional leagues, when coaches have a say in travel schedules, teams often get to stay an extra night before a game. This is crucial: the sleep a team gets before competitive games can have a direct impact on performance. So, if you have a say in the schedule, and there’s a budget to accommodate getting extra sleep, then always push for it.
However, for teams not in the NHL, NFL, NBA, Premier League, or a league on a similar level, there may not be a budget for extra stays in hotel rooms. When accommodating a whole team, substitutions, and coaching staff, this gets expensive.
When professional teams are travelling in North America (East to West, or West to East), aim to arrive so players get a good nights sleep before a game the next morning. This will adjust circadian rhythms around a new time zone.
#3: Ensure players sleep before early morning departures
Say you are aiming to get to a game with a 12 noon kick-off, and it’s four hours away.
Often, this means a 6am departure time, with a 5am (or earlier) wakeup.
Some athletes won’t sleep the night before, simply hoping to catch a few hours on a coach or plane. We can’t stress this enough, especially for recovering players: this is a mistake, and detrimental to performance and player recovery.
Instead, aim to ensure players sleep the night before, rather than hoping to sleep while travelling. For the sake of performance (and players recovering), encourage an early night, rather than letting players ruin the game attempting to run on only a few hours (imperfect) sleep.
#4: Setup an ideal sleep environment
Temperature plays such an important role in any sleeping environment. It’s why you can’t sleep if it’s too hot. Being too cold isn’t as much of an issue as the temperature being too high. And for most people, the ideal temperature is around 62–69 degrees Fahrenheit (or 16–20 Celsius).
Assuming athletes know the best temperature for them (which HRV data should show), then check they’ve adjusted a thermostat straight away. Giving the room time to cool or warm up accordingly.
Teams travelling often have to share rooms. Although far from ideal, coaches usually encourage positive actions towards ensuring players get enough sleep. Such as keeping light out using blinds, and switching off TVs and devices. If some players aren’t as good at this (up late reading, on the phone, etc.), then make sure comfortable sleep masks and silicone earplugs. It’s an imperfect solution, but these reduce the risk that some players won’t get enough sleep, especially those who are recovering.
#5: Plan healthy food in advance
Planning food ahead of time when travelling could take up a whole article. Often, this is something one or more of the coaching staff need to consider. What players eat, giving them the fuel to compete, is just as important as the amount (and quality) of sleep they get, and training they undertake before a big game.
And this is equally important for recovering players. Have bags of healthy snacks and drinks for the journey. When they get to their destination, are meals being prepared and sent to athletes rooms? If not, are there places nearby that can deliver, or players can stop at en-route for a healthy meal?
Long-gone are they days when teams travelling could use it as an excuse to eat junk food, drink, and stay up late. Plan beforehand. Know what a team is going to need to eat, especially for recovering players, and ensure provisions are made for every away game.
Key takeaways: Coaches supporting recovering players when travelling
- Track data with wearable devices
- Plan sleep and exercise around time zone changes
- Ensure players sleep before early morning departures
- Setup an ideal sleep environment
- Plan healthy food in advance
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