It is generally believed that you should increase strength throughout the year. This includes the competitive season. Often overlooked however, is that gaining too much strength can be a negative to improved performance. It can make you heavier, slower and more prone to injury.
Rather than gaining additional strength in season you should develop an optimal level of strength in the off-season. You should then maintain it in-season. This means having sufficient strength available to execute skills most effectively. Understand that more strength is not always a positive factor. Too much strength is a strong negative to effective skill execution.
For the most effective game performance, you must have optimal development of technique and the physical qualities such as strength, specific to the technique. These two factors are the key to having the best performance. General strength has a negative effect in season.
Additional general strength training is not needed on a year-round basis. The key is to develop general strength over a certain period of time and then couple it with technique for better execution of the skills. This means doing specialized strength exercises that improve technique and strength simultaneously.
For example, speed and explosive power are typically more important than strength in most sports. Strength serves as the base but it should then be coupled with technique and speed to improve overall speed and explosive power. The training should be directed to speed and explosive power not strength.
Specialized strength training typically takes place in preparation for competition. This enables you to not only exhibit strength on the field but exhibit speed, quickness, explosiveness, etc. together with execution of the skills. The only partial exceptions may be a football lineman, an Olympic weightlifter or a powerlifter.
During competition or during the competitive phase, strength must be maintained so that technique does not change. Usually executing the strength exercises once a week is more than enough to maintain the achieved levels. Keep in mind that this is not training for additional strength. It is training to maintain already achieved strength levels.
This makes it possible for you to perfect your skills and improve game play. This is the most effective way to prepare for competition and to have a most successful competitive season.
For more information on this topic see Build a Better Athlete.