Periodisation and football

At the club I am presently working at I am often asked when do we start to TAPER for the competition. It is an interesting question and demonstrates the misunderstanding of planning - for instance how do you taper for a competition that goes for 25 weeks - the answer is you cant. Sure we can taper for round one but where does that leave us for the following rounds and it is a gross misunderstanding that the work of the athletic development coach is finished by round 1. To me this is where the fun really starts as you bring players to a level and than you monitor and adjust to remain at and even improve this level throughout the season. The team I work with now is far fitter than any oher team at this point (pre eason comp) and I know some supporters think we may have peaked too soon but there is no Peak. The taper may be a week to week proposition and the concern is more psychological than physiological but I do believe many teams actualy decline in ftness from start of season to end and this is because the game is considered the fitness work and the emphasis shifts to tactics and technique. My argument is there is room for all but keep it high intensity remember the 36 hour rule and keep it interesting and players will even improve their conditioning throughout the year