Training Myths!

This is to answer the many times I get asked "what is a good bronco time?"

Right, running broncos has no relevance to how good/bad a player you are, running a quicking or slower one won't affect your ability to perform a skill or read a game.

'Fitness tests'

This is to answer the many times I get asked "what is a good bronco time?"

Running multiple and frequent broncos only trains you to run said bronco, again no relevance to the actual game.

In order to measure your output you'll need to measure your heart rate (and when it peaked) through the whole test, plus your optimal running speed and average running speed based on what type of player you are and what attributes you have.

Two players in the same position can have very different playing styles, your target it set depending on your attributes, not just the position you play.

Also, you can't 'modify' a bronco, when you make changes to it it ceases to become a bronco, it just becomes something you made up and then used the term bronco as a 'buzz' word. (Apart from maybe a "broken bronco" which has relevance in 7s).

You would not be able to collect the relevant data needed to measure the outcome in a 'modified' bronco.

For example, 127 times capped double World Cup winner (one as captain) Kieran Reed has never come in under 5mins, and was 28th out if 32 players in a World Cup year.

So is that seen as a bad time? Or is that measured against how good a defender he is? his combative style of play? The amount of mistakes he makes or doesn't make? His mental toughness? His decision making under fatigue and pressure?

Would Reed get pulled aside and told he needs to raise his game based on a test run 1-3 times a year?.........no he wouldn't, not in a million years as its measured on all attributes.

Derek from the next street over isn't ripping out for the All Blacks next week because he clocked a good bronco, because it's more than likely that when Derek performs a skills like passing, he couldn't hit a barn door with a handful of rice.......he's not a good player.

Ask your coach if they have any understanding of the relevance of the test or how to undertake an accurate test based on your attributes, potential attributes and position.

This has become the 'in' thing to do with many programs iv heard of lately and it's absolute amateur hour! (Or whatever is below amateur)

The bronco is not a training tool, it is a test to gather data from all of the above (and a few more) areas in order to present a picture of the player.

As with other test like the Yo-Yo etc, they are used in elite programs that have the technology to gather said data in order for it to make sense in its entirety and outcome, even then it's a guideline, as is the ultimate example with Keiran Reed.