Is running really a punishment, or is it necessary? My answer would be yes, and no. A lot of coaches do use running as a punishment and can over run their athletes, but at the same time running is needed to condition yourself for games and the season. Here’s where I can say that long distance running isn’t always necessary. When conditioning for your sport you should condition how you run during games. For example, in baseball or softball, how often do you run 400 meters without stopping? Easy answer, NEVER. The max distance you run in softball is around the bases without stopping and same for baseball. So, softball that’s a total distance of 240 feet and baseball a total of 360 feet, and that’s if you hit an inside the park homerun. In this case it would make no sense to run a mile or even over 100-yard sprints. The best way to condition for these sports is to do sprints at 20-60 yards in sets with a break in between. However, if we look at other sports like basketball or soccer where you are running and moving the whole time, these are sports where it isn’t a bad idea to run miles as part of your conditioning or maybe long sprints. Your conditioning and running should compliment how you run in your sport. If you get breaks, run sprints and not long distance. If it is constant movement then look into running long distances rather than sprints. Coaches, there is no need to make conditioning and running a punishment, explain that its necessary to dominate.
Sports Performance Training 