Learn how to structure your season, set start and end dates, and watch it unfold before your eyes.
Setting the right start and end dates for your Seasonal Tracker is key to effective season tracking. These dates define your season’s time frame, impact report timing, and ensure weekly data consistency. Choosing a well-defined season structure will help you align training with key goals and track progress accurately.
Setting Start and End Dates
On your Analysis page, you will see your Season Tracker set-up wizard. We know you can't wait to dive right into your season, but before you do, we need you to consider how you will structure it. This includes what you'll name your season and how you will set your start and end dates.
If the setup of your season wizard is missing from your analysis page, update your app to the latest version. Note that it's only available on iPad or computer.
Quick Tips for Setting Dates
- Minimum & Maximum Season Lengths: You can set a season for as short as 5 weeks or as long as 4 years (perfect for quadrennial planning).
- Weekly Report Structure: TritonWear creates weekly reports from Sunday to Saturday, meaning seasons cannot start on weekends. This guarantees you receive all weekly reports when setting up your season.
Popular Ways to Structure Your Season
There are many ways to set up a season based on your goals and training priorities. Here are some of the most common approaches:
-
Key Meets and Competition Peaks
Many coaches design seasons around target meets or phases leading up to competition peaks. For instance, planning a season around a fall invitational, mid-season championship, or end-of-season peak meet allows you to prioritize training cycles, tapering, and peaking at just the right time. -
Short Course vs. Long Course Segments
Separating Short Course and Long Course seasons is common for year-round training programs, as it allows you to optimize training for specific race strategies and skill sets unique to each course type. -
School Seasons (Fall, Winter, Spring)
Dividing the year into fall, winter, spring, and summer blocks can align well with school or club schedules. This setup lets you tailor training and skill development to match each phase, helping your athletes improve performance and stay competition-ready. -
Annual Cycle (First Practice to Last Practice)
If you prefer to keep a year-round perspective, an annual cycle that runs from the first to the last practice can be ideal. This approach allows for consistent, long-term development, giving you a big-picture view of progress, adaptation, and steady growth across the entire year. -
Quadrennial Planning (4-Year Cycle)
High-performance programs, such as national federations, often use a quadrennial (four-year) cycle to align with major international events like the Olympics. This long-term approach supports strategic planning with yearly milestones, allowing for in-depth skill development phases that focus on technical, physical, and tactical growth over multiple years.
Choosing the Right Structure for Your Goals
Think about what best supports your coaching goals. Do you want to align your season with peak meets, focus on short course and long course separately, or track progress year-round?
With the right structure, your Seasonal Tracker becomes a powerful tool for tracking, adjusting, and advancing toward your team’s goals, whether they’re seasonal or long-term. The choice of season length, name, and dates may seem like small decisions, but they’re the foundation of a well-organized and successful training plan.