The posterior chain is a term that describes the series of joints and muscles on the back side of our bodies.  The glutes, hamstrings (back of the thighs), lower back and upper back to name a few are all a part of the posterior chain.

What is so important about the posterior chain.

Most non-trauma related injuries to athletes (all athletes, not just young athletes) are due to poor braking mechanisms.  Most of the structures on the back side of the body are designed to help athletes put on the brakes.

Examples of Braking mechanisms in sport:

• Slowing down, stopping and changing direction quickly
• Slowing down or braking the throwing motion
• Landing from a vertical jump

All this being said….a young athlete still needs to have fun.  This video depicts on of the many ways we train the posterior chain to increase injury resistance and improve performance:

If you have never experienced the difference at Athletic Revolution and want to take advantage of our 2 week free trial just click here and we can get you started!

See you soon!

Coach Dave

Coaches Corner by Dave Gleason

Coaching from the Sidelines?

Training Like a Pro;  Are we hurting our kids?
By Dave Gleason

There is a malady that is running a muck in the hyper competitive world of youth sports.  The well intentioned and yet ill conceived notion of “more is better” that modern society places on young athletes in an effort to be at the top of their game is not getting the results that were intended.

Parents, trainers, coaches are involving children in more specialized programs adding to over scheduled youngsters that are improving marginally, getting burnt out and suffering from over use injuries.  The result is an increase in non trauma related injuries due in part to a lack of fundamental skill development.

According to the NCAA an average of only 0.16% of all High School Athletes ascend to play in the professional ranks.  With these kind of odds, one would think the primary focus of activity for our young athletes would be that of overall development and fun.

Source:  National Collegiate Athletic Association

What is in the best interest of your young athlete is to take a snap shot of an average day or week in its totality.  6 to 7 hours of school followed by 1 and sometimes 2 separate sporting practices, homework and then off to bed all to be repeated is not uncommon.  Add in lack of sleep, poor nutrition and no social outlet and this example paints a very scary picture.

Yes society has changed.  Yes there is a lack of free play and more emphasis on academics.  Yes there is a shift from recreational sports to high pressure select and travels teams.  There is one constant: Kids are still developing, constantly changing human beings and should be dealt with accordingly.

So what is a parent to do?

1.)  Slow and safe before fast and fancy. Beware of any program, team or skills clinic that does not have at its base a well rounded variety of fundamental skill development.  The younger the athlete, the more basic the activities should be with even more emphasis on encouragement and fun.

2.)  Be age appropriate. Look for programs that treat your young athletes right.  6-9 year olds should be exposed to outcome based coaching.  This type of coaching is rooted in encouragement while allowing the young athlete to discover movement or sports skills.  10-13 year olds should be introduced to outcome based coaching as well with about 25% more actual coaching of skill sets with simple instructions.  Young athletes ages 14 and up should be coached with more emphasis on skill development with injury prevention and long term success and the primary goals.

3.)  Cut it out. 3-4 soccer games in one day is excessive.  Practices 6 days per week for 2-3 separate sports teams is a very real scenario and should be avoided.  A young athlete in this situation engages in more structured practices that professional athletes and they are headed injury.  Reduce an over loaded schedule to allow for rest, recovery and time to just be a kid.

4.)  Think long term. Over specializing and over scheduling will place a premature cap on achievement as well as cause over use injuries.  Developing even the best of young athletes takes time and no short cuts can be taken.  Allow and encourage playing several sports to minimize repetitive motion injuries and over compensation

Let’s use our education system as an analogy.  A child who seems to have a knack for mathematics would not be encouraged to drop other subjects and only concentrate on math.  Once more, having great success in mathematics in 1st grade would not result in skipping grades 2-6 to engage in 7th grade algebra.  Skipping steps will only result in a lack of ability and an increase in the risk of injury.

When in doubt think of moderation and variety with as much time for un-coached play time as possible.  No matter the age…play and fun is a great way to stay active.  As stated above if the odds of “going pro” are limited so make sure you think of your child someday being in his/her 40’s with kids and still loving exercise.

Dave Gleason is owner of Athletic Revolution on Winter Street, co-author of Youth Speed Development as well as the International Youth Conditioning Association Trainer of the Year.  Coach Dave consults fitness trainers from around the world how to effectively train young athletes for long term success.

Speed and Agility are very important to the success of any young athlete…

… But most Coaches and Trainers make mistakes when it comes to training for speed.

Here’s what I mean:

It is customary to see young athletes being taught and drilled on how to run as fast as possible in a straight line.

Coaches spend hours teaching the mechanics of ‘linear speed’.  Arm drive, hip drive, ankle push, forward lean – all the usual suspects.  Whether on a high speed treadmill, gymnasium floor or football field, anywhere you go, you’ll likely see Coaches teaching the techniques of running fast in a straight line moving forward.

Now, I don’t really have any fundamental issue with respect to this style of training.  I could (and will) argue that virtually every sport is played in a non-linear format and so spending time on the mechanics of an exercise that a young athlete won’t typically ever need in a sporting situation is paramount to a large waste of time.

But young athletes (as you will read later) need to be exposed to as much training stimulus as possible – in all formats.  In that, no training style should ever be considered ‘not worth the time’ when we’re talking about preadolescent or high school aged athletes.

But the fact that linear speed training is both taught and drilled INSTEAD of more functional and useable styles of speed and agility work is where I draw the concern.

Football, baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball – you name the sport.  Very seldom does a young athlete need to sprint forward with proper form; and they almost never hit ‘top-end-speed’ for any length of time.  If you look at any of the sports from a positional standpoint, that reality is even less likely.

Sports are multi-directional and varying in speed.  Young athletes must be taught how to move efficiently and quickly at angles (not just forward) and be ingrained with the knowledge and ability of how to decelerate (stop) and shift (change directions) as fast as possible.

Sport speed isn’t about straight lines.  It’s about angular quickness and the ability to re-accelerate.

Come on in and enjoy a complementary ‘2 Weeks Free’ of training at Athletic Revolution in Pembroke and see just how much faster your young athletes are going to become.

Call me directly today – 781.312.7808

~Coach Dave

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Rating technical ability of a variety of movements where each young athlete’s skill level can be evaluated with a progression based on developmentally appropriate goals is optimal.

This video is a small example of an emotional and awe inspiring performance of young champions ranging in ability level and age. Testing and Promotion Day at Athletic Revolution is a celebration, a display of athleticism and a community event.

Train like a Pro with Pembroke Youth Soccer partner Athletic Revolution.

Becoming a better soccer player begins with working to be a better athlete.  Soccer drills mean so much more when your body is moving correctly.  MLS All-Star Kevin Alston is getting his off season workouts at Athletic Revolution. 

Now you can too!  In fact, for a limited time you can have a chance to train with him!

Coach Dave Working with MLS All-Star Kevin Alston

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Contact Coach Dave at coachdave@athleticrevolutionsouthshore.com or call 781-312-7808

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Over Specialization in Youth Sports
By Brian Grasso

You’ve heard the term ‘Sport-Specific-Training’ before, correct?

Well, let me give you the cold hard facts… It doesn’t exist.

Especially not with young athletes.

When working with preadolescent and high school athletes,
the undeniable reality is that we are tending to an organism that
is in the process of growth.

And that fact is something that we cannot do anything about, nor
cause disruption to the process of.

What a growing and maturing body needs in order to remain injury
free and develop optimal athletic skill is variety.

With respect to training, this amounts to NOT having a hyper-focus
on making a young athlete a better football player by only doing
exercises in the gym that the NFL players would do.

The strongest and fastest athletes in any sport are the ones who
had the greatest diversity of training while they were young.

And believe it or not, this means that the training program for a female
soccer player shouldn’t deviate that much from a male baseball player.

In time, yes, more specific training programs will be necessary to
maintain or improve upon the strength and power needs for a specific
sport or position – In time being the operative point.

As a general rule, throughout high school, roughly 70% of a young
athletes training program should be based on general fitness and
athletic ability.

Brian Grasso is the founder and CEO of the IYCA (International Youth Conditioning Association) and a world leader in youth fitness and athletic development.

Please send this post to EVERYONE you know…it is that important!

Til next time,

~Coach Dave

PS.  For even more information check out this article from my friend and collegue George Maoury (Matthews, NC).

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It is an honor to be the training advisor and columnist for the only organization that specializes in youth fitness and athletic development.

Although this video is intended to teach other youth fitness professionals – it is great information for anyone.

Take a peek at this video and let me know what you think!

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Since I first posted about Gatorade on our Facebook Fan Page (some time ago now) I have admittedly become side tracked and the result is a huge delay in a proper response.

I have been meaning to reseach and comment on Gatorade and their new G-Series for some time.  My inquiries and investigations always begin in one place…the IYCA and the professionals like Dr. Chris Mohr.

Chris was kind enough to respond to a forum post on a the IYCA professionals forum and I am making sure you have access (it has now been posted on the main website for the IYCA)

Here is the forum thread:

IYCA Training Advisor, Dave Gleason, posted this incredible question on our Members Only message board a few days ago:

Gatorade is making a big push with its Series – Prime, Perform and Recover.

I have questions about –

1) Its efficacy
2) Its quality
3) Its potential as a viable alternative for the young athletes we deal with on a day to day basis.

Dr. Chris Mohr chimed in with an answer:

Prime — the 1st in the “series” is really just a convenient way to take carbohydrates.

It’s more concentrated than normal Gatorade, but not quite as concentrated as a gel.

I’d stick with basic Gatorade if it were me.

The Perform is regular Gatorade. And the Recover is mainly protein with very little carbohydrates.

This would be more suited for an anaerobic athlete, who isn’t burning through glycogen and doesn’t have to be as concerned
with replenishing glycogen as quickly.

If you’re working with a more endurance based athlete, I’d want more carbohydrates in the recovery product than this offers. Hope that helps and let me know if there are other questions!

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 THANKS DR. MOHR!

~Coach Dave

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The initial national coverage by ABC News was quick (and irresponsible) for jumping on the notion that the supplement Creatine was the likely culprit.

Why?

Elevated levels of Creating Kinase in the blood tests of the young athletes admitted in the hospital.

Could Creatine have contributed to the compartment syndrome that resulted in several players actually needing surgery to relieve pressure and avoid permanent muscle damage…or worse?  Yes.

My point is not to defend Creatine.  I do not recommend this supplement to any young athlete and this is a topic to discuss in itself.

My point is that we must start looking at the sports training and conditioning programs that young athletes are engaged in – most often under the direction of a coach and or strength and conditioning coach.

Was the workout these young football players engaged in excessive?  Not according to McMinnville High School Administrators.

Not excessive?   Push ups followed by bench dips in a 115-120 degree room AFTER a conditioning practice out on the field during the hottest day of the year?

That is what I call , ”being stupid on purpose”.

What say the players on the McMinnville High Football Team?

“It’s heart-breaking,” injured player Greg Cordie told KGW from his hospital bed. “I love this game… He pushed us too hard, and here we are.”

Cordie’s parents and some others were outraged. Jim Cordie said he’s worried his son’s entire football career could now be ruined.

“This ain’t the NFL, this ain’t college. Stop bringing these college coaches in and pushing these kids so far. They’re still growing. They’re still kids. They just want to play for fun,” he said.

Must be the supplements though right?.  How about rhabdomyolysis?  Guess what one of the primary symptoms is?  Elevated levels of Creatine Kinase.

According to MedicineNet.com:

“Rhabdomyolysis (RAB-DOE-MY-O-LIE-SIS) is the rapid destruction of skeletal muscle resulting in leakage into the urine of the muscle protein myoglobin.”

“Myoglobin is a protein component of the muscle cells that is released into the blood when the skeletal muscle is destroyed in rhabdomyolysis. Creatine kinase is an enzyme (a protein that facilitates chemical reactions in the body) also in the muscle cells. The level of each of these proteins can be measured in blood to monitor the degree of muscle injury from rhabdomyolysis.” Myoglobin can also be measured in samples of urine.”

Hard work pays off.  I am a beliver in that, but it needs to be smart work.

Young athletes are not little adults.

There is an absolute art to training kids how to become better athletes.  Every coach will have a different ethos, philosophy and training style.

The style of coaching must be rooted in the science and practicality of working with young people.

Yes kids adapt, yet this mantra does not suffice when most coaches cannot adequately explain what it is they are actually asking young athletes to adapt to.

Ultimately it is the head coach and strength coach that bears the responsibility for this tragic situation in McMinnville.  Let this be a shot across the bow to coaches in our community (in all sports) to do what is right.

~Coach Dave

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