This outstanding youth soccer camp is and has been run by Dean Sneider since 1997.  Dean philosophy is character and effort first, soccer skills second.  Young athletes leave this week with smiles on their faces and new soccer skills in tow.  I send both my boys there and will continue to do so.

On Thursday of the last week of camp, I had center stage to all 100+ young soccer players and their trusted coaches for one hour.  The theme…SPEED.

Fun was had by everyone (see the pictures here) as they experienced 3 secrets to game changing soccer speed and agility.

To put the frosting on the cake – my assistant was New England Revolution soccer star Kevin Alston who donated his time to help out and stay to sign autographs.  We raffled a soccer ball signed by Kevin as well as two free months of training at Athletic Revolution including a free evaluation, AR Champion Shirt, no enrollment…the works!

If you haven’t seen the pictures from that day you can view them on our Athletic Revolution Fan Page – www.facebook.com/athleticrevolution.  If you are not already a fan…just sign on to FaceBook and click LIKE on our page.

I hope to see you soon!

~Coach Dave

P.S.  Our U10-U12 Soccer Academy is sold out but make sure you get your name on the waitlist…we may add another session!

P.P.S.  We still have some room in our U14-U16 Soccer Academy but don’t wait…spots are going fast!

.

July 2, 2010 – Competing in the Dew Tour, at the famed Boston Garden, Nora Vasconcellos was in the company of the greats of men and women’s skateboarding.

Fitting in practice time in Rye, New Hampshire while maintaining any semblance of balance for an energetic and ambitious 17 year old whose life and friends are home in Pembroke, is a tall order.

With the 2010 X-Games Vert competition looming the weekend of July 29th – Nora’s training at Athletic Revolution in Pembroke gets ramped up.

Unlike all other evaluations of physical prowess, at Athletic Revolution the young athletes ranging in age from 6-18 are judged on the quality of carefully selected movements put together in a flowing, choreographed routine.

Dave Gleason, Head Coach of Athletic Revolution, says that preparing Nora physically is a steady system of balance, mobility, strength and stamina.
“Making sure Nora moves correctly and efficiently is paramount to her staying healthy as well as continuing to improve at the rapid rate she has been on”, says Gleason.

Nora’s thoughts on her work with Coach Gleason and Athletic Revolution are quite complementary.

“I’ve noticed an overall improved level of fitness; greater flexibility, strength and endurance which has me more confident and better able to focus on what I want to do when I’m skating. AR is not one-size-fits-all”.

“Coach Dave’s asks great questions and listens to create an approach that is unique to my particular sport. I feel so good about having AR as a partner in my skating that I truly can’t wait to get to every workout”, continued the 17-year-old athlete.

.

Matt Travis is a Physical Education Teacher and a Certified Youth Fitness Specialist in Massachusetts. Matt attended our testing day as a bystander and someone who is also looking to make a positive difference in the lives of the next generations to come.  His passion is unparalled.

I tell you this because Matt wrote a letter to me that I would like to share with you.  I captures how we assess our young athletes far better than I could ever imagine.

I know the merit our programming and testing system holds for young athletes.  I understand our role in developing not only young athletes into robust movers and shakers but as human beings.

The following is Matt’s description of what he witnessed, from the view point of an educator, a professional and as a human being.

Thank you, Matt for sharing in our day – and thank you for this letter:

I recently visited Athletic Revolution for their second testing session that happens quarterly throughout the year. Upon arrival I knew I was going to observe something special. From the moment I entered the facility I saw a wonderful family atmosphere that was decorated with professionalism. The black and orange balloons commemorating the special day, the happy birthday sign for one of the athletes, the baked goods, warm smiles and greetings from Dave and Andrea, the owners of Athletic Revolution, created a contagious energy that encouraged success. The stage was set for a plethora of talent and athletic ability. 

A calm excitement filled the room before the testing began.  The athletes’ families took their places in the many chairs set up along the perimeter of the turf, with their cameras ready to catch this triumphant occasion. Dave introduced the event by explaining the uniqueness of the Athletic Revolution teaching system, the extensive time and effort the athletes have given to be chosen to participate in the testing session and a loving thank you to his wonderful wife Andrea.  Dave’s superior coaching ability really shined as he took a moment at the end of the introduction to recognize important events in two of his athlete’s lives. He commended one athlete on earning the citizenship award at his school and led the singing of happy birthday for another athlete on his extra special day.  He continued to explain the order in which the athletes would perform the testing protocol starting with the 6-9 year old discovery athletes and ending with the 10-13 year old exploratory athletes.

The testing began with the youngest athletes working towards their white arm bands, the first level of achievement for the 6-9 year old discovery athletes and continued with the athletes attempting their orange and black arm bands, the second and third levels of achievement. The testing finished up with the 10-13 year old athletes working towards their white and orange arm bands at the exploratory level of achievement. 

As a physical educator, coach and level 1 youth fitness specialist, I was absolutely amazed at the endurance, balance, motor control and agility of each athlete. The confidence exuded by the athletes as they performed solo in front of an audience was extraordinary. Each child went through a challenging mix of balance, rhythm, reaction, agility, speed and endurance skills that created a collage of functional athletic ability.  Compared to the traditional non-functional fitness assessments that my allotted curriculum requires me to perform, this testing session was a breath of fresh air.  It was a rewarding experience to see each athlete’s face light up when they saw their hard work pay off and heard the explosive support at the conclusion of each of their own tests. I was so caught up in the excitement and proud moments of these athletes performances that I found myself blurting out cheers for these athletes like they were my own children.

One student was Athletic Revolution’s first exploratory athlete in franchise history to earn an orange band.  I consider myself to be in great shape and have proficient athletic ability, but I am not sure that I could have completed the tough endurance filled coordination challenge that he accomplished, at least not with as much grace. I felt honored to be an observer of this emotional transformation from willing students to confident athletes. It was astounding to see these athletes intrinsically motivated to take a chance and shoot for a high level of athleticism.  The most rewarding part that I observed was the respect each athlete gave to one another while they were testing and the family like reception they gave to each other when they each finished.  Athletic Revolution isn’t just creating spectacular athletes; they are fostering and empowering incredible human beings, and changing lives one child at a time. I look forward to experiencing another testing session because it was one of the most pure forms of youth athletic success I have ever seen. Thank you Dave and Andrea for inviting me to witness this athletic revolution!

Sincerely,

Matt Travis, P.E., YFS        

 

.

It was inspirational, emotional, impressive and joyous.

We are changing youth sports performance testing and youth fitness testing.  No longer will young athletes have to achieve just for the sake of achieving.  No longer will they have to be subjected to 1 rep max tests, or reps for 1 minute protocols with no subjective assessment of technical ability.

Check out this little slide show of some of the highlights of our day.

Congrats to all of the following Champions:
 

Discovery (6-10 yrs)

White Band Recipients

Daniel Ellis – White Band

Orange Band Recipients

Lucas Barone
Derek Lambiase
Bo Rinkus

Black Band Recipients

Trevor Gleason
Sam Herrmann
Cameron Maggiore
Justin Troia
Steven Cerventes

Exploration (10-13 yrs)

White Band Recipients

Carley Pearce
Dylan Prudente
Kristina Lavallee
Brian Lavallee

Orange Band Recipients

Bryan Musial

We are proud of each and every one of you!!

~Coach Dave

.

None more important than helping reduce injuries in young athletes.

Is our goal to reduce injury by helping our athletes become…

Stronger?

More mobile and flexible?

Faster?

More proficient when moving?

More aware of skill development and how it relates to better athleticism?

Yes, yes, yes , yes and yes.

What is never mentioned in our literature but perhaps should be is how we strive to educate parents and their young athletes beyond the x’s and o’s of training.  How important rest is to the human body.  The role stress plays in athletic development.  Human development and how it relates to performane training for young athletes.

Read this article that was recently published in the Boston Globe for even greater insight.

http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/articles/2010/06/01/young_athletes_injuries_on_the_rise/

What are your thoughts?

We want to know so please leave your comments below.

Til next time,

~Coach Dave

.

They were left to their own accord to play with everything in the facility excluding the weights.  I sat at the very desk I am typing this post from with a watchful eye to see what they would come up with.

I was amazed.

• Creativity
• Balance
• Cooperation
• Spatial Awareness
• Kinethestic Differentiation
• Over all conditioning
• Throwing, kicking, jumping and climbing

Its all in there.

No fancy programming and no coach.

Encourage this kind of play with your young athletes.

Til next time,

~Coach Dave

.

View this video to see how through a process of discovery…5 year old Andrew teaches himself to jump rope.

Far too often kids are overcoached.

Have you seen over coaching?

Have you done it?

What are your thoughts…I want to know.

Til next time,

~Coach Dave

Athletic Revolution is the only facility dedicated to youth athletic development and youth fitness – and we are backed by the ONLY organization in the world that educates trainers and coaches in youth fitness and sports performance training (International Youth Conditioning Association).

If you have read our other posts or watched our videos you know what we are all about.  Successful programming can have many applications…

Not to the least of which is for athletes who are striving to be there very best at the highest level of competition.

See what New England Revolution Stars Kevin Alston and Darrius Barnes have to say about their success while training at Athletic Revolution.

By far the best way to become a better athlete is to STAY HEALTHY!

What makes these two outstanding soccer players great is fundamental skill development.  The same skill sets that all of the athletes learn at Athletic Revolution.

Acceleration, deceleration, angular speed development, movement proficiency, systemic strength, mobility, flexibility and injury prevention are vital components to a pro soccer players training schedule.  They are ALL teachable skills that are broken down to their smallest parts, learned and practiced.

This hold true for Kevin and Darrius as well as EVERY young athlete that steps foot in Athletic Revolution. 

Go Revs!

Til next time,

~Coach Dave

3 Myths of Coaching Youth Sports

How to Coach Your Team to Success

Being a coach of a youth sports team puts you in a position to make an indelible impact on the children you are coaching.  This is true if you a good coach, or a poor coach.  Here are 3 myths in relation to coaching the young athletes you are lucky enough to be in charge of 2- 3x per week.

1.       The LOUDER the better!

Considering that young athletes are making nearly 2-3 decisions per second on the court or field – “helping” make those decisions from the side lines does not produce the affect we are often looking for.  Limiting situational teaching to controlled scrimmages (at the end of a practice) or during a dead ball situation will help the children you coach make an informed decision the next time around. 

Also keep in mind that depending on the age of the young athlete, conceptual ideas such as passing the ball are literally not on their little radar screens.  6-9 year olds, for example, are egocentric in nature so thoughts of giving up the coveted ball or puck will not happen until their developing brains have reasoned that scenario out.

2.       Using exercise as a punishment will teach them.

Never.  Kids play sports because they are fun.  Our role as coaches and mentors is to set them up for as much fun as possible in the hopes that they play again next year.  Young athletes will become adults.  The experiences they draw from their childhood will play a major role in whether or not they choose to be active or not later in life.  Being driven into the ground with exercise because of lack of performance or behavior should be avoided.  A monkey can make a child sweat.  It takes a coach to help them become better.

At the beginning of your practices make sure you take 3 minutes to lay out what the expectations are for practice including behavior.  Outline what you will be doing and what you expect.  Ask each athlete if they agree so there is no misunderstanding.

If a situation does arise, ask them if they remember the expectations they agreed to, tell them they need to adhere to those expectations and continue practice immediately.  If there is a second occurrence have the player sit in a designated spot and continue practice.  You will be amazed at how well this technique works.

3.       Correct technical mistakes as soon as possible.

Common sense tells us this is a true statement.  The fact is a young athlete possesses a brain and central nervous that is far and away smarter than we are.  A young athlete inherently knows when they do not perform a skill correctly…especially when we a.) Don’t give them an accurate demonstration of how the skill is supposed to look and b.) Have not taught them the correct way of doing it with set guidelines.

If you ask a young soccer player to dribble through a set of cones with no teaching of the skill or guidelines and the player does so – Praise and encourage them EVEN THOUGH it might not have looked the way you envisioned it in your head.   Doing so will avoid goal confusion and foster confident, creative players on your team.

What are your thougths on the subject?

I want to know!

~Coach Dave

Recently Coach Boyle was asked a question about strength and conditioning for a 9 year old hockey player…by the way training for hockey is one of Mike’s specialties. 

Here is the question and his response:

Last week I received the question below

Q- I need to put together a summer plan for my 9 yr old hockey team.
Obviously I don’t want to look like a crazy person, but it would be
something that I think could be good for my own kids as well. Is it
too young?

My first reaction was to say “are you crazy”? Instead, slightly
tongue-in-cheek I developed the plan below.

Step 1- play another sport. Lacrosse is highly recommended as it
has similar skills to hockey although baseball is fine. This does
not mean another sport in addition to hockey. Summer is the off season.

Step 2- Cancel all hockey camp registrations except 1 week. Pick your
favorite that has the largest number of your friends attending and go
to that one. Ideally look for a camp that only has you on the ice once
a day. No need to get blisters. You won’t get better in a week anyway.

Step 3- Cancel any summer hockey leagues you are scheduled for. The best
players in the world never play summer hockey and, they never have.
The only conceivable exception would be a weekly skill session lasting
one hour. Another exception would be “play”. If ice is available and
the kids can play, let them. Please remember play means NO COACHES
or COACHING.

Step 4- Reread steps 1-3. Acknowledge that the key problem in youth
sports is applying adult values to children’s activities.

Step 5- Go to the nearest bike shop. Get nice bikes for everyone in
the family

Step 6- Ride the bikes, not in a race. For fun. Maybe put a few
hockey cards in the spokes to make noise.

Step 7- Head to Walmart and buy fishing rods.

Step 8- Take the fishing rods to the nearest lake and fish.

Now That is an off-season plan for any nine year old.

Step 9- repeat steps 5-8 while continually rereading steps 1-3

 

Just in case all of you thought is just me who approaches youth fitness and athletic development differently…did that sound familiar?

At Athletic Revolution we view youth athletic development, sports performance and general fitness as LONG TERM endeavors.  You will not find sport specific training in our facility.  What is emphasized is developmentally appropriate programming that encourages natural progressions in strength, mobility, coordination and movement efficiency.

Huh?

Our classes are FUN.  What the kids soon realize is that the fun they are having is actually allowing them to teach themselves how to move better and with less injury.  The training is multi-dimensional so it addresses several different needs of young athletes.

Stronger and faster in 6 weeks is easy.  Lasting skill development that results in better performance in sport and in LIFE is our mission.  We not train young athletes…we coach young human beings.

What do you think?

Do you agree?

Do you disagree?

I want to know!

Til next time,

~Coach Dave