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.

Every now and then do things slip by us?  Yes.

Self confidence as it is marketed by fitness organizations is a case in point.

What is Self Confidence?

Why is that term a part of every youth fitness programs list of deliverables?

self–con·fi·dence  noun: confidence in oneself and in one’s powers and abilities

¹con·fi·dence  noun: a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers;  the quality or state of being certain.

Please watch this video as I explain how self confidence has a crucial impact on our children.

How does your child’s self confidence get nutured?

I welcome your comments below…

Til next time,

-Coach Dave

We have a code at Athletic Revolution as well.

Why?

Because we are not in the business of merely birthing athletic super stars. Our mission is to develop champions in sport, school, community and life. Our long term youth fitness and athletic development program clearly depicts our mission.

Below is the code we require all champions and parents to sign and return prior to all of our programming. This may be one of – if not THE most important piece of paper work they contemplate.  We call it our Champions Code.

The Athletic Revolution Champions Code

1. You will learn from your coaches at Athletic Revolution™ and apply this knowledge to the best of your ability to become a better athlete and person. We are building athletes to excel in sport, the classroom and life!

2. You will not argue with your coaches. We set the rules, you will follow them.

3. You will show up 5 minutes early to your training session. Tardiness is not tolerated. This is a matter of respect to your peers and coaches. a. Parents: In most cases it is up to you to make sure your athlete arrives at Athletic Revolution™ in a timely manner, as such we ask that you too understand that punctuality is a trait upon which champions are made. Please get your athlete here prior to the start of their session.

4. You will go through each activity to the best of your ability. We are not asking each athlete to be a superstar but we expect you to give your coaches a superstar effort!

5. Anything less than 100% commitment to the program is unacceptable.

6. You will be expected to apply all nutritional and motivational material given to you in your life outside of training at Athletic Revolution™.

7. Respect yourself, your peers, your parents and coaches.

8. If you are going to miss a session you must inform the coaches within a reasonable time frame. We need at least 12 hours notice to get you rescheduled.

9. There is absolutely NO SITTING during your workout. Unless your Coach asks you to sit you will be on your feet during the entire training session. This will be enforced!

10. You will treat the other athletes in your training group like family. There is no place for mocking of an athlete or teasing at Athletic Revolution™. Your high school or team affiliations do not matter at Athletic Revolution™.

11. The entire workout, from start to finish, will be done as a group.

12. Your workout will be completed as written. Modifications to your workout must be approved by a Coach. You are, under no circumstances, allowed to change your workout on your own.

13. If you do not comply with these rules the coaches at Athletic Revolution™ reserve the right to ask you to leave the facility for the day. If this becomes a recurring issue we will ask you to the leave the program permanently!

14. Rules may be added at any time by the coaches as they see fit.

As you can see this is team effort.

Together we win!

-Coach Dave