Training Youth Athletes
For the last several weeks I have had the priviledge of training some of the hardest workers I have ever seen. It was also an added bonus that they were all great athletes. They pushed each other and demonstrated phenomenal sportmanships during times they were competing against each other. They held each other accountable when improper form was displayed. Most importanly, they each strove to get better each class and I am happy to say I do not think any of them hate me! Believe it or not they were 12 year olds.
I am writing this to educate on ways to train young athletes. Weight training is not necessary although there is no evidence that kids around this age can’t lift weights just as long as they can demonstrate perfect form during low repitition work. Proper form is the most important factor to consider when working with youth. Early sessions should be devoted to good jumping and run form.
Form and Conditioning
Athletes need to be able to move and adjust explosively. Young athletes are no different. Cone drills are great for emphasizing this point. Whether they are sprinting, backpedaling, or shuffling from cone to cone proper form would consist of rotating the hips to the direction they are going, pumping their arms and keeping their chest and head up. This will help train them to become more aware of their body and get comfortable performing more difficult athletic drills. Cone drills also serve as a great way to condition athletes. As my 12 year olds began to tire is was important for me to emphasize form. What often separates athletes from achieving their goals is their inability to maintain form when they tire. This is a good way to train athletes to trust their form and trust their bodies to deliver a quality performance when they are fatigued.
Strength Training
As I mentioned earlier, weight training is not necessary for youngin’s to develope strength. I did not use one weight in 8 weeks of training my 12 year olds, but as they will attest they frequently worked their legs are arms to exhaustion. At this age, using their body weight is enough to challenge their tiny bodies. As with sprinting and agility work, it is imperative to carefully monitor their form to ensure that they are not developing bad habits or behavior that could lead to injury. We frequently did lunges, squat jumps, wall sits, mountain climbers, ski jumps, burpees, bunny hops, duck walks, bear walks, push up walks, one foot hops, and their personal favorite plate pushes. During these exercises I looked at several things. One of those was their feet. All of this type of strength work should be done with your feet and toes pointing forward at all times. Any deviation shows a weekness of the hip flexor which will handicap the ability to strengthen your legs and could potentially make you more susceptible to knee problems in the future. Another thing I watched was their knees when they squat and lunge. The knees should not rotate inward towards each other because it puts added stress on the knees which poses a threat to knee ligaments and will also compromise the intended benefit to your quads. Thirdly these exercises should all be done with your head and chest up. Any deviation will put added strain on the lower back which will hinder strength gain in the legs.
I do have many of my kids doing push ups, but only with perfect form. If you are training a kid who does not have the strength to do a push up there are variations that can be done to complete the exercise and eventually build up to normal push ups. The most basic form of push up would be doing a wall push up.
This will help build more strength to prepare the athlete to do push ups on there knees and eventually normal push ups. Emphasize exploding off the wall to maximize the effectiveness of this exercise.
Most Important
My group had amazing support from their parents. This is very important. Sports are meant to be fun and training is no different. My kids worked hard so we played hard. Stay positive, encourage them, and watch them work their tales off. This group was a joy to work with and I looked forward to every class. At the end of the day it is just a game.
If you are training a youth athlete or want your youth athlete to start training feel free to contact me at stephen0391@gmail.com for more information.
To my plate pushers, duck walkers, hoppers, sprinters, bear walkers, frog jumpers, and all in all complete SAVAGES in the training room thank you very much for your hard work and dedication.
