Young Athlete Training ProgramsRecent Articles (show all)
By Ashley Soldera The most important years of an athlete are between the ages of 7 to 11. One of the leading researchers in the area of athletic development, Istvan Balyi states that if the ABC's (agility, balance, coordination and speed) are not trained as a part of a solid foundation by age 11, the person will not maximize their athletic potential. Athletic programs are designed for young athletes guided by the Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) document. The LTAD is fully based on and supported by coaching and exercise science literature. Every child is not going to be a professional athlete; however; parents want their son or daughter to enjoy and confidently play their sport successfully. Early introduction of a physical lifestyle often encourages children to be more physically active throughout their lives. This increased activity reverses current trends in childhood and adult obesity and cardiovascular disease. As a result, confidence in physical competency leads to an overall confident, positive, highly motivated individual with a healthy self esteem. As a personal trainer, my goal is to help each and every young athlete grow and develop in a fun, friendly and safe environment. I teach young athletes how to move more efficiently, quicker, with more coordination, strength and power, all of which will lead to a lesser chance for injury. Early specialization in a single sport can be detrimental to a young athlete. Specializing before the age of 10 in late specialization sports contributes to:
Mental training For all athletes to maximize their potential the mental component must be addressed. Areas such as arousal management, coping strategies for dealing with stress and anxiety, visualization techniques and learning how to remain focus and free of distractions will be addressed. These mental skills will help all athletes on and off the field of play. It is the mental power that separates the exceptional from the very good. What separates good and great athletes is what goes on between the ears. A positive mindset during training keeps you focused on making the small improvements to make you better. A positive mindset during competition may make that 1% difference between achieving your goals. Nutrition knowledge and skill development Nutrition is an important component of healthy growth and development in youth. In addition, physical activity, athletic performance and recovery from exercise are enhanced by optimal nutrition. Learn how to select appropriate food and fluids, time your intake and assess supplement choices for optimal health, growth, and development and exercise performance. For parents and children, learn a healthy and manageable division of responsibility for eating. Enjoy food and eating peace in the family. Learn how favourite youth culture foods (often called junk food) can fit into your athlete's eating while maintaining optimal performance. Learn how to make informed choices. A nutritionist or dietician can help you plan out your meals based on your specific medical issues and needs for energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Learn to make the most of your talents with optimal nutrition. Proper rest, recovery and regeneration education It's all about the training and how hard you train! This may be true, but if you always train hard you will eventually burnout and get injured. This is called overtraining. As athletic trainers we recognize that overtraining is also very individual. Did you know that the purpose of training is to cause the body to adapt to the overload and that this takes place during the recovery period. Teaching athletes proper rest, optimal nutrition, effective recovery methods (like relaxation and stress management techniques) will help them optimize training sessions. These skills will be transferable to future sport training. |