Young Athletes and Resistance Bands At least once a week I am posed the question about how to train my son or daughter using bands and in most cases all I can envision is kids being put through a grueling workout using big bands that literally throw them around like a human sling [...] read more

High School Athletes Programming   By Wil Fleming   Recently I gave some thought to how many questions arise when putting together programming for high school athletes. Questions about general strength training practices, how to prioritize training goals, and what to do for speed and agility are all important, but the most basic of questions [...] read more

  Kids Fitness Game   I have referenced the “pirate game” several times in the past in the context of utilizing a fun game to provide several aspects of fitness to young athletes 6-9 years old. As a back drop we must remember the very nature of our programming for this age group must be [...] read more

  In this video Dave Jack shares a great Transition Game that he uses   to help his young athletes make the transition from school or wherever else   they may be coming in from into their training session.   This is a superb way to get the young athletes focussed from their outside stressors. [...] read more

  By Melissa Lambert Young athletes require more than physical training As a former collegiate athlete, I remember spending my off seasons training every opportunity I had including weight lifting, running and playing with the men’s team to increase my speed of play. I took pride in having the top times in running and physically [...] read more

Transitioning to Power Cleans for High School Athletes in 4 simple Steps   All of my athletes become very efficient at performing the Olympic lifts from the hang position, and I love that. This comes from a lot of practice but also from a very specific and well refined process for teaching and progressing the [...] read more

  Young athletes hip turn whole-part coaching By Dave Gleason   Coaching any exercise to young athletes can be challenging. One of the most effective methods is to break down an activity into its component parts, often times all the way down to the smallest or simplest part possible.   This is very true when [...] read more

IYCA Youth Fitness Specialist Spotlight   I am licensed professional counselor in the state of Connecticut and work as a child and adolescent clinician at Natchaug Hospital. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Eastern Connecticut State University and was a four year collegiate soccer player earning All-Region and All-New England accolades as [...] read more

–>     High School Athletes coaching should focus on the five biomotor abilities. By Latif Thomas When my mother attended her first ever Parent-Teacher Conference, she expected Mrs. Candlette to tell her how smart I was. Or how polite I was. Or to hear about some other facet of my considerable six year old [...] read more

    Brain Food for Coaching Young Athletes.   by Phil Hueston, NASM-PES; IYCA-YFS   Your feedback and communication is brain food when it comes to coaching young athletes. To develop correctly and effectively, young athlete’s brains need a steady flow of quality nutrients and stimuli. Neural development and conditioning is a process that never [...] read more

  By James Herrick Punch Cuts  Every parent, coach and athlete involved in team sports realizes the importance of having speed. It gives players a distinct advantage over slower opponents. Although it is not the easiest skill to improve, with persistence players can clearly get better over time. It takes a combination of technical skill [...] read more

  By Mike Mejia, CSCS     Injuries & Prevention   read more

  by Carlo Alvarez Playoff Season  The high school football playoff season is upon us. Most team have played ten regular season games and are preparing to play another four to five games in their journey to the State Championship game. For those of you who coach or train high school football teams, I’m sure [...] read more

    by Wil Fleming   I remember vividly 3 years ago at this time Ryan and I were working our tails off to get ready for our grand opening that was only a couple weeks away. It was a really exciting time for us.   We were assembling all the equipment we ordered.   [...] read more

  by Wil Fleming   Medicine Balls   read more

    by Dave Gleason     read more

    by Wil Fleming   The other day a track coach that I really respect called me to discuss an athlete that we both work with and right away I knew he was excited. I could hear in his voice that he was just fired up. I asked him what was going on and [...] read more

    by Dave Gleason     read more

  by Ryan Ketchum Sports Coaches and Athletes     In the past 6 years of coaching athletes and running a youth fitness business there is one obstacle that always presents itself when working with older athletes. How do I get in with the coach? This is a question that I get frequently when helping [...] read more

    by Wil Fleming   The biggest mistake in training athletes to get faster.     Both speed and agility are critically important for athletes to be successful on the field. Unfortunately I see plenty of programs or services offered by coaches that are skewed in the wrong direction, they promise to "decrease your [...] read more