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October 13th, 2009 by BrianGrasso
Training Young Athletes – Big Mistake
Training Young Athletes
I admit to being annoyed on my call with Brad.
Not by him, but by the advice he was given,
It’s not a bad thing to say “I don’t know.”
You can’t know everything.
But yet again, I find more examples of people who think they do.
Training Young athletes need specific protocols
And if you don’t know what those ‘specifics’ are, why not just say so?
How to train young baseball players is the topic of this video but you better believe that it applies to ALL young athletes.
I think I’m getting tired of being surprised every time I realize that our industry, at large, doesn’t know ANYTHING about working with young athletes…
Over 1 million kids hired a Personal Trainer in this country last year.
Those kind of numbers are scary.
Isn’t it time you were taught what you need to know so the insanity can end?
Industry icon King Hoover thinks so.
So does Workout Muse creator BJ Gaddour.
And Boot Camp king Donovan Owens.
—-> Click here right now to hear what they all have to say
- Brian
Facebook Comments:
October 13, 2009 at 12:58 pm, Joie said:
Hi Brian,
I enjoy listening to you talk and your training perspective. I listened to your webinar last week.The baseball clip was highly informative too and I agree with your approach. I am a soccer coach for 11-12 year old competitive girls. I would love to hear some of your ideas for this age/gender/sport. I eventually would like to order your program, but can’t swing it now. Soccer coaches are paid purely by satisfaction and not money!! Thanks for all the information.
Joie- Virginia Veach, VA
October 13, 2009 at 1:03 pm, Chris Brown said:
Wow Brian, great video!! (Imagine how long it would’ve taken to type all that out…yikes!)
I have a “speed camp” with a group of 6 yr olds tonight, and I’ve been thinking about some of the stuff you touched on, so thanks for your unintentional (or intentional) input!
-Chris
October 13, 2009 at 1:12 pm, skye nacel said:
Brian,
What an amazing video and interesting topic that nails home the power of play and the functionality of basic, inherent movements with an emphasis on proper form and structure.
bang for the buck….love it!
keep up the great work and thanks for sharing!
October 13, 2009 at 1:45 pm, Steve McCarthy said:
Brian:
I have a 14 YO son who is a QB. I am looking for a youth strength & flexibility program that will take about 1/2 hour per day 4 days per week. I like what you said in the video and believe it to be true. He will begin to strength train with the HS boys this year. He will be learning proper technique with light weight.
My ultimate goal (his also) is for him to get stronger and faster.
The 9th grade coach (good friend) wants to work with the boys after they do their lift so I will not be there but he was looking for materials/guidance.
I am also willing to pay for the materials. i am just looking for something applicable to my son and his classmates who will also be part of the workout. There probably will be about 10 boys.
Thanks,
Steve
October 13, 2009 at 3:51 pm, Pat Henry said:
Some awesome information. However, I am a little stuck with the issue of not specifically strengthening the shoulder as well. I get the multi-joint movement patterns you are talking about and contra-lateral side coordination, which was a new train of thought for me. However, i would look at those shoulder exercises you talked about and realize that the child could do that stuff at home while they may not do the multi-joint exercises or play as much at home. Today parents would be more comfortable with simple strength exercises at home rather then what most parents would think are exercises that could get the kids hurt like the old fashion play of climbing objects. This is an unfortunate reality in today’s world. I guess what I am trying to say is why not do the more complex stuff with the trainer and the “simple” stuff at home. Wouldn’t that give you more bang for your buck (at least for the child)? Once again some awesome stuff you brought up. Thanks.
October 13, 2009 at 4:18 pm, Matt Attanasio said:
Brian,
Very informative as you always are. Great explanations. Interesting that I do alot of my training in a Baseball / Softball Facility and some parents don’t see alot of expensive equipment around. I then explain to them what is important as you have described. Best bang for your buck exercises that take little equipment. We do the athletic stance with overhead lite bands, as well as rope climbing, multiple types of crawls etc. Looking forward to getting my SAQ Cert from IYCA. Congrats on all yor hard work and education!!
October 13, 2009 at 5:36 pm, Brian Grasso said:
Thank you all for the feedback!
Pat… Interesting points, but again, I disagree.
Isolative shoulder exercises aren’t necessary in a functional, stable and mobile athlete. I raised the point in the video. I do not believe any joint-specific preventative exercises are required for any young athlete if they are being developed properly. Same holds true for knee and hip specific ACL prevention exercises. I have been asked, more than once, to critique the programs that hospitals have produced for ‘ACL Prevention’ programs. The curriculum always looks the same:
:: Technique development in ground-based exercises such as squats and lunges
:: Lateral and linear deceleration mechanics.
:: Jump/Land mechanics
Those are not preventative exercises, per say. They are part of what every well-rounded athletic development program should consist of.
If the argument is that ‘but kids AREN’T being developed properly’, then my retort is simply this – then joint-specific prevention exercises will, at most, delay the inevitable.
Additionally, ‘homework training’ is something I never allot. Kids should play. Period. There should be no take home exercises that involve Ther-tubing or anything related to regimented training. Free play is the missing link that used to be part of our youthful experiences.
The rotator cuff musculature, as well as all ‘small’ mucle groups that stablize a joint, are only effective at protecting that joint, when they are integrated into a systemic and congruous base of function. They are not useful at ‘strengthening the shoulder’ (as you put it) unless there is integration. Same reason I lothe fitness machines for kids. We work under natural laws of mobility/stability – when some groups of muscles contract to produce mobility/locomotion, others automatically contract to provide stability. In the absence of one, the other doesn’t matter (or at least isn’t functional in the least).
Think about a throwing motion. Energy is created from the ground through the lower body. It climbs through the torso and directs, contralaterally, into the shoulder/arm. That seqence is what must be strengthened/made stable – not the individual parts necessarily.
‘Bang for your buck’ shoulder-based work, I have found, best comes in:
:: Active PNF patterns
:: Scapular activation (depression, retraction)
:: Thoracic mobility
Hope I’ve cleared things up!
BG
October 13, 2009 at 5:40 pm, Coach Henige said:
I think at the youth level its sad that the play has been taken out of sport. Thats supposed to be why kids play sports. To many parent overindulge their kids in any sport that they may excel in at a lower level. I hope people listen and think. The younger injuries usually occur because of flat out over training. Lifting weights at a younger age then their bodies are reaady for, over training at young ages are destroying interior body parts so they can’t even have a chance to develope properly. Keep up the info parents need it.
Thanks Coach Henige
October 13, 2009 at 6:10 pm, Brian Van Hook said:
Informative Video Brian, I must say it’s great to watch a coach like you share your info; your excitement really shows when you get rolling on one of your “talks”.
I am currently working on my Master in Exercise Science and have been a CSCS since 2004, but I still really enjoy watching/listing to coaches like yourself talk about what they love! I have been following your stuff in recent years and I must say you have been added to my list of informative sources to keep track of (Boyle, AC, Cressey, T. Bompa, Poliquin, Verstegen, Raddcliffe…etc, and now Grasso)
Kudos to bringing great info to the youth market!!!
-Brian Van Hook
October 13, 2009 at 7:28 pm, Brian Grasso said:
I adore all the feedback, folks…. Please keep it coming!
BG
October 13, 2009 at 8:09 pm, King Hoover said:
Brian-
As always, your perception of Youth Athletic Conditioning is the most enlightening anyone will ever find. Your Holistic approach to training reminds me of time travel, you consistently see what has or has not happened in the Past that has brought about the sitiuation in the Present and you fully understand that what you choose to do will change their physical and performance Future- for the Good or toward further Dysfunction and injury.
The apt description you gave of throwing mechanics and the musculature/movement required made complete sense, you addressed all planes of motion revealing the need for a 360 degree Panoramic response rather than some simpliistic, habitual answer. As if running were all about the ankle. The difference you, your Certifications and the Education they provide is that industry-wide, certifications and products are about Training. You and the rest of the IYCA understand, that sport and high-level performance are simply expressions of Development that either has or needs to take place.
Your magnum opus on youth conditioning says (and gives) it all – ‘Complete’ Athlete Development.
Thank you for unpacking such vital principles so fully and so often, we default to those ‘simplistic, habitual responses’ at our (and our client’s) peril.
Respectfully and Gratefully yours,
King Hoover- Host of FIT FOR A KING on SIRIUS 161
p.s.- The Speed Certification is excellent by the way, I look forward to Testing as soon as I can.
October 13, 2009 at 8:34 pm, Deborah Robinson said:
Brian,
Teaching, educating the coaches, students and parents real important to give the understanding why this exercise. ie. planks instead of crunches and the planks are really more fun for the High School population.
Thank you for the infomation, I have 80-100 High School students 3 days a week 45min. to teach and make a difference in their minds as well as their bodies. Male and Female, one student has one arm, a student with autism, basketball and soccer players. The bottom line as you said Bang for the Buck! We are on a field and we do a variety of things.
We want to help them understand this will help you in LIFE. STABILITY, BLANCE, STRENGTH
which will bring on the POWER.
I am open to any suggestions Brian.
Deborah
October 14, 2009 at 6:57 am, Brian Grasso said:
Steve – check the IYCA Professionals Directory on our homepage (www.IYCA.org). I would suggest you hire a YFS Professional to develop and create your program
Deborah – Watch for my newsletter next week. I’m going to try to answer some of your questions.
King/Brian – THANK YOU so very kindly for your incredibly kind words. It means the world!
BG
October 14, 2009 at 10:58 am, B Righteous said:
B,
It feels good hearing someone “breaking it down” without “hating” on other methodologies or pedagogies. Your assertion that play is the way really makes sense and your wisdom that the body has it’s instinctive intelligence for movement is right on. Reminds me of Juan Carlos Santana’s dictum, “Sitting is the root of all evil.” Thanks
October 14, 2009 at 9:57 pm, Janila said:
Brian,
I won’t have much input on this blog, but I’d like to say how I never once considered the downfalls of isolative exercises. I hesitate to use the word downfalls (bare with me), because there are benefits. What I’m trying to get at is that they aren’t as mighty as some say they are–for the mobile athlete. I was also shocked in a sense. I realize I hadn’t taken the time to consider how much kids sit in a day– 6-8 hours!Thank you once againfor enlightening me. It always suprises me how much I don’t know about conditioning and training no matter how much I think I do know. I hope that made sense. Anyway, I value your knowledge.
Take care,
Janila
November 02, 2009 at 8:51 pm, training said:
training…
I think your article Project Management Training Guide ” Forbes CIO puts project … is a nice piece on training, however, are you able to think of some objections to contradict your own opinion? I guess it will make your article more mature an valuab…