Programming for Young Athletes
Template Design is a style of programming that has yet to truly catch on industry-wide, but is remarkably effective; especially when working with younger, sport-based populations. Although I enjoy articles that are weighty in scientific specifics and complete in the depiction of the theories they are purporting, I also tend to benefit as much, often more, from less wordy commentaries that are pithy in nature. So today, brevity wins. In the current state of our industry (and I admit, this may be a terribly unpopular statement) we tend to over-scrutinize from a formal assessment perspective; the expense being common sense and practicality. An explanation may be in order…
If a 13-year old presents, through formal assessment, with a ‘poor’ forward lunge pattern, what does that really tell us?
:: Does he lack Glute strength or activation? :: Are her hip flexors too tight to create a positive forward translation? :: Is it a foot issue (that I dare say less than 1% of Fitness Professionals are truly qualified to ascertain – including myself)? :: Is it a structural abnormality?
Now, the corrective exercise folk among us have all just raised their hands thirsty to share the knowledge of how to ‘fix’ this barely teen… But let me ask another couple questions first… Does the kid just not know how to do a lunge? Could the ‘poor’ result be ‘fixed’ with 3 minutes of proper coaching and cueing? At 13, has peak height velocity (PHV) begun, rendering this young athletes’ mobility and coordination nearly non-existent? Moreover, I’d be willing to bet that 90% or better of the 13 year olds who walk into your facility would ‘fail’ this standard assessment: … And I’ll tell you why that’s true tomorrow…