Archive for “Coordination” Tag

Monitoring Readiness in Athletes: Part 1

Posted on: February 18th, 2016 by IYCA No Comments

Athlete monitoring has risen to the forefront of the physical preparation industry over the last several years. Monitoring and readiness is part of a continued evolution in a field that is never static. Athlete monitoring is a way in which sport scientists and coaches are using information gathered from the athlete to gauge how physiologically, psychologically, and emotionally ready their athletes are for training and competition.

Sport scientists and coaches are relying more and more heavily on both objective and subjective measures to help adjust and determine training protocol for both athletes and clients. There has been a steep rise in the implementation of monitoring technology in physical preparation from the professional all the way to the high school level. GPS units, heart rate variability monitors, velocity based measurement, and multiple phone apps have become an integral part of physical preparation programs across the United States. We are going to take a look at monitoring in three distinct parts:

Why we monitor and considerations for monitoring
How we monitor at the high school level
What difference can monitoring make in the development of your athletes?

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Part 1 of this blog is going to focus on why we monitor and considerations for monitoring. The “why” is the most
critical component of any method that you may choose to implement in your program. If there is not a clear understanding of why something is being implemented into your program, then I would advise you to immediately pause and determine what that “why” is for you.

I am going to be giving a high school perspective as to why we believe that monitoring has become extremely important with our athletes. The “why” for why we began to monitor became very clear for us before we began to implement any monitoring strategies at Battle Ground Academy.

The demands on today’s high school athlete are tremendous. Many of these athletes are participating in rigorous academic programs, highly competitive high school and club athletic programs, as well as consistent physical preparation training. It has been my observation that this athlete’s readiness levels are some of the most variable a coach will experience. These athletes rarely experience true off-seasons due to multiple sport participation, private skills training, and club participation. This leaves this athlete under a tremendous amount of stress on a routine basis, and it puts the physical preparation professional into the role of a stress manager.

My concern for my athletes ultimately came from growing to understand the intense physiological, psychological, and emotional demands that not only came from their sports, but the chronological and developmental age of the athlete. An athlete’s high school years can be some of the most stressful and challenging of their lives. Once again, they are experiencing rapid changes physically, mentally, and emotionally that can make the demands placed on them through athletics participation a daunting task. Expectations, realistic or unrealistic, have also become a major stressor for these athletes. Our society has set the bar high in term of expectations both academically and athletically during these formative years.

Through the data tracking of our athletes, we would see a great amount of variability in the strength levels on a regular basis. All of our long term trends would be very solid, but we could see that at times there could be as much as a 17% fluctuation either positive or negative in a core lift from one week to the next in what we measured from an athlete!

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This was not the standard fluctuation of course, but it was not unusual to see significant weekly fluctuations in strength levels. Looking at this data ignited the “light bulb” moment for me. Most of us who have been in the profession for a while most likely came out of programs with a strict percentage based mentality that did not really take the daily readiness of the athlete into account. We programmed volume and intensity into the program, and hopefully it lined up with where our athletes were that day.

Throughout this process the “why” for us became this: we want to meet our athletes as close to where they are as possible from a readiness standpoint on a daily basis. We want to do what is best for our athletes, and also what will help them achieve their goals in the safest and most efficient manner possible. I typically find that this is the goal of any coach who wants to implement a monitoring program with his or her athletes. The next step was to discern how we were going to implement a monitoring program that can be executed in an efficient manner. We first needed to consider what some challenges or limiting factors may be at the high school/youth level.

The most obvious challenges for most are going to be financial cost, time expenditure, and athlete compliance. All of these can be difficult because they are outside of your control for the most part. Finances are usually set at a certain point by a multitude of different factors dependent upon the situation. Time can be limited by access in an educational and private setting for different reasons as well. Finances and time are usually very scarce commodities in the world of physical preparation, and it must be taken into account to understand what type of monitoring program is right for your situation. Athlete compliance is the third area that is very important. Monitoring and measurement can be useless if the athlete’s in non-compliant. Non-compliance can be a lack of reporting or dishonest reporting by your athletes. There has to be athlete buy in to make all of this work!

Another factor to consider is making sure that data collection is in line with the amount of data that you can manage successfully. Collecting data for the sake of storing data in your computer is a futile exercise at best. There needs to be a plan in place to both collect and use the data.

It is important to implement any change in your program in stages, and implementing a monitoring program is no different.

It is important to implement any change in your program in stages.

It will be an adjustment for strength coaches, sport coaches, and athletes.

It is important not to place excessive demands on all involved in the early stages of building your monitoring program.

It is also important to help your athletes correctly understand the information you are asking for as well as explain the relevance of the information being collected.

It is vital that you repeat this process with everyone who is going to be involved in the process to ensure its success. This includes sport coaches, administrators, as well as parents.

Part two of this three-part series will look at methods from technology to programming that can be implemented at the high school level to monitor, evaluate, and adjust to help your athletes achieve optimal results.

Check out our Youth Athlete Assessment Certification to begin evaluating and monitoring your athletes.

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About the Author: Fred Eaves
Ed.S, M.Ed, CSCS, RSCC, IYCA, USAW, USATF, BIOFORCE Conditioning Coach Certified, 2015 NSCA H.S. Strength Coach of the Year, 2013 Samson Equipment & AFM H.S. Strength Coach of The Year

Resistance Bands and Olympic Lifting

Posted on: January 22nd, 2013 by IYCA No Comments

By Dave Schmitz

Wil Fleming recently wrote a very powerful article on “Why Olympic Lifts” that I found very thought provoking.

I agree with Wil that when you begin to discuss Olympic lifting with coaches, red flags immediately goes up about concerns for proper teaching, concerns for safety, and the stigma that Olympic lifting is only for the highly skilled or older athletes. For those coaches I understand their opinion and will not argue those points. Instead I will pose the question, is there a way to achieve some of the benefits of Olympic lifting without struggling with the teaching challenges or putting athletes at risk for injury.

As I read Wil’s article I continued to see a strong correlation between the benefits of resistance band training and Olympic lift training. Therefore as a follow up to Wil’s outstanding article, I wanted to touch on all 5 of Wil’s key points and relate them back to how resistance bands could assist young athletes and coaches with “improving” Olympic Lifting skill sets.

Please note that I am not suggesting you replicate Olympic lifting with bands but rather that you can get some of the neuromuscular benefits of Olympic Lifting by training with resistance bands. I also feel that performing certain movement with resistance bands will carry over to helping young athletes become better Olympic Lifting candidates.

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What Is The Best Youth Speed Training Drill

Posted on: July 20th, 2012 by IYCA 1 Comment

Youth Speed Training

By CJ Easter

One of the #1 questions that I get from coaches is “What is your favorite youth speed training drill?”

And I always give the answer that everyone hates, “It depends.”

But this is not a cop out because it really does depend. Speed is a total body, coordinated skill. So the “best drill” depends on what exact skill that we are trying to develop and the skill level of our athletes to properly perform that drill.

“That drill looks cool” should not be the deciding factor when putting together your training session. The deciding factor should be what is the simplest, most time-efficient drill to work on the desired concept.

One of my favorite coaching quotes is “Coach the kids, not the drills.”

Does it matter what the drill is if all the kids are doing it wrong and not developing the desired skill…

OR if we cannot demonstrate or coach this drill properly, so we have 50 kids moving “just like coach showed me” (which isn’t always pretty)?

When I first started coaching, I made those exact mistakes. I tried to take all the drills that I learned at Stanford and use them on my younger athletes. The classic “this is what I did, so you should do it too” coach.

My athletes not only weren’t developing the movement patterns that I wanted, but they were also losing confidence because they didn’t look and feel coordinated.

That’s when I made a huge realization…

College and professional coaches are probably the worst sources for youth and high school coaches to get drills from because they work with superior athletes.

Athletes don’t make it to that level without a certain level of coordination, so at the highest levels, the job description is mostly “don’t screw the guy up”. Our job as high school and youth coaches is to completely develop or restructure a coordination. I am not assigning value to either job, but they are definitely much different tasks.

So the “best youth speed training drill” is the drill that is done correctly to develop the skill that you want to address.

Here is a general template on exactly how I coach concepts and skills regardless of the youth speed training drill:

1. Introduce the skill/concept and the drill:
“This drill is called X. We are doing this to improve concept/skill X.”

This helps build a mental bridge for your athletes. They might not always like the drill, but at least they know and understand how it’s going to make them a better player.

2. Demonstrate the drill and explain key coaching points as you are demonstrating.

In the social media era, the majority of our kids are visual learners, so proper demonstration is necessary. Explaining the coaching points as you go also addresses auditory learners.

3. Demonstrate what you DON’T want to see and address common errors.

This aligns with John Wooden’s coaching style of “Do this, not this, do this.”

4. Demonstrate it correctly one more time, reinforcing the correct movement pattern.

5. Have your kids do a walk-through rep or if it’s an extended drill, do a mental walk-through. This addresses kinesthetic learners.

This process will take more time than just setting up the cones and saying “do this drill”, but you will definitely see improvement in the quality of your youth speed training drills and the development of the desired skills.

Hybrid Movements for Killer 6-13 Year Old Programming

Posted on: January 23rd, 2012 by IYCA No Comments

Hybrid Movements For Young Athletes

By Dave Gleason

Creating fun, imaginative and challenging activities for 6-9, and 10-13 year old can be a difficult task. Keeping in mind that 6-9 year old athletes are still discovering movement and 10-13 year old athletes are exploring movement will help. Combining 2 or more ‘traditional’ exercises to generate new, hybrid movements will put your programming over the top!

Lunge walks (monster walks) combined with bear crawls for discovering balance, systemic strength, contra lateral coordination and with a progression even reactivity. Log rolls and push up holds (progressed to push ups) will cover a variety of training factors including core strength, upper extremity strength, spacial awareness and more.

Watch this short video below to see exactly how to put these hybrid movements together with progressions!

Long Term Training Models: Part 2

Posted on: June 7th, 2011 by IYCA 2 Comments

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Long Term Training…

Point #2 – M.O.L.D: The Key to Long-Term training and Athletic Performance

Taken straight from the IYCA’s Youth Fitness Specialist – Level 1 certification material, this acronym should be the calling card for every single professional and/or volunteer working with young athletes:

M = Movement Must Dominate

Every aspects of your work with young athletes must come under the pretense of ‘movement’. Free-motion-based strength, torso, ROM, mobility, flexibility, speed, agility and cardiovascular training absolutely must be key to everything.

O = Open to Communication Variances

Coaching and communication are two of the much more important, but largely ignored aspects of proper athletic development.

Kids learn at different rates and via different means. If you are not prepared to accept that and create a system of communication that reinforces both positivist and your willingness to educate, you will only ever be half a Coach.

L = Learning Style Variances (more…)

The Training Template Secret

Posted on: December 3rd, 2010 by IYCA 1 Comment

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It’s great to watch a video or DVD and see what a quality training session is supposed to look like.

I always enjoy having exercise photographs at my fingertips with a visual representation of what each rep should look like along the way.

I also adore being able to read key information about what the Coach or Trainer was thinking when they designed a particular training program, or what philosophies and concepts they feel are important with respect to Speed, Strength, Coordination, Mobility, Flexibility and Injury Prevention.

And I especially love being given ‘sample programs’.

A literal “here, just do this because it works” roadmap for success.

You get that and every ounce of the information mentioned above inside my ‘Complete Athlete Development’ system.

But do you know what my favorite part is?

The fact that I took the time to create and develop a Training Template for you.

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A Rare Training Program for Young Athletes

Posted on: December 2nd, 2010 by IYCA 1 Comment

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‘Rare’ is another way of saying ‘scarcity’.

Uncommon.

But scarcity also means a ‘shortage of supply’.

And while I can absolutely assure you that there are no shortages in the supply of ‘Complete Athlete Development’ systems available, I can also positively promise that its rareness is something you simply must consider.

There are some books on Speed & Agility Training that contain fantastic information and practical steps for you to follow.

You can find DVD’s and video products that show you how to incorporate optimal Strength Training into the conditioning programs for your athletes.

And if you search hard (and long) enough, you’ll likely come across some resources that help you understand how to build maximal Coordination and Movement Skill into your youth participants, also.

But all of that (and then some) in one complete system?

As rare and uncommon as it gets.

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7 Steps to Programming for young athletes: Part 2

Posted on: October 12th, 2010 by IYCA 2 Comments

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Programming for young athletes

Here’s where I left off yesterday…

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:

They’re growing and lack mobility
They growing and lack coordination
They sit all day and have inappropriate hip functionality as a result
They’ve been introduced to improper ‘training’ and lack posterior strength

A formal assessment can certainly show us gains, improvements and corrections when performed at regular intervals – and because of that, I am all for them.

But here’s what I’ve learned to be true about coaching young athletes in the trenches:

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Young Athletes & Coordination – Part 1

Posted on: August 8th, 2010 by IYCA 3 Comments

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Young Athletes Coordination Series

In this 3-part article, I will discuss the role and significance of ‘Coordination Training’ as it relates to both preadolescent and high school athletes:

The myths and falsehoods associated with young athletes Coordination Training are plenty. I’ll outline the ‘Top 3’ here:

Coordination is a singular element that is defined by a universal ability or lack of ability
Coordination cannot be trained nor taught
Coordination-based stimulus should be restricted to preadolescent children

This article will provide a broad-based look at each of those myths and shed some light on the realities behind coordination training as a continuum for the complete development of young athletes aged 6 – 18.

Part 1: Coordination & Young Athletes

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Kids Fitness: Top 3 Reasons to Play Simon Says

Posted on: July 5th, 2010 by IYCA 1 Comment

Kids Fitness

I’ve just released a very special video of one of my favorite presenters in the world of sport and kids fitness training, Lee Taft.

https://iyca.org/dvds/lee

It’s from the 2010 IYCA International Summit, where Lee started off his presentation by playing Simon Says for kids fitness with the entire audience – all 300 of us!!

But it wasn’t all fun and games as he made some incredibly valid points before he took us through the game:

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The Young Athlete Who Changed My Life

Posted on: March 30th, 2010 by IYCA 6 Comments

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Young Athlete Who Changed My Life

This story is going to change your day.

It may even change your perspective permanently.

I’m going to tell you about Tom – the young athlete who changed my life.

Exactly 7 years, 3 months and 5 days into my career as an Athletic Development Specialist, Tom walked into my training center with his Mom.

I had been prompted on the phone the week before.

"Tom had an accident when he was a child" I was told by Tom’s mother.

"He is a very bright boy, but the brain trauma he experienced has left him very uncoordinated and lacking some basic motor skills".

I wasn’t concerned. I had worked with young people just like this before and had always found that my brand of coordination-focused athletic development was perfect for re-instilling certain degrees of normal function.

As I watched Tom walk in with his Mom, nothing in particular seemed or looked too out of sorts.

Tom walked with a slight limp and his left arm rested at his side rather than moving in unison with his walking gait.

He looked a little nervous and unsure and I could see that he had rounded shoulders and a slight external rotation to his right hip (what can I say… I assess athletes right from the time they walk in the door!).

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Kids Coaching: My Memories – Part 3

Posted on: August 23rd, 2009 by IYCA 2 Comments

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Kids Coaching Triumphs

Justin was overweight, shy, awkward and without a shred of athletic
ability.

But he had a ton of passion.

Loved baseball.

And I mean loved everything about the game.

You could see the delight in his eyes and practically feel the joy
in his smile when he slid his glove on, picked up a Louisville
Slugger or laced up his cleats.

This was the kind of kid you flat out just enjoyed being around.

Not because he brought a tremendous amount of vocal energy to
the field, but because of the way he walked around a baseball
diamond in a trance-like, dream state that conveyed absolute bliss.

And what he taught me about coaching was, and is to this day,
one of the most important lessons I have ever had the pleasure
of learning.

Justin went from the shy kid who didn’t really have any friends on
his team, to a hero.

And he did it all by himself…

I won’t belabor this story or add too much in the way of detail.

I’ll just get straight to the point by saying this –

Every Child Has Currency

They’re all important.

They all have hopes, dreams and ambitions.

And most importantly…

They’re all good at something.

Part of the Art of Coaching is knowing how to create enough
of a wide-spectrum training system that allows each and everyone
of your young athletes to be "the best" on a particular day.

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Coordination and Movement Skill Development For Young Athletes: The Key to Long Term Athletic Success

Posted on: July 10th, 2009 by IYCA 6 Comments

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Young Athletes Long Term Athletic Success

The key ingredient to working with pre-adolescent and early adolescent young athletes is providing global stimulation from a movement perspective. Younger athletes must experience and eventually perfect a variety of motor skills in order to ensure both future athletic success and injury prevention. Developing basic coordination through movement stimulus is a must, with the eventual goal of developing sport-specific coordination in the teenage years. Coordination itself, however, is a global system made up of several synergistic elements and not necessarily a singularly defined ability.

Balance, rhythm, spatial orientation and the ability to react to both auditory and visual stimulus have all been identified as elements of coordination. In fact, the development of good coordination is a multi-tiered sequence that progresses from skills performed with good spatial awareness but without speed to skills performed at increased speeds and in a constantly changing environment. As Joseph Drabik points out, Young Athletes coordination is best developed between the ages of 7 – 14, with the most crucial period being between 10 – 13 years of age.

As with anything else, an important issue with respect to coordination development is to provide stimulus that is specific (and therefore appropriate) for the individual. Prescribing drills that are either too easy or too difficult for the young athletes will have a less than optimal result.

An interesting note, as I have suggested in past articles, is that there appears to be a cap with respect to coordination development and ability. Younger athletes who learn to master the elements associated with good coordination (balance, rhythm, spatial awareness, reaction etc), are far better off then athletes who are not exposed to this kind of exercise stimulation until advanced ages. The ability to optimally develop coordination ends at around the age of 16. This validates the claim that global, early exposure is the key from an athletic development standpoint. Again, global coordination will serve as the basis to develop specific coordination in the teenage years.

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Developmental Fitness For Kids And Teens

Posted on: June 18th, 2009 by IYCA 5 Comments

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Fitness For Kids Long Term Success

Remember one of the critical pillars of the IYCA –

Don’t Train…. Teach!!

Here’s a look at our unique Fitness For Kids development system:

Discovery (Ages 6 – 9) – Creating A Champion

The purpose of this phase is to introduce participants to a wide spectrum on non-specific exercise stimulus that aids in the natural development of coordination habits.

Coaches utilize the principle of Outcome-Based Coaching which allows young participants to learn the physical skills of exercise through an experimental and self-discovery based means.

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The Young Athlete That Changed My Life

Posted on: January 12th, 2009 by IYCA No Comments

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Young Athlete Inspires His Coach…

This story is going to change your day.

It may even change your perspective permanently.

I’m going to tell you about Tom – the young athlete who changed my life.

Exactly 7 years, 3 months and 5 days into my career as an Athletic Development Specialist, Tom walked into my training center with his Mom.

I had been prompted on the phone the week before.

“Tom had an accident when he was a child” I was told by Tom’s mother.

“He is a very bright boy, but the brain trauma he experienced has left him very uncoordinated and lacking some basic motor skills”.

As I watched Tom walk in with his Mom, nothing in particular seemed or looked too out of sorts.

Tom walked with a slight limp and his left arm rested at his side rather than moving in unison with his walking gait.

He looked a little nervous and unsure and I could see that he had rounded shoulders and a slight external rotation to his right hip (what can I say… I assess athlete’s right from the time they walk in the door!).

“Brian? Nice to meet you – this is my son, Tom”

“Hey Tom, what’s going on?” I asked as I stretched out my hand.

“Not much” Tom said sheepishly, as he looked straight down at the floor and extended his right hand.

“Let’s get started” I said

I was looking at Tom’s mother.

“We’re going to start with…”

Tom’s mother cut me off.

“I’m not staying. Tom insisted that he wanted to work with you on his own – no interference or observing from me. You just let me know about when you will be done for the day and I’ll be back to pick him up”

“Well this is just out initial assessment, so we’ll only need about 30 minutes”

“Fine, I’ll be back by then” Tom’s mother said as she walked towards the door to my facility.

The briskness of her departure startled me. I immediately turned to Tom for some kind of explanation or clarification.

But there he stood, looking straight down – exactly the same as he was when we shook hands.

For the next 30 minutes, I worked with Tom on basic movement skills. First, I would ask him to perform things like skipping exercises, linear and lateral acceleration drills and some throwing games.

I began to ascertain some standard abnormal patterns of movement that Tom had, and worked at correcting some of the ways in which he performed basic motor skills.

As was my style back then, I was coaching Tom in my customary upbeat and loud way – I prided myself on being a positive coach who could always be heard over the din and hubbub in the rest of my facility.

I say ‘back then’ because I’m writing this story almost five years to the day that first met Tom… this time of year always makes me remember him.

As the weights clanged and the other young athlete got louder, I always made it a point to be heard above all the other noise – that’s what good coaches do.

They remain consistent in their coaching style no matter what… or so I thought.

If only I knew then what I have come to know now.

“Here we go, Tom. Just like that. Perfect!” I was practically yelling at this point in sheer excitement to see what Tom and I had been able to do together in just one 30-minute session.

Then, something out of the blue hit me.

Tom was barely talking.

He was polite and certainly listened to my instructions – you could tell that from the way his movement patterns had become more crisp and clean.

But I was clearly more happy and excited about his improvements than he was.

Being the caring Coach that I am, I decided to investigate.

“Things are looking awesome, Tom!” I declared in my usual loud pitch.

“Ya” Tom countered while looking down

“If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you seem more excited about that?”

“I am” he insisted, “It’s just the way your yelling at me – It’s kind of making me nervous”

His words hit me like a racecar going 150…

…So much so that I had to stop myself from declaring my innocence to this 15-year-old kid.

I decided to probe instead.

“How do you mean I’m yelling at you, Tom?”

“You know. You keep raising your voice and calling instructions out to me in a loud way”

But this is the way I coach, I thought to myself. I always prided myself on being the kind of coach that all my athletes could actually hear… even in the middle of a loud, crowded gym.

“So, when you hear me raise my voice, you feel as though I am speaking negatively towards you?” I asked uncertainly

“Ya… of course” Tom explained.

Just then, Tom’s mother came back. Our 30-minute session was over.

I shook Tom’s hand again, thanked him for doing such a great job and made an appointment later than week to see him again.

Tom walked out of my gym exactly the way he had walked in – with his head down and looking kind of nervous.

The story doesn’t end there.

I trained Tom for another 3 full years and watched him go 0 – 22 in his high school wrestling career.

For many, that would have been considered an awful experience, but for Tom, and everyone who knew him, it was nothing short of miraculous.

Here was this teenager with significant motor skills impairments, a limp and various other structural abnormalities, joining the high school wrestling team where he and everyone else knew that he was bound to ‘lose’ every match – but he didn’t care.

Tom was a fighter.

I suppose it makes sense to end the story there, doesn’t it?

Tom’s courage, tenacity and determination have impacted me to this day.

In fact, I can honestly say that my life will never be the same after watching Tom do what he did during the 3-years that I trained him.

This article is about how Tom changed my life, and I have certainly explained one part of how that happened.

But the ‘rest of the story’ is something even more important.

Tom taught me how to coach.

That sounds funny doesn’t it?

I mean, when I met Tom, I had already trained Olympic Champions, Professional Athletes and traveled throughout Europe and North America as the Conditioning Director for National Team programs.

I had coached A LOT of athletes – and felt like I knew what I was doing.

But the real impact Tom had on my life was when he taught me that not all athletes like to be coached the same way.

I was always positive, upbeat and excited for my athletes.

That was how I coached.

But Tom didn’t like being coached like that – when he heard my voice raise, all he processed was that I was ‘yelling’ at him.

And it made me think.

How many athletes ‘process’ what you say in a completely different way than they way you had intended them to hear it?

Because of Tom, I created my ‘Art of Coaching template’, which is a categorization of athletes based on their personality and temperament.

It requires no extensive assessments or surveys, just a subjective analysis that allows you to classify your athletes into one of 4 very unique and very critical coaching templates.

From there, you will know exactly how to coach each athlete in order to get the very best out of them you possibly can.

I had it wrong for so many years.

All I cared about was how to develop speed, agility or strength.

Learn as much as I could about what exercises best developed blazing speed…

Understand which way of squatting was the most important to developing killer strength…

Tom taught me that the key to it all was in the way it was presented to the athlete.

After all, what’s the use of having the best training program in the entire world if your athletes aren’t even paying attention to you?

And that’s why I created the Complete Athlete Development Program.

It is a perfect combination of all my internationally field-tested training programs that have been proven effective in every continent in the world, along with the free bonus of my revolutionary Art of Coaching template.

After presenting a seminar in Phoenix last year to a group of me peers, I had one attendee post this message on a sport-based message board 2 days later –

“No insult to the other presenters, but Brian’s talk was the most engaging and enlightening… This man is a Coach – Capitalization intended”

I appreciated the comment, and you will appreciate the Art of Coaching template.

It’s exactly what you have been looking for to become the best Coach or Trainer possible.

And your athlete’s will appreciate it also.

Tom did.

Click on the link below and find out what you’ve been missing when it comes to becoming the best Trainer or Coach possible –

http://www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com/

‘Tlll next time,

Brian

The Truth About Kids Fitness Program Design

Posted on: November 13th, 2008 by IYCA 2 Comments

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Okay, so I admit to being overwhelmed.

When I sent yesterday’s email out asking for people to offer
their thoughts on the matter of Kids Fitness Program and ‘training kids under twelve’,
I wasn’t expecting such a huge outpouring of passionate
responses.

My blog is loaded with comments.

I received no fewer than 20 emails on the topic.

I even had 4 people call me to tell me what they thought.

The IYCA certainly is comprised of some passionate people…

… And I love that!

And now that we’ve established the fact that training
children under the age of 12 is an absolute must, it begs
the question – how do you do it?

Weight training – Is that safe for a kids fitness program?

Speed and Agility – How do you teach that to pre-adolescents?

Plyometrics – How much volume, sets or reps?

So while I’m glad that everyone who responded seems to
understand the need for training and instruction with kids
under 12, do they know how to design and implement
programs for this age group?

Maybe.

But it is a very tricky science.

Especially when you factor in the reality that you’re likely
going to be dealing with several kids, all of whom have
different learning styles and abilities, and the potential of
over-zealous Coaches and Parents who are looking for
results NOW… As completely silly as that is.

Here’s a quick crash course for you on how to program for
kids under 12 years old –

:: Always start by arranging your training group into a semi-
circle around you being sure to avoid any natural hierarchy’s
that typically plague this age group

:: Introduce the first exercise being sure to verbally explain and
then visually demonstrate

:: Be positive with all commentary and feedback

:: The program itself should follow this sequence –

a. Coordination 1 (demo)

b. Game Play

c. Coordination 2 (demo)

d. Game Play

e. Technical Instruction

f. Game Play

:: Choose coordination exercise that stimulating any of the
following physical characteristics –

a. Balance

b. Kinesthetic Differentiation

c. Rhythm

d. Spatial Awareness

e. Movement Adequacy

And that’s how you create successful kids fitness program under
the age of 12!

Want the rest of the story?

All the specifics and some samples of how it works?

Click the link below and get your hands on my brand-new Kids Fitness Program
‘Secrets to Program Design’ course.

More than 1,000 Fitness Professionals worldwide have already
purchased this groundbreaking course and have become better
Coaches and Trainers IMMEDIATELY because of it.

Here’s your link –

http://www.iyca.org/course/programdesign

‘Till next time,

Brian

Drills for Young Athletes

Posted on: September 11th, 2008 by IYCA No Comments

Drills.

Drills for young athletes.

How do you create them?

Now that’s a question I get asked virtually everyday.

Here are three great ones to use with your young
athletes – especially if you work with kids between the
ages of 6 – 12.

(1) Line Jumps

Have your athlete(s) stand directly in front of a line
either painted or taped on the ground.

They should be only a few feet away from the line.

On your cue, they will jump and try to land with their
toes as close to the line as possible without actually
touching it.

The purpose of this drill is not ‘maximum power’ but
rather a fine touch or precise execution of power.

Have them walk back to the starting point and repeat.

Purpose –

:: Kinesthetic Differentiation (coordination)

:: Bodily Control

:: Jump/Land Technique

(2) Red/Green/Yellow Light

With this drill, you can use any action you want such
as lunge walking, hopping, 1-leg jumping or crawling.

Have your young athletes move (using one of the actions
listed above) in a straight line across a gym, floor or
field.

When you call out ‘Red Light’, they must stop and hold
in place exactly where they are.

‘Green Light’ requires them to resume at normal speed.

‘Yellow Light’ is a command that asks them to continue
the action, but at a slow pace – as slow as possible
in fact.

Purpose –

:: Movement Adequacy (coordination)

:: Systemic Strength

:: Reaction (coordination)

(3) Monkey Tag

There are several variations of tag that are absolutely
wonderful for young athletes…. and this is one of them!

Have your young athletes start in a ‘catchers’ position
with their hands also on the floor/ground.

When they move to avoid being ‘tagged’ they must do
so by crawling/jumping like a monkey.

Purpose –

:: Hip Flexibility & Strength

:: Spatial Awareness (coordination)

:: Reaction (coordination)

Three great drills based entirely on fun and what
young athletes in the 6 – 12 year old range need in
terms of athletic development.

And here’s the thing…..

Within the Level 1 – Youth Fitness Specialist certification,
we show you exactly what those drills look like as well
as many others.

In fact, we have our entire audience playing and
participating in tons of drills so that they could get
a feel for them and you could see what they looked like.

"How do you create drills for young athletes, Brian?"

Easy…..

You become certified through the IYCA.

Become certified now and get started on a brand new
career that is guaranteed to be both rewarding and
lucrative.

Here’s an exclusive link to a deal I’ve put together
for you –

http://www.iyca.org/fitspecialist1

And this is a perfect time for you.

All IYCA Members are invited to the Ryan Lee Boot Camp
in two weeks to enjoy a live IYCA Young Athletes Seminar hosted by
myself and Pat Rigsby for absolutely no charge.

Here’s that link again –

http://www.iyca.org/fitspecialist1

I hope to see you soon!

Brian

Complete Athlete Development For Coordination

Posted on: July 7th, 2008 by IYCA 4 Comments

Complete Athlete Development Video Clip

The above video clip is from the ‘Coordination Development’ DVD in my
Complete Athlete Development system.

Complete Athlete Development is literally changed the lives and careers
of countless Trainers and Coaches worldwide due to it cutting and
revealing look at how to TRULY train and develop young athletes.

Head Football Coach, John Reese, has this to say about it –

“I received your Complete Athlete Development system a few weeks
ago and have to say that so far am loving it. I have only just thumbed
through the exercises, but the other material is mind blowing to me….
I am happy I purchased the program because now I have the knowledge
to put better athletes on the field”

John’s comments are similar to hundreds of other emails and letters I’ve
received over the past few years about experiences Trainers and Coaches
have had with Complete Athlete Development.

Soon to come off the market for good, your chance to own this groundbreaking
collection and have it as a road map for training young athletes will soon be
gone…..