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Archive for “Group Training” Tag

Young Athletes: Individual and Team Training – Mutually Exclusive?

Posted on: October 15th, 2009 by IYCA 11 Comments

 

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Young Athletes Coaching

I have seen a fair amount of discussion on the merits of individual long term training vs. team long term training.  I will submit a later entry to compare short term vs. long term training.  My question is:  Why do any of these things have to be mutually exclusive?

 

All I want to do here is share some approaches I or associates have used in the past with my young athletes:

 

Whole team long term training:

 

The positives: There is a long term relationship where the team can get used to a certain approach.  You get to interact with the kids possibly throughout the critical athletic development years.  Additionally, kids get to train with each other, and build team camaraderie.  This approach can make training more affordable, and possibly result in more revenue.

 

The negatives (dependent on number of coaches and approach):  Less one-one attention and some movement difficulties can fall through the cracks.  There is less flexibility of routine and adjustment to routine when training a whole team (though the long term part of it helps to ease that a little).

 

Individual long term training:

 

Positives: There is a long term relationship where the coach can closely monitor the student.  Movement difficulties can be more easily addressed.  There is total freedom in adjusting to what makes this particular child “tick”.

 

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Outside The Box Youth Coaching

Posted on: July 13th, 2009 by IYCA 3 Comments

 

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Youth Coaching Strategies

Through both my articles and seminar series, I discuss the Art of youth Coaching quite frequently.

 

The Art of Coaching infers that it is not what you know as a coach that matters.

 

It’s how you can relay it to young athletes.

 

This is a common concern I see especially with younger coaches just out of college and still looking to impress people with there high intellect and advanced vocabulary. In fact, out industry is littered with coaches who talk a great game, seek out as much PR and notoriety as they can, but don’t truly have any degree of experience or ability when it comes to effectively applying training strategies to athletes in unique and varying settings.

 

In that, I want to discuss today a youth coaching strategy that I have used that truly enables young athletes to master a given technique.

 

Rewrite Strategies

 

If you have ever been driving in a car with a small group of teenagers and had a familiar song come on the radio, you have already experienced in practicality the essence of a rewrite strategy.

 

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Secrets to Young Athlete Rentention

Posted on: February 3rd, 2009 by IYCA 4 Comments

Here’s a brief look at the IYCA Young Athlete system –

 

1) Young Athlete Training SYSTEM, not Training Session

 

School is a ‘system’ that takes years to go through.

 

Parents understand that and are more than willing to pay
and commit their kids into a program that develops them
over time and through progressive phases.

 

This is your selling point for a young athlete.

 

 

2) Per MONTH Fee, Not Per Session Payments

 

Lock the young athlete<,u> in for longer durations by having them
commit to between 4 – 12 month training packages in which
the monthly fee will be significantly less than a per session
rate.

 

Parents love the ‘price break’ and are more than willing to
keep their kids enrolled in your program.

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Youth Fitness – Q & A

Posted on: May 22nd, 2008 by IYCA No Comments

 

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Youth Fitness Certification

The response I received from yesterday’s Youth Fitness Specialist
certification release was absolutely overwhelming.

 

And it’s really not just a matter of ‘how many’ people got on
board with the IYCA, it’s ‘how excited’ they were to become part
of my international mission.

 

Fitness and Sport Training professionals from North America,
Europe, Australia, Africa and the Far East all clamored to become
part of my ‘First 500 youth fitness specialists‘.

 

I even did a radio show interview yesterday afternoon in which
the host said to me off-air "I can really tell that the IYCA is
‘what’s happening’ right now in the fitness industry".

 

How right he was!!

 

Having said all that, I received a number of great questions
yesterday from professionals worldwide.

 

Folks seem to want a bit more information about the IYCA, our
mission and the whole concept of training adults versus kids.

 

I decided to answer the four most common questions I received in
an email to you so that you could have the answers for yourself.

 

Here they are…

 

————–

Q – If I have no background in training kids, will the IYCA
be a good place to start?

 

 

A – 100% YES! We have taken a lot of time and placed a lot of
care in creating our educational system so that it works for both
brand new Trainers as well as seasoned veterans.

 

The ‘Level 1 – Youth Fitness Specialist’ certification is the
first step in a 4-step process of advanced and progressive
education.

 

The Level 1 course material is taught by myself and Dr. Kwame
Brown and covers the following topics:

 

:: Motor Skill Development (birth through adolescents)

:: Program Design for clients and athletes 6 – 18 years

:: Group Training – programming, coaching and implementation

:: Coaching Science – how to communicate and teach any child

:: Practical Application – what exercises are best per age group

 

Although advanced in theory and practice, the material is taught
in an extraordinarily fun, upbeat and stimulating manner so as to
appeal to all degrees of Fitness Professionals.

 

Here’s what Fitness Pro Donovan Owens has to say about our
course material –

 

"The content contained in the IYCA course materials provides the
most technical, practical and applicable education that I have
EVER experienced with any other program"

 

I think that says it all!

 

Check out my ‘Level 1 – Youth Fitness Specialist’ certification
now by clicking on the link below –

 

Youth Fitness Specialist Information – Click Here

 

————–

Q – I am already certified through another organization, why
would I want to become certified through the IYCA?

 

 

A – Great question!

 

Here’s the reality…

 

… No other certification in existence today prepares you to
work with young athletes and youth fitness participants the way
we do.

 

We do not offer education or certifications in ‘elite athlete
training’, ‘older adult fitness’ or ‘nutrition and weight
management’.

 

YOUTH is all we do… it’s what we know and where our passion is.

 

Would you go to a Chiropractor if you needed heart surgery?

 

Would you go to the Dentist for an annual physical?

 

If you want the best, want to be the best and want be prepared
for the largest market surge this industry has ever seen, you
simply MUST be educated and credentialed by the organization that
has already been recognized as the ‘Gold Standard’ for youths.

 

Check out what former Men’s Health Fitness Editor Scott Quill
has to say about the IYCA and our ‘Gold Standard’ reputation –

 

"The IYCA’s advice is smart and practical and their programs
are developed with a real passion for helping coaches and kids
succeed. The IYCA is changing the way we train our youth"

 

Check out my ‘Level 1 – Youth Fitness Specialist’ certification
now by clicking on the link below –

 

Click Here Now

 

————–

Q – Why would I want to train kids instead of adults?

 

 

A – Easy… Because that’s where the market is going.

 

Recognizing market trends is an essential part of building and
growing a strong and prosperous career.

 

If you jump on board a moving train too late, bad things happen!

 

The youth demographic has surged into one of the largest and
most opportunity-rich niches in the entire Fitness and Sport
Training industry.

 

It has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the
fastest growing markets in the world and received attention from
mainstream media as well.

 

That’s why I’ve appeared in notable publications like Newsweek
and the New York Times and why the IYCA is being endorsed by
large media outlets including ESPN.

 

Have a look at what ESPN writer Tom Farrey has to say on the
matter –

 

"Brian Grasso is a voice of reason and a beacon of hope for
anyone who wants kids to develop fitness patterns for life, and
for athletes to achieve their full potential"

 

The youth market is by far and away the industry’s ‘next big
thing’ and by not learning how to work with kids properly, you
are cutting yourself out of a market that grosses into the
BILLIONS of revenue each year.

 

Check out my ‘Level 1 – Youth Fitness Specialist’ certification
now by clicking on the link below –

 

‘First 500’ – Become a Youth Fitness Specialist

 

————–

Q – I would love to work with kids, but keep hearing about how
regimented training is bad for children. Is this true?

 

 

A – This is one of the silliest ‘myths’ on the planet today.

 

Is the regimented aspect of school bad for kids?

 

You could argue that kids should be left on their own and
experience education through an informal way that best suits
their needs.

 

And you’d be wrong if you argued that!

 

Working with kids in a fitness setting is positively essential.

 

The days when kids used to just go out and play on their own
are all but gone.

 

And the widespread incidence of youth obesity is proof of that.

 

Fitness for kids is not just ‘fitness’…

 

… It’s DEVELOPMENTAL FITNESS.

 

It involves teaching aspects of movement, force production and
absorption, social interaction and cooperation.

 

It is a science unto itself and must be infused into the lives
of young children if they have any hope of succeeding in sports
or growing up into healthy and functionally fit adults.

The IYCA motto on this issue is simple –

 

M.O.L.D

 

M = Movement must dominate

O = Open yourself up to communication variances

L = Learning styles change per child

D = Develop… Don’t train

 

These four key steps are at the core of what we teach you in our
‘Level 1 – Youth Fitness Specialist’ certification.

 

Here’s what Kelli Calebrese, international fitness authority and
Editor-in-Chief of Personal Fitness Professional magazine, says –

 

"I know so many Trainers who want to work with kids but don’t
really know how. Brian and the IYCA have a formula that works
and takes away all the guesswork for those professionals who
aspire to change the health and improve the performance of
today’s youth"

 

————–

 

Those are the most common questions I received yesterday.

 

I hope I’ve clarified some things for you.

 

If you want to check out what the IYCA offers and jump on board
with our international mission, just click on the link below –

 

Join the Revolution – Click Here Now

 

 

‘Till next time,

 

Brian