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Archive for “Superstar Athlete” Tag

Speed & Strength For Young Athlete Development

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Chris Scarborough is a professional Strength & Conditioning Coach who specializes in Young Athlete Development. His information is top-notch and reflects his unprecedented knowledge of this topic.

 

 

 

BG: What’s your background in youth sports and athletics? Have you trained a lot of young athletes?

 

 

CS: As a young athlete myself many years ago, I was always interested in the conditioning aspect of sport. In 1995 I became licensed as a Physical Therapy Assistant in the State of Alabama and took a job in an outpatient therapy clinic that had a lot of patients that were young athletes. I saw first hand common injuries that young athletes suffer — many of which could have been prevented by proper conditioning. By the way, I am not saying that the athletes were “out of shape”, I am saying that the athletes were often injured because of poor techniques or habits. For example, football players, basketball players, and volleyball players would come in with knee or ankle injuries that were a result of poor running, jumping or landing technique. Baseball players, tennis players and golfers often came in with elbow and shoulder injuries due to poor swing technique or overuse of the arms and not enough of the trunk.

 

In 1997, I became certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and began working with athletes on performance enhancement. As a result of working with hundreds of athletes in several settings, I realized that there was far more to Strength and Conditioning than getting an athlete into “game shape”.

 

 

BG: There are a lot of coaches, parents and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were ‘little adults’. What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn against that kind of training?

 

CS: The reason young athletes follow the training programs of their sports heroes are obvious. After all, if Barry Bonds followed this routine and he hit 73 home runs in a season then it should do the same for the young athlete–right? NO!!

 

First of all, the young athlete has a growing body and is prone to overuse injury in the muscles and tendons, stress fractures in the growth plates, and muscle imbalance injuries that a more mature athlete would be less prone to getting.

 

Also, the large majority of world class athletes have developed a broad base of athleticism and strength prior to specializing their training in one sport. Tudor Bompa and yourself have written a great deal on the topic. Specializing in a particular sport too soon is far more likely to lead to 1) burnout from playing and training for the sport 2) early skill development in the sport, but the skill level potential is never fully realized due to a very narrow athletic ability base and 3) increased likelihood of injury.

 

Finally, the conditioning needs of the pro athlete have been very carefully assessed by the team Strength and Conditioning coach. Even if the young athlete has the same needs, the conditioning program would still be different.

 

A young athlete should develop a broad base of athleticism by doing activities that require them to run, jump, catch, throw, swim, climb, etc. By playing several sports and various other physical activities the young athlete develops all the abilities including strength, speed, agility, stability, balance, endurance, coordination and power.

 

 

BG: The age old debate is ‘How old should an athlete be before they begin lifting weights’. What’s your view on that controversial topic?

 

CS: Let me preface my answer by saying that I am referring to weight training as lifting with barbells, dumbbells and weight machines. Body weight exercises can be classified as weight training, but I am not including them in my definition of weight training.

 

While it is safe for a young athlete to begin a strength training program with weights at an early age, I do not think that it is necessarily optimal for their development. I know many kids who would be considered strong in the weight room, but can’t handle their own body weight in certain activities.

 

For example, one 17 year old I know can bench press 300 pounds, but can’t hold his body straight while doing a push up. His hips sway toward the ground indicating he has chest, shoulder, and arm strength that far exceeds what his hip and abdominal muscles can stabilize. He also can’t do a single proper pull up, so his pushing movement overpowers his pulling strength. Unfortunately this is fairly common. It is not weight training that is going to get him hurt, it is improper weight training that is going to get him hurt.

 

Also, he will be far more likely to get hurt on the field of play, not actually in the weight room. I think that weight training can begin for most females around the age of 12 to 14 and age 14 to 15 for males — even then it should be balanced, supervised training. Up to that point, good technique can be taught at any age doing other activities than weight training. I do not think that an athlete has to do much weight training to get good strength development. For example, push ups, pull ups, stability ball exercises and medicine ball exercises can all be performed with minimal equipment. They require use of the same techniques as in the weight room, and develop entire groups of muscles or movements at a time, rather than isolated strength training. The strength can actually be used on the court or field when the child plays the sport. These activities can be started at a very early age.

 

You may hear some people say that squats and dead lifts are bad for your back and knees — that is not true. It is squats and deadlifts performed improperly that causes injury. My son started squatting before he could even stand. Everything that he picks up is a deadlift (from the floor). I have never seen a child age 3 or under perform an improper squat or dead lift. That does not mean that I think that kids should be lifting heavy weights that way, but I do think that the movements should be trained using the equipment stated above. Train a child for the long-term — not just for the season.

 

 

BG: Using your ideals, could you define ‘functional conditioning’ for us?

 

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The Early Youth Specialization Debate

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Youth Specialization Interview

Juan Carlos is the director and CEO of the Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton Florida. His training methodologies have been successfully applied to the full spectrum of the population; youth, geriatrics, rehabilitation and elite athletes. He has authored numerous articles, books and videos, on various topics involving optimum physical performance.

 

 

 

BG: What’s your background in youth sports and athletics? Have you trained a lot of young athletes?

 

JC: I’ve been a competitive athlete for over 3 decades. I started with little league when I was 7 and I’ll compete in the USA Judo Nationals (Masters Division) at 43. I competed in all of the major combative sports – from boxing to judo.
We at the Institute of Human Performance train hundreds of young athletes ranging from middle school to college every very. We also train some of the top pros.

 

BG: There are a lot of coaches, parents and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were ‘little adults’. What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn against that kind of training?

 

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Fundamental To Sport Specific Training for Young Athletes

 

 

Young Athletes and Sports Training

Spida Hunter is a one-of-a-kind trainer from New Zealand. He has worked with participants of all ages and abilities. I thought that you might all enjoy a glimpse into how things are done with young athletes on the other side of the world!

 

IYCA: What’s your background in youth sports and athletics? Have you worked with young athletes?

 

SH: I don’t specialize in youth sports or athletics however I do train young aspiring athletes that are looking to produce the best results and performance that they can achieve. I have worked with puberty (and post puberty) athletes which is a very influential age and a very important age not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well! I will also be training a 1st XV high school rugby team next season.

 

IYCA: There are a lot of coaches, parents, and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were "little adults." What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn them against that kind of training?

 

SH: I used to get very frustrated with the mentality of; this is what they do so you can too! However other then a selected few I truly believe now, is that parents, coaches and unfortunately trainers are actually doing what they believe is the best thing for the young athlete. This is what they know so this is what they hand down I do not believe that a parent, coach, trainer would purposely harm a child through training but unfortunately this is what they do when they treat the child as a "little adult"!

 

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A Lesson on Youth Sports Injuries

Youth Sports Injuries Can Be Avoided

Jim Ochse is an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa. He serves as athletic trainer for the women’s Volleyball, men’s and women’s cross-country, women’s tennis, and baseball.

During the summer, Jim presents SAQ camps for athletes from 10-18 years of age in northeastern PA.

IYCA: What’s your background in youth sports and athletics? Have you worked with young athletes?

JO: I started out as a Health and Physical Education teacher for K- 6 for several years, but was disenchanted in how physical fitness was instituted in the educational system. I then became certified as an athletic trainer and have covered all aspects of youth sports for the past 22 years. I serve as a volunteer coach for soccer, basketball, and baseball for my local youth association. During the regular school year from September to May, my main responsibility is to the college athletes at DeSales University in Pennsylvania ; however, I do talks and clinics whenever possible to youth, and have a few personal training clients that I collaborate with. During the summer months I direct a number of Speed, Agility, and Quickness camps in my local area for youth from ages 10-18. I also do one day seminars on running, and other topics such as how to incorporate stability ball training to their strength programs.

IYCA: There are a lot of coaches, parents, and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were "little adults." What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn them against that kind of training?

JO: I see this mentality used by both parents and youth coaches, and obviously, this type of mentality is not appropriate for developing athletes. A training routine for youth should be individualized for that particular athlete. A young athlete is not mature enough physically, psychologically, or emotionally to even perform the same type of training as an adult. They do not have the base of aerobic/anaerobic conditioning that a more mature athlete has acquired, nor should they attempt a strength program that is meant or written for an adult. With their growth plate still immature, performing strength exercises for mature athletes may predispose them to unnecessary injuries. Weight training does have its place among young athletes; however, emphasis should be place on light weights, proper form and techniques, an implemented by a well qualified coach or personal trainer.

IYCA: The age old debate is "How old should an athlete be before beginning to lift weights." What’s your view on that controversial topic?

JO: I go along with the NSCA position on weight lifting. I believe that children can even be taught Olympic type weight lifting techniques, but not use extremely heavy weights. In fact, most of my teaching at this level is with either a broomstick or at most a light barbell. I even have my 8-year daughter lifting light dumbbells, and even perform modified pushups on a Swiss Ball, and performing abs curls. Physiologically youth athletes physiologically are not capable of withstanding great weights, due to their anatomical structure and rate of maturity. I use a lot of body weight exercises such as squats, lunges, and step ups. I use upper body exercises such as push-ups, chin-ups, and resistance bands, in place of weights. I want to make sure that the young athletes have the proper techniques down. When they are older, they can worry about increasing their resistance training.

IYCA: Using your ideals, could you define "functional conditioning" for us?

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The 3-4-5 System for Young Athletes

 

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Young Athletes Training System

Stephen Holt has long been considered one of the fitness industry’s top personal trainers. He has been highlighted by NSCA, PTontheNet, Fitness Magazine, IDEA and Health and Fitness Source, to name a few. Additionally, Stephen has been named "Expert of the Year" by AllExperts.com and "Personal Trainer of the Year" by the American Council on Exercise.

 

 

BG: What’s your background in youth sports and athletics? Have you worked with young athletes?

 

SH: Hi, Brian. First, let my point out that I’m really glad to hear about your book. Far too many trainers and parents are forcing kids into programs designed by and for adult bodybuilders.

 

Back to your question & That depends on your definition of "young." When I started as a personal trainer over 20 years ago, I set a minimum age of 16 for clients. Later, as I took more courses and read more books and articles on training young athletes, I lowered that minimum to 14, then eventually 10 or so, depending on their mental and physical maturity.

 

Most of the young athletes I help are girls’ lacrosse players with the youngest being 11. (We started when she was 9).

 

Although I focus on lacrosse (it’s a major sport here in the Baltimore area), most of the girls are three-season athletes and also play soccer, field hockey basketball and/or tennis.

 

If the athlete is a little younger (9-11,12), I’ll typically train them along with one parent. It seems to keep all of us happier.

 

BG: There are a lot of coaches, parents and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were "little adults". What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn against that kind of training?

 

SH: I agree that, unfortunately, there are too many young athletes being forced to specialize in a single sport.

 

Although it may appear counterintuitive at first, it’s better for young athletes NOT to specialize in a single sport. A single sport will limit that athlete’s motor development. Diversity puts the young athlete in various positions and requires different motor patterns and different strategies of muscle and muscle fiber recruitment.

 

You’ll find that most successful adult athletes were well-rounded athletes when they were younger.

 

BG: The age old debate is "How old should an athlete be before they begin lifting weights." What’s your view on that controversial topic?

 

SH: For years we’ve heard the myth that weight training will stunt a young athlete’s growth, but most scientific evidence shows otherwise.

 

In fact, recent studies indicate that young athletes can make gains in strength and, in some cases, even muscle size (which we once thought was impossible) at any virtually any age.

 

What you do what to avoid, however, are structured weight training "routines" based on traditional bodybuilding for adults.

 

Young athletes

respond better both mentally and physically to workouts that are more like play. Games using medicine balls work well, for example.

 

We also know that the adult heart rate charts don’t work for children and neither do the %RM vs. reps charts. It’s clear that the "rules" that we often use in training adults don’t apply to young athletes and can even be harmful.

 

BG: Using your ideals, could you define "functional conditioning" for us?

 

SH: It’s interesting that "functional" is probably the most popular buzzword in the fitness industry these days, yet most people, even trainers who claim that they’re "functional," can’t define exactly what they mean.

 

My definition of functional is "fortifying the way the body is designed to work based upon anatomy, movement patterns and biomechanics."

 

I use what I call the "3-4-5 System."

 

This is a little technical, but … I make sure that my clients work all three planes (sagittal, frontal, transverse), all four outer unit muscle systems (anterior oblique, posterior oblique, deep longitudinal and lateral) and all five basic motor patterns (pushing, pulling, rotation, moving your center of gravity, and working on one leg).

 

If you’re doing the math and think that’s a lot of exercises, it doesn’t total up to 3 x 4 x 5 = 60 different exercises. You simply select exercises that cover multiple categories.

 

The scientific basis is a little complicated, but the exercises are not as complicated. I explain it all in my book and through free excerpts that I publish in my "3-4-5 Fitness Newsletter." Most people pick up the system quickly and easily.

 

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High School Strength And Conditioning With Chris Scarborough

 

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High School Strength And Conditioning Interview

Chris Scarborough is a professional Strength & Conditioning Coach who specializes in Youth Athlete Development. His information is top-notch and reflects his unprecedented knowledge of this topic.

 

 

BG: What’s your background in youth sports and athletics? Have you trained a lot of young athletes?

 

 

CS: As a young athlete myself many years ago, I was always interested in the conditioning aspect of sport. In 1995 I became licensed as a Physical Therapy Assistant in the State of Alabama and took a job in an outpatient therapy clinic that had a lot of patients that were young athletes. I saw first hand common injuries that young athletes suffer — many of which could have been prevented by proper conditioning. By the way, I am not saying that the athletes were "out of shape", I am saying that the athletes were often injured because of poor techniques or habits. For example, football players, basketball players, and volleyball players would come in with knee or ankle injuries that were a result of poor running, jumping or landing technique. Baseball players, tennis players and golfers often came in with elbow and shoulder injuries due to poor swing technique or overuse of the arms and not enough of the trunk.

 

In 1997, I became certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and began working with athletes on performance enhancement. As a result of working with hundreds of athletes in several settings, I realized that there was far more to High School Strength and Conditioning than getting an athlete into "game shape".

 

 

BG: There are a lot of coaches, parents and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were ‘little adults’. What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn against that kind of training?

 

CS: The reason young athletes follow the training programs of their sports heroes are obvious. After all, if Barry Bonds followed this routine and he hit 73 home runs in a season then it should do the same for the young athlete–right? NO!!

 

First of all, the young athlete has a growing body and is prone to overuse injury in the muscles and tendons, stress fractures in the growth plates, and muscle imbalance injuries that a more mature athlete would be less prone to getting.

 

Also, the large majority of world class athletes have developed a broad base of athleticism and strength prior to specializing their training in one sport. Tudor Bompa and yourself have written a great deal on the topic. Specializing in a particular sport too soon is far more likely to lead to 1) burnout from playing and training for the sport 2) early skill development in the sport, but the skill level potential is never fully realized due to a very narrow athletic ability base and 3) increased likelihood of injury.

 

Finally, the conditioning needs of the pro athlete have been very carefully assessed by the team Strength and Conditioning coach. Even if the young athlete has the same needs, the conditioning program would still be different.

 

A young athlete should develop a broad base of athleticism by doing activities that require them to run, jump, catch, throw, swim, climb, etc. By playing several sports and various other physical activities the young athlete develops all the abilities including strength, speed, agility, stability, balance, endurance, coordination and power.

 

 

BG: The age old debate is ‘How old should an athlete be before they begin lifting weights’. What’s your view on that controversial topic?

 

CS: Let me preface my answer by saying that I am referring to weight training as lifting with barbells, dumbbells and weight machines. Body weight exercises can be classified as weight training, but I am not including them in my definition of weight training.

 

While it is safe for a young athlete to begin a strength training program with weights at an early age, I do not think that it is necessarily optimal for their development. I know many kids who would be considered strong in the weight room, but can’t handle their own body weight in certain activities.

 

For example, one 17 year old I know can bench press 300 pounds, but can’t hold his body straight while doing a push up. His hips sway toward the ground indicating he has chest, shoulder, and arm strength that far exceeds what his hip and abdominal muscles can stabilize. He also can’t do a single proper pull up, so his pushing movement overpowers his pulling strength. Unfortunately this is fairly common. It is not weight training that is going to get him hurt, it is improper weight training that is going to get him hurt.

 

Also, he will be far more likely to get hurt on the field of play, not actually in the weight room. I think that weight training can begin for most females around the age of 12 to 14 and age 14 to 15 for males — even then it should be balanced, supervised training. Up to that point, good technique can be taught at any age doing other activities than weight training. I do not think that an athlete has to do much weight training to get good strength development. For example, push ups, pull ups, stability ball exercises and medicine ball exercises can all be performed with minimal equipment. They require use of the same techniques as in the weight room, and develop entire groups of muscles or movements at a time, rather than isolated strength training. The strength can actually be used on the court or field when the child plays the sport. These activities can be started at a very early age.

 

You may hear some people say that squats and dead lifts are bad for your back and knees — that is not true. It is squats and deadlifts performed improperly that causes injury. My son started squatting before he could even stand. Everything that he picks up is a deadlift (from the floor). I have never seen a child age 3 or under perform an improper squat or dead lift. That does not mean that I think that kids should be lifting heavy weights that way, but I do think that the movements should be trained using the equipment stated above. Train a child for the long-term — not just for the season.

 

 

BG: Using your ideals, could you define ‘functional conditioning’ for us?

 

(more…)

Youth Sports Conditioning: Juan Carlos Santana Speaks…

 

Youth Sports Conditioning

Juan Carlos is the director and CEO of the Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton Florida. His training methodologies have been successfully applied to the full spectrum of the population; youth, geriatrics, rehabilitation and elite athletes. He has authored numerous articles, books and videos, on various topics involving optimum physical performance.

We wanted to hear from him and his thoughts on youth sports conditioning

 

IYCA: What’s your background in youth sports conditioning and athletics? Have you trained a lot of young athletes?

 

JC: I’ve been a competitive athlete for over 3 decades. I started with little league when I was 7 and I’ll compete in the USA Judo Nationals (Masters Division) at 43. I competed in all of the major combative sports -from boxing to judo.

 

We at the Institute of Human Performance train hundreds of young athletes ranging from middle school to college every very. We also train some of the top pros.

 

IYCA: There are a lot of coaches, parents and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were ‘little adults’. What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn against that kind of training?

 

JC: I have had to save more kids from overzealous coaches and parents than anything else. Coaches and parents often want to live vicariously through their children, pushing them into sports and intensity levels they don’t want or not ready for -that is ALWAYS sad and disastrous.

 

Kids learn by discovery – this means things have to be fun and not so organized. The intensity and volume a young body can take is certainly different than what a mature body can take. Therefore, we develop a love for movement and the sport -the "athlete" naturally follows that development. Parent and coaches often want to develop great players and a love for winning and forget about athleticism and the love for training. That is like putting the horse before the carriage.

 

IYCA: The age old debate is ‘How old should an athlete be before they begin lifting weights’. What’s your view on that controversial topic?

 

(more…)