Strength Training & Young Athletes…
What’s right?
What’s wrong?
What you DO NOT know….
Listen and comment, as always:
Audio – Strength Training & Young Athletes
Posted on: September 14th, 2010 by IYCA 3 Comments
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Archive for “Tony Reynolds” Tag
Childhood Obesity: The Threat To Youth Fitness
Posted on: October 28th, 2009 by IYCA 21 Comments
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Childhood Obesity
Liz D:
I’ve posted a question on a local moms forum asking what parents think are the root causes of Childhood Obesity/inactivity.
Certainly the typical ideas came forth: too much fast food, lack of exercise, not getting kids engaged in good habits early.
One idea did strike me and I’ve heard other moms tell me this. Heck, I even live this circumstance now:
One serious threat to youth activity is the lack of safety in our neighborhoods. We have so much access to information that we know when a sex offender moves into the ‘hood. We also hear about creeps on the news and evildoers who have even taken a child, hand-in-hand away from her backyard to bring her off premises.
With all this scary stuff afoot, moms and dads are definitely afraid to give their young kids especially too much liberty outside.
Has anyone ever polled parents to see if this comes up? Heck, for you IYCA parents out there, is this a factor in your life? Is organized sports the only recourse people see? Is there a solution to this or at least a good rib-tickling one-liner I can give these people? (Just goofing there)
Please chime in on your ideas.
Young Athletes: The Key to Agility Is Positioning
Posted on: October 27th, 2009 by IYCA 19 Comments
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Young Athletes Agility
Tony Reynolds says…
Personally, I have never thought of flexibility or mobility as a factor that plays a huge role in an athlete being able to assume an athletic stance. I do not see where there is enough flexion/extension in any joint throughout the chain where this is really an issue. If you are getting that low you are never going to be overly quick out of the position.
For me, it has always been a matter of reeducation. Young athletes simply have no idea how to align their bodies to create the most effective angles for spontaneous multi directional movement. Often they have been coached wrong or not coached at all and have created their own interpretation of the stance.
So then it comes down to teaching. Therefore, one must be careful with their “selection of words” when describing movements and positions to kids and young.
For instance, flat back can often also mean a completely vertical torso. MANY kids will automatically make this correlation (and so do many coaches.)
I prefer using the terms “neutral” and “tilted.” As Kwame suggested, we work on rounding the spine, we work on arching the spine, and we work on keeping the spine in a “neutral” alignment. Then it is a matter or “tilting” the neutral spine forward as the hips move back.
Favorite Strength Training Exercises for Young Athletes
Posted on: August 4th, 2009 by IYCA 3 Comments
Strength Training Exercises for Young Athletes
Tony Reynolds is a cut above almost every Strength Coach I know.
And that’s why he’s 100% in charge of the content for the message board
on www.IYCAMembers.com
When our Members have questions about training young athletes, their
is no one in the world I trust more than Tony to answer them.
But not only does Tony answer questions, he also contributes to the message
board every day with fantastic thoughts, opinions and suggestions.
Tony detailed some of his favorite strength training exercises to use with young
athletes last week and I just had to make sure that you saw this goldmine of
information. Below is a description of one of these exercises:
Single Leg Low Pulley RDL
Equipment:
Low pulley lowered as far down as it will go (ankle height) with a “D” handle attached.
Starting Position:
Grasp the D-handle in your right hand and face the pulley. Move far enough away from the pulley so you can perform a full range of motion without the plates touching the stack.
Stand on your left foot with your head up, base leg knee slightly bent (10-15 degrees), spine neutral but tilted, and hips pushed slightly back.
The Motion:
Flex at the base leg hip. As your torso moves forward and down “push” your free leg back for counter-balance. The free leg hip should not flex during the exercise.
You may need to slightly flex the base leg knee an additional few degrees as your hips travel back. This will allow you to keep your weight on the back half of your foot and reach forward maximally with the d-handle while keeping a neutral but tilted spine.
Descend until your back is near parallel with the ground. Reverse the motion and return to the top.
Things to Avoid:
Letting your hips push out to the side.
Dropping the base leg knee valgus
Over flexing the base leg knee…its an RDL not a squat
Losing a neutral spinal alignment
Loading the front half of the base foot
Hyperextending the hips/spine at termination of the ascent
Let me know some of your favorite strength training exercises for young athletes below…
Athlete Development Business Success Tips: My Training & Business Mentors
Posted on: January 14th, 2009 by IYCA 1 Comment
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Athlete Development Business Success
Sometimes I enjoy writing about the ‘training’ aspects of Athlete Development, youth fitness and sport development.
Other times I like writing about the ‘business’ angles.
Today, I feel inspired to talk a little bit about both.
Over the years, my philosophies and thoughts about training young athletes have changed
significantly.
These changes were the result of learning a new concept or trying a new idea.
I read books.
Watched DVD’s.
Listened to speakers at live conferences.
I continue to do so even to this day.
And all of this self-directed study is what has lead me to my conclusions and guided my thoughts
regarding the developmental fitness process at the core of the IYCA Principles.
Now, many Athlete Development industry experts have had a significant hand in shaping my viewpoints –
Mike Boyle
Gray Cook
Jozeph Drabik
Mel Siff
Tony Reynolds
Bill Hartman
But no one professional has played a larger role in helping me create my training philosophies
than a man I consider to be one of the greatest Coaches alive today…
Lee Taft.
When I watched Lee’s ‘Groundbreaking’ DVD back in 2004, I was literally mesmerized by what
I saw.
I took notes feverishly.
Created drills based on his concepts.
Implemented his ideas into the training routines of my own young athletes.
And quite frankly, the results staggered me.
I have never been introduced to concepts that made more sense or were more easy to
Coach.
Lee’s speed and agility work is 100% pioneering and my own personal coaching philosophies have
never been the same since.
Now from a business perspective, I can say virtually the same stuff about a man whom I consider
to be an absolute genius when it comes to systems creation –
Nick Berry.
Just like you, I always struggled with the fine points of understanding how to be
the ‘Trainer’ and ‘Business Person’ in my company.
Finding enough time to train all your clients AND run the sales, marketing, scheduling and book
keeping.
And I admit, believe it or not, there was a time that I almost packed it in as a professional in this
industry.
Seriously.
Back in early 2003, I was struggling so badly with time management that I didn’t think I would
ever ‘get ahead’.
I remember distinctly having a conversation with Sara and explaining to her that I thought the
time was right for me to get out of the athlete development industry and move on to a more secure and predictable
profession.
Can you believe that?
And truth be told, I had difficulty with this balancing act right up until the beginning of 2008
when Nick became a full partner in the IYCA.
From Day 1, he started revamping our corporate structure and changing our working arrangements.
He put systems into place that allowed me to focus on one thing at a time and maximize me
efficiency in a given day.
Our Membership numbers increased.
Our revenue increased.
And my own personal workload DECREASED as a result of Nick’s efforts.
Lee Taft and Nick Berry.
The two guys that have changed everything about the way I train my young athletes and
run my youth athlete business.
And the best part?
They’ll both be at my International Summit in February sharing their secrets.
You likely know me as a ‘key player’ in the fitness industry.
Well known.
Highly respected.
Wildly successful.
Lee and Nick had a TON to do with that.
If I can admit that a good amount of the success I’ve experienced has come from learning from
these two fantastic professionals, just imagine what hearing what they have to say might to do
your career.
Worth a trip to Louisville this February?
Click on the link below to register now –
http://www.iyca.org/2009summit
‘TIll next time,
Brian