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Archive for “Training Methodologies” Tag

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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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?

 

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3 Tips to Becoming a World-Class Athlete Development Coach

Athlete Development Coaching Tips

Read carefully.

 

But don’t forget…. I want to hear what you have to say.

 

Be sure to leave your comments…..

 

1) Read, Listen and Watch

 

Read books.

 

Listen to CD’s and audio’s.

 

Watch great athlete development Coaches do what they do best.

 

But here’s the key (and it’s something I very seldom hear anyone else mention)…

 

Don’t just learn from the stuff or professionals you agree with.

 

We all like to be validated and stay in a relative comfort zone in terms of our knowledge
base, but this industry is chalk full of professionals who cast negative opinions about certain
training methodologies without truly understanding them.

 

Spend 75% of your time on learning from resources you enjoy and agree with. 15% of
your time on resources you COMPLETELY disagree with and the remaining 10% on
resources you have never heard of and are not at all familiar with.

 

A well-rounded education is predicated on knowing parts of it all.

 

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