When is the right time for youth athletes to start training? This is a question parents ask all the time, and it’s something that athletic develop specialists need to be able to address in great detail. The key to the entire process of long term athlete development is to expose athletes to as many different activities as possible and not rush the process. 
Of course, it’s not that simple. The IYCA’s flagship certification, the Certified Athletic Development Specialist, is an entire course dedicated to this process, so there are many things to take into consideration. We need to understand how to teach exercises adequately, choose exercises appropriately, create a proper training schedule, change exercises/programming when necessary and more.
Long-time friend of the IYCA, Brett Bartholomew, spends a lot of time addressing coaching & communication issues, and he has become one of the industry’s foremost experts in that area. But, because Brett has had such a wealth of experiences, he often addresses other important topics. In this video, Brett gives an amazingly concise answer to the question of when athletes should begin training:
To be clear, Brett’s does not go into detail on the specifics of developing athletes, but his explanation almost perfectly mirrors the views of the IYCA – give kids lots of different activities, avoid specialization, understand training age, don’t focus on competition, and “slow cook” the process.
Often, experienced coaches know a lot about athletic development, but have a difficult time putting all of their knowledge into words. This is the kind of video you can share with other parents and coaches to help them understand the process without going into too much detail.
We hope Brett’s video helps you verbalize the importance of the LTAD model, and gives you ammunition to continue doing what’s best for young athletes.
Brett Bartholomew is a strength and conditioning coach, author, consultant, and Founder of Art of Coaching™. His experience includes working with athletes both in the team environment and private sector along with members of the United States Special Forces and members of Fortune 500 companies.
Taken together, Brett has coached a diverse range of athletes from across 23 sports world-wide, at levels ranging from youth athletes to Olympians. He’s supported numerous Super Bowl and World Series Champions, along with several professional fighters in both professional boxing as well as the UFC. Visit ArtofCoaching.com for more information or follow Brett on all social media platforms for daily updates.
For more information on developing athletes, the IYCA Certified Athletic Development Specialist is the gold-standard certification for anyone working with athletes 6-18 years old. The course materials were created by some of the most experienced and knowledgeable professionals in the industry, and the content is indisputably the most comprehensive of any certification related to athletic development. Learn more about the CADS certification here:
