Easy-to-Follow and Very Fun Youth Training Templates
By Dave Gleason
As a coach, I’m sure you agree that although each kid is unique, having a tried-and-true youth training template to work off can spark a lot of fun and innovation in your sessions. So I’m going to do my best today to give you something valuable that will serve you for a long time.
The athletes in our Discovery classes are generally ranging in age from 6-9 years old. There are commonalities as well as the potential for vast differences between the participants in this stage.
Using our program templates we can ensure that all participants in this stage are having a remarkable experience while they are discovering human movement. The self discovery aspect of this stage is crucial. Taking advantage of a plastic central nervous system our programming should be wide ranging and varied in order to develop a broad base for future mastery of movement skills.
Keeping that in mind, there are certain factors we need to be mindful of when creating your programs. Using a template system sets you and your young athletes up for ultimate success.
Below are the parameters to work with in the form of a template with examples of activities and or further elements to consider when creating your programs.
There always exists the risk of an activity being able to be applied to more than one category. This is perfectly acceptable as long is there is justification for where you place a specific exercise… this is the art of coaching.
Body Awareness/Movement Exploration
Monster Walks (Lunge Walks)
Bear crawls
Monkey Walks
Monkey Bars
Dragon Walks
Log Rolls
Side Shuffle
Carioca
Object Manipulation
Medicine Balls
Battle Ropes
Hula Hoops
Sandbells
Dodge Balls
Tennis Balls
PVC Pipes
Resistance Bands
Kettlebells
Coordination
Rhythm
Rhythm Machine
Clap Jacks
Reactivity
Helicopter Variations
“Coach Says”
Mirroring
Balance
Static
Holding Positions
Dynamic
Balance Beams
Around the World
Scramble to Balance
Spatial Awareness
Tag Variations
Dodgeball Variations
Kinesthetic Differentiation
Jump to line
Target games
Game Play/Cooperation
All of the above plus an endless supply of childhood movement based games such as:
Gaga
Dodgeball
Sorting/gathering games
Tag Variations
Capture the Flag
Duck Duck Goose
Tug o War
Target Games
Make sure you allow you young athletes to be creative and take ownership over what they come up with. Some of your best activities will come from the minds of your athletes. Continue to observe with a watchful eye because you never know when you will be shown an absolute gem of an exercise!
Keep changing lives!