Research shows that one of the most important periods of motor development for children is between ages 7-11. During this period children are developmentally ready to acquire overall general sports skills that are the cornerstone of all athletic development. It is a widely held belief by youth-sport researchers that if a child does not develop proficiency at a motor skill within the critical period then the learning of that skill may be extremely delayed or not occur at all.
Between the ages of 12 – 18, it is crucial the young athlete focus on consolidating the basic sport – specific skills. Athletes in this age group are developmentally ready to begin developing speed, strength and power to lay the foundation for optimizing their life-long athletic potential.
The demands on growing children to perform at high level in sports are greater than they were even 5 years ago. Children often train 1x-2x a week in a skill based program and then compete during the weekends. Very little time is devoted to preparing the youth athlete for the physical rigors of his chosen sport (s). This often leads to overtraining certain muscle groups and leaves the child vulnerable to injury. Occasionally coaches attempt to “condition” within the practice times but often use dated techniques such as static stretching before practice or running endless laps. Both of these “old-school” practices are at best inefficient and could even cause harm.
A quality, sport-specific conditioning program is necessary to give any athlete a strong musculoskeletal base on which to build athletic skills and to decrease the risk of overtraining muscles. Prehabilitative exercises can be performed for those musculoskeletal areas that are under high stress in a particular sport. Also, a maintenance conditioning program that extends through the season is essential to maintain fitness throughout the season.
For the young athlete, using light resistance (i.e. bodyweight) will train the mind and body to perform functional exercises correctly. Speed and agility drills teach the athlete correct form for quicker feet and explosive power for start/stop activities. Teaching proper stretching techniques to the growing athlete will also increase speed and decrease the risk of injury. This movement based program is challenging, but because it is movement based, children find it fun.
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