Is Your Athlete Suffering from Over Training?
Today’s child athlete is pushed and pulled in many directions. While being involved in extra curricular activities helps build a well rounded child and athlete, it can also lead to serious over training issues. The following article discusses the many stressors in a child’s life than can lead to over training concerns. Read more
Exploring the Advantages of Body Weight Training
Weight training for kids is often a controversial subject area. Many people believe that it is too taxing on a child’s growing body. In this article, Executive Editor TK Stohlman and sports trainer Ryan Lee discuss the benefit of body weight training as an effective alternative to using machines or other weights. Read more
Tips to Build Endurance
Endurance training for young athletes is often a misunderstood topic. On one hand, there are strength coaches who tend to disregard developmentally sound elements of endurance training in lieu of producing stronger and faster athletes, while on the other hand, there are over-zealous coaches and trainers who equate endurance to long distance / duration activities, often with little regard for the athlete’s stage of development, ability or current level of conditioning. Read more
The Benefits of Global Training
The goals of any trainer or coach working with a young athlete should include increasing proficiency of motor ability, developing functional versatility and lastly, inhibiting the potential negative effects of specialized training. Upon reflection, these points, both individually and collectively, lend to the credence that when working with young athletes, the mandate should be one of global, all-encompassing development rather than specialized ventures into sport specific training. Read more
Exercise Programs for Growing Bodies
Preparing your child for youth sports means ensuring that their growing body is ready for the demands of the activity they will be undertaking. Just like any exercise program, there is a right and wrong way to prepare your child. Athletic Development Expert, Brian Grasso spoke to Executive Editor TK Stohlman about this very topic. Here is an excerpt from their discussion. Read more
Exercises to Develop Coordination
One of the keys to success in any sport is coordination. While some children are naturally more coordinated than others, there are several things that can be done to help a young athlete continue to progress in this area of development. Brian Grasso suggests the following 12 exercises to help young athletes improve their coordination skills. Read more
Flexibility in Youth Athletes: What You Need to Know
Flexibility is an important component in overall fitness. However it is only a small part of true fitness. There are many misconceptions about flexibility and many less than reliable measurement tools. The following article from Brian Grasso helps to debunk some of these myths and provides age appropriate flexibility expectations. Read more
Teaching the Basics of Movement – The Key to Youth Fitness
In this article, youth training expert Brian Grasso discusses how teaching the basics of movement are the key to youth fitness. Read more
Should Kids Really Lift Weights?
The commonly held belief that strength training for kids is dangerous to the growth plates is simply not accurate provided that appropriate guidelines are followed with respect to, specifically, exercise execution. In fact, improved sport performance, increased muscular endurance, and enhanced bone strength are all likely benefits of resistance training for children. Read more
Feel and Play Better with These Recovery Tips
Hockey is an intense, fast-paced game that can leave you exhausted, tired, and make your muscles feel sore the next day. Most players spend 3 to 5 days per week on the ice, so knowing how to recover faster is very important if you want to avoid running out of energy or getting ill from exhaustion. By applying a few tips, you can help your muscles recover a lot quicker and more efficiently. Here is a list of things you can do to help give your body what it needs to recover faster from strenuous hockey workouts. Read more
