Improved Youth Sport Performance-Part 1

    While the demands of different sports are varied, when it comes to discussing youth athletes, for the most part, the areas that need to be focused on are the same. Sure there are imbalances, weaknesses, faulty movement patterns, and other such things that need to be addressed, however, most youth athletes today possess many of the same problems due to their daily lives and habits.  The rise of the internet, video games, fast food, and other influences have lead to a society of kids who lack certain physical and mental traits necessary for sport performance.
    I am going to break this article into three separate pieces. Today's topic is strength.

Strength
    It is a sad state of affairs when you witness a large amount of kids who can't perform a single chin up, push up, or a proper body weight squat. Today's PE classes in elementary school don't promote physical exertion and movement skills but rather will allow kids who aren't "physically gifted" to sit out of games and socialize with their fellow classmates. While this lack of play in today's youth certainly is largely influenced by parents, even the school systems, who should be set up to teach proper and healthy behaviors for adult life, fail to promote adequate physical activity. They allow a sedentary lifestyle and back it up with poor food choices in the lunch line. Heck, my high school even had a fully stocked Little Debbie stand.
    Almost all kids regardless of their chosen sport would greatly benefit from strength training. Not only will there be an improvement in sport performance, they will also see a decreased risk for injury, increased bone health, and improved self confidence to name a few. Youth athletes should focus on bodyweight movements such as push ups, pull ups, squats, and lunges, developing good movement patterns so when external loads are finally introduced, they have the necessary foundation to allow for safe and effective training.  The development of core strength will also allow the body to move more efficiently and absorb more impact during contact sports, aiding in injury prevention. Exercises such as planks, side bridges, and Russian twists are great for developing core strength and stability using only bodyweight.
    Bodyweight training seems to be a lost art in not only youth physical activity, but adult training as well. In all my programs, regardless of the goal, it is used to some extent or another to promote relative strength, core stability, flexibility, and functional movement pattens. If you don't already, I highly suggest you implement bodyweight training into your program today.

No Nonsense Youth Development,

Kyle Bohannon, CSCS
Owner/Head Trainer
kyle@trainstrive.com
www.trainstrive.com