Because Most Trainers Don't Know How

Sometimes the nature of my articles to you have to be in relation to market trends.

Right now, there seems to be a large number of trainers out there who are taking on clients as young as 6 - 10 years old.

You may be thinking that I have a problem with that.

But, I don't...

...At least not in principle.

I am sensitive to the fact that many young athletes are being asked to compete in endless numbers of games within a given season, these days.

That seems to have become the standard in our society with respect to youth sports participation.

Downgraded elements have become:

• Fun
• Development of self-efficacy
• Development of general skill
• Development of athletic ability

Highlighted elements have become:

• Competition
• Destruction of self-efficacy
• Over-concentration on specific skill
• Over-concentration on specific
  ability

I spoke about this topic with Nicholas Roy just yesterday.

Nicholas is a very talented young trainer in Quebec, Canada. He attended my Youth Development Principals seminar last year in Montreal and tells me that his career has skyrocketed in terms of understanding and application ever since.

He is in the process of becoming IYCA Level 1 certified as a Youth Conditioning Specialist.

He did run into a slight problem last week, however.

Nicholas was asked to present a seminar on global youth development to a group
of figure skating coaches - and it was apparently not well received.

The notion that these coaches should be spending less time on the specific skill
nuances associated with complex figure skating techniques and more time on
global aspects of development was seemingly not a favorable message.

And I've heard the arguments, by the way.

But figure skating is one of the sports that requires an athlete to develop
early, so specific skill development must be introduced at a young age.

True.

But so many other variables have to be considered:

• Fewer than 1% of all figure skaters ever ascend to a level of national
  or international success. In that, coaches of all sports must become better
  at objectively identifying talent - and this true of all sports.


• Even in isolated circumstances of 'elite' ability, a globalized
  developmental scenario must be followed. A young athletes eventual skill
  level and injury avoidance capacity is based on their systemic development.


• Over-patterning the same relative movements again and again will lead to
  structural and mechanical dysfunctions and compensatory patterns - in short...
  injuries.

I mention this last point because much of the adjunct training that young
athletes are exposed to serves little more than to contribute to this
over-patterning issue.

The off-ice training programs of young figure skaters often involves
participation in 'jump classes'.

It seems that the repetitive pounding young figure skaters get on the ice isn't
enough.

The additional training that young baseball players are asked to do often comes
in the form of hitting and pitching lessons.

I guess because they don't encounter enough of that during their 60+ game
schedules.

So no, in principal, I am not against the fact that some young athletes and
there parents are seeking out the services of trainers in order to augment there
child's sport participation.

I am however, entirely against the fact that many times, the parents and
trainers use this adjunct training time in a misguided way.

It is not about enhancing the child's ability on the ice, field or court; it's
about providing non-specific stimulus that serves to develop the child
athletically.

Within the next 12 - 18 months, the IYCA will be opening our first of many
facilities around the world.

And we have spent a great deal of time in research and practical application of
creating a system of development for all young athletes that is progressive,
safe and quite frankly, works.

I could do what a lot of other elite trainers do.

Create a system and try to entice you to purchase it.

That's not what this newsletter is all about, though.

It's about me sharing information and ideas so that young athletes are better
cared for.

So...

Here's what you should be doing with young athletes every training session or
practice - and it does not matter if you are a coach or a trainer.

A) Non-locomotor/Non-manipulative Stimulus:

These are exercises and games that require balance and stability.

• 4-point kneeling with opposite arm/leg circles
  
• 1-knee kneeling
  
• Scramble to balance
  
• Sport-specific balance points. For example:


• In figure skating, 'hit' the position of a landed jump and maintain
  this position while you coach posture


• In baseball, 'hit' the top position of a pitcher about to throw a
  ball and maintain while you coach posture)


• In soccer, 'hit' the position of the backswing of a kicking motion
  while you coach posture (be sure to perform this with both legs)

B) Locomotor/Non-manipulative Stimulus:

These are exercises and games that require movement and fluidity.

• Technique-based running drills


• Technique-based skipping drills


• One and two foot hopping drills


• Sport-specific movement technique. For example:


• In figure skating, time spent on the technical aspects of skating
  
• In baseball, time spent on the technical aspects of running the
  bases


• In basketball, time spent on the technical aspects of cutting and
  direction change without the use of a ball

C) Manipulative Stimulus:

These are exercises and games that require the introduction of external objects

• Throwing


• Catching


• Kicking


• Carrying objects


• Sport-specific manipulation techniques. For example:


• In figure skating, skating laps carrying a weighted medicine ball
  while you coach power and force production through the legs via
  efficient motion


• In baseball, catching an over-sized ball without a glove while you
  teach proper acceptance and force absorption systemically


• In soccer, practicing kicking a ball into a specific spot of the
  goal

Next week, I will talk to you about 'Outcome-Based Training' and how your
coaching style is probably confusing the crap out of your young athletes.

'Till then,

Brian Grasso

How One Man Changed My Day

As you know, my last few newsletters have been based on my thoughts and comments about the 'HOW TO GROW A SUPER ATHLETE' article written by Dan Coyle a couple of weeks back.

I hope I challenged you. I hope I made you think.

That is the goal of every single one of these newsletters that I write for you. Youth sports and the safe training of young athletes is contingent on us being able to take a critical look at what we have done in the past, what we are doing right now, and what we must do in the future to ensure optimal safety and potential development.

Every once in a while, I get a great email from someone just like you - someone who has been reading my newsletter for some time now, and just wants to offer their thoughts.

One of my favorite subscribers (I can say that because he has actually come to one of my seminars and so I had the pleasure of meeting him in person). is Bill... he's a baseball coach from the east coast of the United States.

Bill's got a ton of passion when it comes to youth sports and baseball in particular. I have always really enjoyed the emails I get from him - they're usually very insightful and his passion for the game really shines.

Here's something Bill emailed to me recently:

'I want to point out that NOT ALL baseball practices in this country still start only with a lap and static stretching anymore and you are one of my influences why. I wish you could attend one of the winter workout sessions I perform with my youth athletes (note I refer to them as athletes and not baseball players). Our program is built on the platform that to be a better baseball player we first need to focus on making you a better athlete.'

O.K, so you may be thinking, 'of course Brian likes Bill's emails... it's basically one big stroke to his ego'. I encourage you... read on:

'You and the article touched briefly on one of the biggest problems facing the youth coach in the United States for most sports today that I wish you can more fully address in a future article. Your two word sentence 'All competition' and Dan Coyle's footnote # 7 about replicating the Spartak system 'a focus on the glamour of winning rather than on the brickwork of building technique' gets to the heart of the elite travel team trend in youth sports. I am seeing travel teams emphasizing schedules of 60 + games which makes me wonder when do they actually focus on developing the skills it takes to be and/or remain ELITE'.

This is an absolutely fantastic point, and one I am going to challenge myself with.

Bill, you've got it my friend - A critical anaylysis on 'the over-competition syndrome' is coming next week.

Here are the closing comments in Bill's email to me:

'I just wanted you to know that you are having an effect and that not ALL youth coaches don't get it. I am constantly preaching to youth coaches at coaches clinics the importance of basic skill developments (like neural cross patterning) as essential as they can't take for granted that players know how to move correctly.'

You have no idea how much that reads like music to my ears!

This speaks to the heart of why I created packages like Complete Youth Training

I poured my heart and every ounce of my knowledge into a multi-dimensional package that encases everything I know about training kids safely and effectively.

The fact that my work IS impacting Trainers and Coaches around the world means everything to me.

Bill... thanks for the email... I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my newsletters.

'Till next week,


Brian