Facebook Youtube Instagram Linkedin Pinterest
Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Linkedin Pinterest

Is Your Young Athlete Ready To Start Serious Training?

Parents

Teens training with trainer indoors using straps.Children gradually gain skill, balance, coordination, and strength through unstructured play. At some point we add structured sports to the mix and increase the focus on certain types of movement and strength (shooting baskets, hitting baseballs, sprinting 100 meters, etc.). But at what point should children begin structured conditioning, like strength training or running intervals, designed to improve their physical ability to perform better in sports? When is too early? If your child wants to train, what do you do?

When parents see a child with a natural talent and affinity for a specific sport, some are eager to start the child on structured training, often with the hope they’ll develop into the next superstar. In addition to the debate over whether kids should specialize in a single sport or play multiple sports, there’s the question of how old a child should be when they start organized or structured conditioning. In other words, when should kids go from playing on the jungle gym to doing sets of pullups?

There are two main areas to consider: emotional readiness and physical readiness. While there is no set timeline, of the two, it’s more important for a child to be emotionally ready first.

 

Emotional Readiness

 

Start by Observing

Some kids seem born ready to compete, whereas others never seem to catch the bug for competition. There’s nothing wrong with either end of the spectrum. To some extent, parents need to follow the child’s lead. For many families, this starts by observing how their kids play as toddlers and then trying out a variety of early-development sports, like T-ball, pee wee soccer or basketball, and swim lessons.

Teach the Game, Not the Competition

As adults, we sometimes shorten the learning phase of a new sport and skip straight to the competition aspect. Young kids who are just being introduced to games with rules and specific skills benefit from learning those skills and rules in an environment that doesn’t emphasize competition. While some parents ridicule “games with no winners” for failing to teach kids the reality of winning and losing, the truth is many of the 6-9 year olds in these sports are not emotionally ready for the pressure and focus required to follow structured training or compete effectively.

Provide Support, Not Pressure

A child who is motivated and passionate about sport will find or invent ways to start repetitive training. These are the kids who spend all afternoon shooting hoops, kicking soccer balls, or learning tricks on a skateboard. They will read about or watch their favorite sports with a surprising attention to detail. Parents can be supportive by offering opportunities for children to connect with other kids who have similar interests, or participate in programs, lessons, or camps. At the same time, parents should be cautious about ramping up the intensity or number of hours of specific training.

Physical Readiness

Parents and coaches are often quick to recognize physical talent and eager to capitalize on it. In the long run, talented athletes will develop quickly no matter when they start focused training. Pushing a gifted athlete to perform before he or she is physically or emotionally ready results in early burnout or injuries that prevent the athlete from reaching their full potential. So, how do you know how much exercise is just right?

Child’s Age = Hours Per Week

As a general rule of thumb, it’s appropriate for school age children to participate in a specific sport for as many hours per week as their age (e.g. up to 8 hours per week of soccer for an 8 year old). If there are no signs of injury, the child is motivated to do more and is having fun, then parents/coaches/pediatricians can evaluate whether more training is still appropriate.

Puberty Changes Everything

Physiologically, there are some significant differences to the ways children and adults respond to exercise. For instance, while children can develop strong aerobic fitness essential for long and moderate-intensity exercise, the anaerobic system that produces energy for repeated high-intensity efforts (sprinting, explosive movements) doesn’t develop fully until a child goes through puberty. While some high-intensity training may be appropriate for young athletes, the time period prior to puberty is best utilized for aerobic conditioning and skill acquisition. Greater speed and power will come naturally through puberty, at which point coaches typically add more sport-specific high-intensity training.

What about strength training? When is it safe for kids to start lifting weights? While it was once thought resistance training would stunt a child’s growth, this notion has been widely discredited. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Youth Position Statement, age-appropriate resistance training can and should play a role in a child’s development. They recommend a 7-stage progression that starts with learning body control, then adds bodyweight only movements, and then gradually adds more sport specificity around ages 11-16.

 

Beware of…

 

Pressure from coaches and sports clubs

Some of the pressure to start young athletes on structured conditioning programs and have kids train with and play on year-round club teams comes from professional coaches and for-profit sports clubs. While both groups genuinely care about their athletes’ well being, they are also financially motivated to keep athletes in their programs. With rare exception, sports scientists, sports psychologists, and coaches at the college and professional level all recommend school-age kids should participate in a variety of sports throughout the year and take time away from organized sports during the year, as well.

Overlapping Sports or Teams

Junior-high and high school students who participate in school and club sports sometimes end up with excessive training workloads when those sports overlap. This is especially prevalent when both teams demand attendance at all practices in order to be eligible to compete. Kids can end up practicing twice a day (sometimes more), and practicing or competing 7 days a week. When athletes in this scenario get overwhelmed, their performance in training and competition declines, they are more likely to get ill from being worn down, and more likely to be fatigued, irritable, and start having trouble in school.

 

Takeaway

As children mature from age 5 to 18, they grow and develop at different rates, both physically and emotionally. It is important to encourage young athletes to strive to be the best they can be, but not pressure them into structured training before they are ready. After all, a lifelong love for sport and physical activity is the greatest gift parents and coaches can provide for young athletes.

Related Content

Loading...
1 2 … 18

Join Us

Subscribe
Shop TrueSport
Host TrueSport

TrueSport logo without icon in white.

© 2024 TrueSport | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Sitemap

Goal-Setting Lesson Video Transcript

Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.

So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

Body Image Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and true sport athlete. Today I want to talk to you about body image and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

So I changed my diet. I went along with what I was being told to do, even though I’d had great success at a slightly heavier weight and higher body fat percentage, and became much leaner than ever before. It seemed like a successful change at first, but I didn’t have nearly the results I’d had before. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the 2012 London games. The takeaway for me, and hopefully for you, is that it’s important to know what works for you and your body and to not compare yourself to others. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like. Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day.

I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.

A Good Sport Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Izy Isaksen, Team USA, Modern Pentathlon, Olympian, US Army Sergeant, and True Sport Ambassador. Today, I want to talk to you about being a good sport. There are three things I’d like you to know. First, real winners act the same toward their opponent, whether they win or lose. Second, follow the rules and be a gracious winner and respectful loser. And third, sportsmanship reveals your true character.

I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I would overhear spectators and teammates asking, “Who’s the better athlete,” and “Who’s going to beat the other.” Instead of letting outside pressures create a negative experience for us, I chose to practice winning and losing with grace and respect. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance. My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.

I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.

What Kind of Coach Do You Want to Be? Video Transcript

Edwin Moses: You’re a coach. Maybe what you want is very simple, for everyone to just run in the right direction, score for their own team, to try and try again and again. Maybe you want your athletes to become all stars. You want them to earn trophies, medals, win titles. You want them to reach the highest height their sport allows. And wanting all of that, of course, that’s good. But as every great coach discovers, developing a great athlete means nurturing, nurturing the even greater person within. Truth is, you have even more influence than you know.

You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.

I’m Edwin Moses, and the lessons I’ve learned through sport have challenged me, guided me, and shaped my life forever. What kind of coach do you want to be?

THE SIMPLE TRUTH: DECODING THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.

When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.

Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them. Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. Just because a product is on a store shelf doesn’t mean it is safe. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous. Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career. Please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 for more information about dietary supplements.