Training the Young Athlete

8/13/2019 Training the Young Athlete

1/7

Training Young Athletes: The Philosophy

of a Part-Time Trainer and Full-Time

DadByKelly Clineville

Published:March 3, 2010Posted in: Sports TrainingTags:athlete, clineville,dad,

training,transition

I used to be an athlete. Not a great one but an athlete all the sae. I played ultiple

sports!soe better than others. My dad li"ted and #as ore interested in staying

physically "it than ost o" y "riends$ "athers. I noticed this "ro an early age, andhaving an e%ercise roo in the house allo#ed e to be a#are o" the need and bene"its o"

e%ercise "or the sa&e o" e%ercise. I started li"ting around age t#elve, and by the tie I #as

in high school, I #as stronger and "aster than ost o" y classates.

My hand'eye coordination #asn$t any better, so y gross athletic s&ills didn$t translateas #ell in baseball, bas&etball, and soccer as they ight have in trac&, #restling, or

"ootball. I #ent to a very sall school #here baseball, soccer, and bas&etball #ere the

only sports available. In college, I played in both intraural and adult leagues. ( "e#years a"ter college, I et y beauti"ul #i"e and her daughter and #e #ere arried. )e

soon had another little girl. My transition "ro athlete to soething else #as progressing.

I #as 2* #hen I happened to stuble across a +o#erli"ting S( aga-ine and started

reading the articles. I #as particularly ipressed #ith the ethods o" soe o" the ore"aous po#erli"ters and the conugate ethod. I continued li"ting and had even gathered

soe reading aterial along the #ay li&e the Secrets o" Soviet Sports Training, The

Bodybuilding /ncyclopedia by (hhhnold, and +o#er by red at"ield. The +o#erli"tingS( articles in particular and the in"oration available on the internet ade e loo& at

strength training in another #ay.
http://articles.elitefts.com/sports-training/training-young-athletes-the-philosophy-of-a-part-time-trainer-and-full-time-dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/sports-training/training-young-athletes-the-philosophy-of-a-part-time-trainer-and-full-time-dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/sports-training/training-young-athletes-the-philosophy-of-a-part-time-trainer-and-full-time-dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/category/sports-training/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/athlete/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/clineville/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/clineville/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/training/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/transition/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/transition/http://articles.elitefts.com/sports-training/training-young-athletes-the-philosophy-of-a-part-time-trainer-and-full-time-dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/sports-training/training-young-athletes-the-philosophy-of-a-part-time-trainer-and-full-time-dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/sports-training/training-young-athletes-the-philosophy-of-a-part-time-trainer-and-full-time-dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/category/sports-training/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/athlete/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/clineville/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/dad/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/training/http://articles.elitefts.com/tag/transition/


2/7

(t 30 years old, I "elt the itch to copete in soething, so I started copeting in

po#erli"ting. My transition "ro athlete to soething else slo#ed. I did this "or a "e#

years until y youngest daughter started playing sports. It #as obvious that she lovedplaying, but it #as alost pain"ul to #atch her run soeties because she #as so

&noc&&need.4 This led e to study athletic training "ro a di""erent standpoint. I

learned that y daughter #asn$t &noc&&need4 but that her &nees #ere in valgus and heran&les in eversion. It #as obvious "ro #atching her that she seeed to be at ris& "or a

&nee inury, and y research revealed that "eale athletes in general #ere uch ore

li&ely to have (56 tears. This propted e to research #hat could be done to a&e herless li&ely to have a &nee inury.

I had helped y little brother train years be"ore, but #hen I started researching "or y

daughter, I developed a healthy789 obsession #ith per"orance enhanceent. My oldest

daughter played soe sports but #asn$t as interested in athletics as y youngest. Myyoungest really enoyed playing sports and going to y po#erli"ting eets. I still

reeber #hen she #as about "ive years old and #e #ere #atching the )orld$s

Strongest Man on /S+N. :ne o" the copetitors had "allen doing a car "lip race. Sheloo&ed at e and said, ;ou could do that better than hi, couldn$t you,


3/7

;oung children #ho play one sport year round retard their overall athletic developent

and open theselves up to overuse inuries.

>esearch has deonstrated that athletes #ho speciali-e in one sport at an early age dotend to reach a higher level o" achieveent ?uic&er than their ultisport counterparts, but

they also tend to pea& at an earlier age #hile the ultisport athletes tend to continue toprogress longer. Soe "or#ard thin&ing colleges are considering this in their recruiting as

they vie# the ultisport athletes as having a bigger upside4 than their early speciali-ingrivals. @ust as in any other "ield, i" you don$t spend at least soe tie loo&ing ahead,

you$re in danger o" "alling behind. I try to learn "ro as any sources as possible and

have "ound that the ore I learn the ore I reali-e I don$t &no#. I love seeing &idsiprove and appreciate the opportunity to #or& #ith &ids #ho #ant to iprove.

(lthough I$ not edically trained, y nuber one priority in training young athletes is

the physician$s creedA irst, do no har.4 In &eeping #ith this philosophy, I try to a&e

sure not to give advice or recoendations beyond y scope o" practice. I also

constantly attept to search "or and see& advice in regards to the sa"est and oste""ective training strategies and ethods available. It$s been said that the carpenter #ho

"ollo#s everyone$s advice builds a croo&ed house,4 so I$ care"ul to only a&e changesthat I believe are sound, not "ollo# the ne#est "ad.4

)ith the priority o" doing no har, y goals in training a young athlete are toA

>educe the li&elihood o" inury

Iprove the general health o" the athlete

Iprove the per"orance o" the athlete

ortunately, eeting the "irst goal tends to #or& to#ard eeting the second t#o. Meetingthe third goal ay or ay not #or& to#ard eeting the "irst t#o. It$s possible to iprove

athletes$ per"orance in the short ter but a&e the ore susceptible to inury, thus

severely hapering their per"orance in the long ter. @ust because an athlete isphysically able to per"or a oveent or ta&e a suppleent4 doesn$t necessarily ean

it$s appropriate "or that athlete to do so. I attept to "ollo# an appropriate progression o"

training protocols and a&e sure that an athlete is ready to ove on to the ne%t

progression be"ore doing so. This is soeties coplicated #hen #or&ing #ith groupso" athletes, and adustents have to be ade.


4/7

In order to reduce the li&elihood o" inury, I #ant to a&e sure that the usculos&eletal

syste is "unctioning the #ay it$s supposed to. I #ant the athlete$s oints to have anappropriate range o" otion and the appropriate uscles to provide that otion. Soetrainers=coaches speciali-e in corrective e%ercises and per"or an assessent that can be

very coprehensive in nature. This can be the best #ay to go #hen #or&ing #ith

individual clients. )hen #or&ing #ith a tea, you can o"ten a&e assuptions 7I &no#

that this can be dangerous9 about #hat the athletes #ill need based on their age, gender,and sport. Not ust athletes but people in general tend to "ollo# patterns as "ar as their

bioechanical needs are concerned.

@oints have varying needs o" stability or obility. Mobility can be de"ined as the abilityto ove #hile stability is the ability to resist oveent. (s one goes up the body, there

is an interesting pattern that can be observed. The "eet tend to need ore stability, thean&les ore obility, the &nee ore stability, the hips ore obility, the lubar spine

ore stability, the thoracic spine ore obility, the scapula ore stability, theglenohueral oint ore obility, the elbo#s ore stability, and the #rists ore

obility. There has been soe debate about the scapula needing ore stability or

obility, but ost o" these debates center around stability versus obility in di""erentplanes o" oveent. This debate can be ade "or every oint. or instance, #e #ant our

&nees to be obile in the sagittal plane 7"le% and e%tend9, but #e #ant our &nees to be

stable in the "rontal plane 7le"t to right oveent9 and transverse plane 7rotation9.

So"tball is probably the tea sport #ith the highest li&elihood o" overuse inuries due to

the e%tree onesidedness o" the gae. ;ou thro# #ith one hand and catch #ith theother. Most players s#ing the bat either le"thanded or righthanded. ;ou al#ays run the

bases in a counterclocise direction 7unless you "orget to tag up9. Because o" this, ostso"tball players are une?ually developed #hen coparing their right and le"t sides. This

is ost glaring #ith pitchers. /veryone has seen pitchers #hose pitching ar sees t#ice

the si-e o" their glove ar, but the di""erences can be ore subtle. So"tball playerstypically have di""erences in shoulder and hip rotation due to the echanics involved in

thro#ing a ball and s#inging a bat. )hen you cobine these di""erences #ith the


5/7

postural probles that arise "ro everyday activities outside the #orld o" sports, the

potential "or inury is increased. Teenagers #ho sit at a des& all day tend to have a

&yphotic upper bac& 7"or#ard, sluped shoulders and sun&en chest9 and have hips #ith aliited range o" otion.

;ou ight #onder #hy the potential "or inury is increased #hen a uscle has gro#nand gotten stronger in an athlete. /very oveent that #e a&e is accoplished by a

uscle or group o" uscles shortening or "le%ing and an antagonistic or opposing uscleor group o" uscles lengthening or stretching. ( uscle or group o" uscles ay gro#

or shorten in response to a certain activity in an e""ort to aid in that activity, and the

uscles that are the antagonists "or those uscles #ill lengthen or even shut o"" to aid inthat sae activity. o#ever, there are any other oveents that our body needs to

per"or other than s#inging a bat or thro#ing a ball and #hat$s good "or one oveent

ay not be good "or another.

So"tball players #ill have inuries #hen they attept to a&e oveents that re?uire

their oints to ove in ranges that they are unable to ove in. They #ill also have inuries#hen they attept to a&e oveents that re?uire their uscles to provide otion and

stability #hen they are unable to. These "ailures o" the oints and uscles are due to theadaptations that have been ade "ro oveents 7li&e batting or thro#ing9 ade on a

repetitive basis. )e$ve tal&ed about ho# oints have varying needs o" obility. )hen

one oint does not have ade?uate obility, the athlete tends to copensate by having theoints either above or belo# that oint ove beyond their intended ranges #hile

per"oring various athletic oveents. This hyperobile oint #ill ove beyond the

range o" oveent in #hich it is designed to ove and an inury #ill eventually result.

Inuries #ill also occur siply because o" overuse #ithout ade?uate rest.

Colleyball players can be at ris& "or overuse inuries. I" volleyball players per"ore%cessive repetitions o" the sae oveents #ith the sae side o" the body, they can

e%perience une?ual developent bet#een their le"t and right sides. ( volleyball player#ho serves and hits e%cessively #ith one hand can e%perience any o" the sae issues as

a so"tball player because the oveents are very siilar. Thoracic spine obility is a

high priority "or volleyball and so"tball players because i" the thoracic spine doesn$t

ove enough the lubar spine and=or the shoulder #ill have to ove too uch toper"or the actions needed in these thro#ing or overhead4 sports. Colleyball players

and "eale athletes in general can be at particular ris& "or &nee inuries. Studies have

sho#n that girls are "our to eight ties ore li&ely to e%perience (56 inuries than boys.There are any di""erent reasons theori-ed "or this increased ris& including the angle

"ro the hip to the an&le, ?uadriceps doinance in "eales, decreased hip and an&le

obility, and enstruation.


6/7

one considers athletic oveents that add a visual coponent, but these ?ualities aren$t

necessary "or oveent itsel". Cisual s&ills can be incorporated into training and visual

s&ills training could be considered a separate "ield.

To accoplish y goals o" reducing the li&elihood o" inury, iproving general health,

and iproving per"orance, I need to do t#o things. irst, I a&e sure the athlete isoving correctly, eaning that the oints are able to ove in a proper range o" otion,

the correct uscles provide the "orce in the right se?uence to ove the oints, and theathlete &no#s the proper positions to put her oints in. Second, I a&e sure the athlete is

able to a&e her oints ove #ith the optiu aount o" speed and "orce possible over

the necessary length o" tie. The seven ?ualities necessary "or athletic oveent ustbe addressed to di""erent degrees to a&e sure the athlete oves correctly #ith the

optiu aount o" speed and "orce over the necessary aount o" tie.

I use "our ethods to ensure the athlete$s oints are able to ove in a proper range o"

otion!sel"yo"asical release, sel"oint obili-ation, passive stretching, and dynaic

obility drills. I use these ethods as part o" training and oveent preparation prior toany athletic oveents. Muscle activation techni?ues are used to a&e sure the correct

uscles provide the "orce "or the oveents and these are also used "or oveentpreparation #hen needed. Moveent coaching is used to a&e sure the athlete &no#s the

proper position to put hersel" in and consists o" deonstrating and e%plaining the proper

techni?ue #hen per"oring speci"ic athletic oveents such as uping, landing,starting, and stopping.

Sel"yo"asical release is basically a "or o" sel"assage that can be accoplished #ith

a nuber o" di""erent ipleents. The "oa roller is a personal "avorite. Myo"asical

release is an attept to change the ?uality o" uscle tissue and #ould bene"it any

people, not ust athletes. Sel"oint obili-ation techni?ues are attepts to alter thestructures at the site o" the oint. This alteration is accoplished by the athlete, not by any

physical anipulation by the trainer. +assive stretching involves di""erent techni?uesincluding static stretching and proprioceptive neural "acilitation techni?ues. +assive

stretching certainly has a place and is necessary at ties but is not a techni?ue I use as

o"ten as the other ethods entioned. It is an attept to increase the passive length o" a

uscle.


7/7

:" the seven ?ualities necessary "or oveent, strength is the base that all o" the other

?ualities are built on. )ithout strength, oveent is ipossible. (n optiu strength

level is the nuber one priority. This doesn$t ean the strongest athlete #ill necessarilyhave ore o" the other si% ?ualities, but #ithout a certain level o" strength, the other

?ualities can$t e%ist. (thletes have varying needs o" strength depending on their sport.

They re?uire di""erent levels o" strength in di""erent areas o" their bodies. (thletes havedi""erent needs in all seven ?ualities dependent on their sport. The selection o" the proper

ethods "or training athletes can$t be accoplished #ithout &no#ledge o" the needs o"

the athlete #ithin her sport. The proper selection o" ethods can contribute to developingall o" the seven ?ualities concurrently.

:ther ethods ay be used to "ocus speci"ically on certain ?ualities to the e%clusion o"

the others. 5ertain ethods are inappropriate to use #ith soe athletes i" the athlete isn$t

physically ready to per"or the. In an attept to insure that I do no har,4 I have toa&e sure a proper progression is "ollo#ed. or e%aple, po#er is a cobination o"

strength and speed and can be developed #ith a nuber o" di""erent e%ercises and drills.

(n athlete is put at ris& o" inury #hen certain po#er speci"ic e%ercises are used i" shehasn$t developed an appropriate level o" strength, speed, coordination, balance, and

endurance. +rogra design is a coplicated atter. Many "actors ust be considered,

including but not liited to preparedness o" the athlete, e%ercise selection, load selection,

repetition range, set range, rest periods bet#een sets and sessions, recovery ethods,periodi-ation ethods, proper progressions o" oveents, and oveent tepo.

This is a basic overvie# o" y philosophy "or training young athletes. (dditional detail

in regards to the speci"ic ethods that I use are beyond the scope o" this introduction. My

speci"ic ethods are o"ten odi"ied #hen I becoe a#are o" #hat I believe to be oree""icient ethods. My philosophy isn$t as dynaic as y speci"ic ethods but #ill also

probably be soe#hat altered as I learn ore.

Documents

Training the Young Athlete