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Conditioning Young Athletes
by Tudor O. Bompa and Michael Carrera
Published by: Human Kinetics
304 Pages, 8.50 x 11.00 in
Conditioning for Young Athletes provides coaches, instructors, teachers, and parents of future sport stars the best training advice, exercises, and programs for establishing an overall fitness base and maximizing athletic development for youth.
This authoritative guide includes numerous exercises that safely increase young athletes’ coordination, flexibility, speed, strength, and endurance. It contains a proven regimen geared to three developmental phases, long- and short-term training plans, and specific programs for sports such as baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, soccer, swimming, and track and field.
Tudor Bompa brings you the expertise that has helped train everyone from youth athletes to Olympic champions. Together with Michael Carrera, he provides parents, teachers, and coaches with more than 182 exercises appropriate for children ages 6 to 18. These exercises take into consideration critical factors such as a child’s developmental stage, motor functioning, and sex-specific considerations to ensure that the workouts do not hinder development and growth. Regardless of the sport, Conditioning Young Athletes has you covered with ready-to-use programs for both short-term and long-term development.
Chapter 1 Training Guidelines for Young Athletes
Chapter 2 Stages of Athletic Development
Chapter 3 Monitoring Training
Chapter 4 Flexibility Training
Chapter 5 Speed Training
Chapter 6 Agility and Quickness
Chapter 7 Strength and Power Training
Chapter 8 Endurance Training
Chapter 9 Excelling in Competition
Chapter 10 Fueling the Young Athlete
Chapter 11 Long-Term Training Plans
Chapter 12 Training Myths About Kids
Tudor O. Bompa, PhD, revolutionized Western training methods when he introduced his groundbreaking theory of periodization in Romania in 1963. After adopting his training system, the Eastern Bloc countries dominated international sports through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, Dr. Bompa applied his principle of periodization to the sport of bodybuilding. He has personally trained 11 Olympic medalists (including four gold medalists) and has served as a consultant to coaches and athletes worldwide.
Dr. Bompa’s books on training methods, including Theory and Methodology of Training: The Key to Athletic Performance and Periodization of Training for Sports, have been translated into 17 languages and used in more than 130 countries for training athletes and educating and certifying coaches. Bompa has been invited to speak about training in more than 30 countries and has been awarded certificates of honor and appreciation from such prestigious organizations as the Argentinean Ministry of Culture, the Australian Sports Council, the Spanish Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
A member of the Canadian Olympic Association and the Romanian National Council of Sports, Dr. Bompa is professor emeritus at York University, where he has taught training theories since 1987. He and his wife, Tamara, live in Sharon, Ontario.
Michael Carrera is a certified exercise physiologist and personal trainer with vast experience as a health, fitness, and weight-loss expert. He holds a master’s degree in exercise science and has trained elite athletes, including national-level swimmers and professional hockey players. His education and experience have qualified him to create and administer strength test protocols for athletes in ice hockey, soccer, figure skating, lacrosse, and swimming at the provincial and national levels.
Carrera has contributed to numerous scientific journals, articles, chapters, and manuals in the areas of fitness, health, and sport conditioning. He has published two books and produced DVDs integrating spirituality with weight training and fitness. He coauthored the second edition of Periodization Training for Sports (Human Kinetics, 2005).
Carrera is widely recognized in the media, having appeared as an expert on numerous radio and television programs, including morning shows, specialty channels, and radio. He has been a contributor in national publications such as Men’s Health, Canadian Living, Alive, and the National Post.
Carrera created and implemented corporate wellness programs and health management strategies for top Canadian companies. He has also created more than 14,000 exercise programs for health and fitness websites such as TrueStar Kids and has overseen fitness and weight-loss centers catering to women across Canada.
Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
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Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
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Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
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Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
</>
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
</>
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
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Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
</>
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
</>
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
</>
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
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Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
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Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
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Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
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Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
Save
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
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Speed development during puberty
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Speed-Training Model for Athletic Formation
Speed development increases during puberty. Most children - both boys and girls - experience an acceleration in speed development during this stage. Such improvement may relate to increases in body and muscle size.
Strength gains positively influence speed development. From puberty on, the testosterone level in boys starts to increase dramatically, as does the ability to increase strength. The direct result of strength gains is improvement in both running speed and movement time.
Although boys show clear improvements from the later stages of pubescence, girls seem to plateau in their rate of speed development. Some speed gains can result from improved nervous system coordination of the muscles involved in quick actions, but most are the consequence of strength development and the ability of the muscles to contract more powerfully. As a result, the arms can drive more forcefully and the legs can push against the ground with more power.
Gains in upper-body power, especially the arms, improve movement time, reflecting the ability to throw the ball farther or bat more powerfully. On the other hand, improved leg strength translates into kicking the ball with more power. For most team sports in which running speed is important, the ability to quickly change directions is also significant. This skill is the result of improved nervous system coordination and strength gains of the muscles involved.
Scope of Speed Training
To improve speed to higher levels, speed training during puberty has to be specific. However, it should still be a part of multilateral athletic development, and children should do it in connection with developing other abilities.
During puberty, quickness and acceleration training lead to better nervous system adaptation, which results in enhanced coordination of the muscles performing the arm and leg actions. As strength starts to improve, especially for boys, movement time improves, which influences upper-body quickness and running speed. Similarly, as leg strength improves, children start to push more forcefully against the ground and are able to drive their bodies forward much faster.
Although coed speed training may occur during prepubescence, we advise that you separate the sexes starting at pubescence. Boys become stronger from puberty on, which positively influences the rate of limb movement and speed. As a result of these differences, it is better for girls and boys to train in separate groups.
Teaching Correct Running Technique
To improve running efficiency, athletes should work on running form. A crucial component in achieving running efficiency is good arm drive. The arms are driven back, forward, and up to the face level. Leg frequency increases as the rate of arm drive increases because the rate of leg movement is led and coordinated by arm drive and frequency. The thigh of the driving leg (for our example, this is the right leg) should reach a horizontal line; from this point on the foot of the same leg is projected forward and down. The back of the foot lands on the ground through a brushing action. As the body moves forward, the other (left) leg is driven forward. The right leg is now pushing against the ground, projecting the body forward. These actions are repeated for as long as the sprints last.
As children perform these exercises, the coach or teacher should constantly observe them for good form - keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, driving the arms simultaneously, and bringing the knees high. The position of the body should be vertical, and the eyes should be focused ahead. The foot should strike the ground quickly, coming underneath the body as it moves forward. The running step has the following phases:
- The propulsion phase, in which the foot pushes against the ground with power to drive the body quickly forward.
- The drive phase, in which the opposite leg drives forward with the thigh horizontal. The opposite arm also drives along the body, with the hand at shoulder height (arms are bent 90 degrees). It is essential to keep the ankle locked until the landing phase.
- The landing phase, in which the foot strikes the ground and quickly comes underneath the body.
- The recovery phase, in which the heel of the propelling leg quickly drives toward the buttock while the opposite arm quickly moves forward.
Program Design
As children approach postpubescence, they can increase the total amount of speed training. Whether using play, games, relays, or even sprinting routines, they can progressively increase the distance run with high velocity from 20 to 50 or 60 meters or yards.
Speed training can be fun for children and instructors alike. Children can perform a variety of exercises involving play, games, and especially relays. Instructors can organize relays in ways that use many exercises, such as sprints, sprints with turns, runs around cones with direction changes, carrying or throwing medicine balls, or jumps over safe equipment at a low height.
Instructors should also organize special exercises that improve reaction time. The objective is to decrease the time it takes for the child to move a limb - for instance, the arms and legs in running or the arms in throwing a ball. Such a goal can be achieved in two simple phases:
- During the early part of improving movement time, the instructor positions herself in front of the children, facing them. At her signal - visual (clap) or sound (whistle) - the children perform the task. Because children can see the instructor, they can start the action faster.
- As children improve their reaction time, after a few months or one to two years, the instructor selects a position behind the children so she can see the children but they cannot see her. Now the children will rely on sound only. The purpose of this exercise is the same: At the signal the children perform the task as quickly as possible.
Parallel with speed and movement time exercises, children should participate in simple exercises for power improvement. For the upper body, they can use a variety of medicine ball throws. Tennis and baseball throws for distance, alternating the arms for balanced development, are fun and beneficial for developing power in the upper body. Children can develop leg power by performing simple jumps on, off, and over low and safe equipment. (Refer to chapter 7.)
As postpubescence approaches, children can progressively increase to the maximum intensity (speed) and power of exercises to improve neuromuscular coordination. As children show better adaptation to training they can also increase the number of repetitions, depending on their work tolerance.
A critical element in speed training is the duration of the rest interval between repetitions. Because the ability to repeat high-quality exercises depends on the freshness of the neuromuscular system, the rest interval between repetitions must be as long as necessary to almost fully recover and restore the fuel needed to produce energy.
As table 5.3 illustrates, instructors can use relays for developing speed in pubescent children, and these relays can be of longer distance than those used for prepubertal children: 10 to 30 meters or yards, repeated four to six times, with a rest interval of two or three minutes. Children can repeat speed training in a straight line of 20 to 50 meters or yards five to eight times with a longer rest interval (four or five minutes) between each repetition. During the rest, the children should stretch the muscles for better relaxation. For team sports, children can perform speed training with changes of direction, turns, and stop and go for 5 to 25 meters or yards, repeated 5 to 10 times, with a rest of two or three minutes. Performing game-specific skills fast also develops specific speed.
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Training myths
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull.
Myth 2: Train the Stabilizer Muscles
Stabilizers are relatively small muscles that anchor or stabilize the position of bones to give prime movers a firm base from which to pull. For instance, during knee extension, the popliteus muscle (behind the knee joint) contracts isometrically to stabilize the thigh for effective movement of the calf. Similarly, during elbow flexion (e.g., a preacher curl), the shoulders, upper arms, and abdominal muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the shoulders and upper arms, giving the biceps brachii muscles a stable base from which to pull. Other similar muscles, often called fixators, are stimulated to stabilize part of a limb or body in order to facilitate better mechanical work.
For many years, some argued for the need to train the stabilizer muscles and believed that improper development of the stabilizers could limit the maximum mechanical efficiency of the prime movers. As with balance training, some individuals figured that stabilizer training could be another chance to gain fame, and sport equipment manufacturers welcomed another opportunity to create and promote new training gadgets. The most popular piece of equipment for training the stabilizers is probably the stability ball. People in North American fitness clubs rarely do the traditional bench press anymore. Worse, these stability balls have made their way into athlete-development programs. All of a sudden the old-fashioned bench, used for decades for bench press exercises, became a relic.
Many gadgets have been created in addition to the stability ball, and fashion influences the equipment in use. The use of new training gadgets is so exaggerated that you may ask yourself whether this is sport training or circus training! Exercises that require users to balance on top of a stability ball while performing various dumbbell exercises are constantly being invented. Although certain skill is required to perform these circus-like movements, the benefit of such exercises on athletic improvement is questionable at best.Improvements will occur, but the improvements will apply only to exercises performed on the stability ball, and very little transfer to the sporting arena will occur.More important, some exercises performed on stability balls are dangerous, especially for inexperienced lifters (see figure 12.2). Why use such exercises during the earlier stages of development? Injuries have occurred, and legal suits against instructors and the producers of stability balls may follow.
A press exercise on a stability ball may be dangerous for an inexperienced athlete.
These exaggerations about the need for training the stabilizers are a waste of time and money. The human body is a perfect machine, the efficiency of which continues to marvel scientists everywhere. The body is very plastic and adapts to many environments - both good and bad. Once the prime movers of the sport have been identified, one can create a progressive program that strengthens all the muscles of the body by choosing movement patterns that are required in the sport. Neither coaches nor athletes need to worry about anything more, including specifically training the stabilizer muscles, thanks to a law of physiology called overflow of activation, or irradiation.
We can use a practical example to illustrate irradiation. As prime movers perform a training task, the muscles surrounding the joint are also activated. In other words, an overflow of activation involves not only the synergistic muscles but also the stabilizer muscles. For instance, the quadriceps muscles are stimulated to perform the task of leg extension. This action also arouses and activates other muscles, including a stabilizer called the popliteus (located on the back of the knee joint), ensuring stability and the transfer of power across the joint (Enoka, 2008; Howard and Enoka, 1991; Zijdewind and Kernell, 2001). This means that during knee extension the quadriceps contract to overcome resistance and, at the same time, the popliteus contracts to stabilize the knee joint.
This example shows that as the muscles in a region are stimulated to contract, so are the stabilizers. Consequently, contraction increases the strength of not only the targeted muscles, the prime movers (quadriceps), but also the irradiated muscles (popliteus). Therefore, any additional time spent training the stabilizers via new gadgets and circus-type exercises is a waste. Take the time to do what is necessary and not what is new! Do you want to improve your training efficiency? Be more careful with the exercises you use.
The promoters of the much-hyped new trends in stabilizer and core-strength training claim that the main benefit is injury prevention. Once again, this allegation is anecdotal. Well-informed individuals know that most sport and fitness injuries occur in the ligaments and tendons, not the muscles. A visit to a sport injury clinic will quickly prove this. Stabilizers are at the bottom of the list of frequently injured muscles. Why, then, waste so much time and money on something of very little concern?
Once again, the exaggerated need for exercises for the stabilizers comes at the expense of training adaptation. The more exercises you employ in training, the lower the number of sets per exercise. As a result, adaptation will be very low and training improvements will be more than questionable. Remember that it is not the number of exercises that is important but rather the movement patterns they elicit. So train the prime movers and train them well.
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Athletic formation stage of development
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing.
Athletic Formation - 11 to 14 Years of Age
It is appropriate to moderately increase the intensity of training during the athletic formation stage of development. Although most athletes are still vulnerable to injuries, their bodies and capacities are rapidly developing. During this stage, the cardiorespiratory system continues to develop and tolerance to lactic acid accumulation gradually improves.
It is important to understand that variances in individual performance may be the result of differences in growth. Some athletes may be experiencing a rapid growth spurt, which can explain why they lack coordination during particular drills. To account for this, emphasize developing skills and motor abilities rather than performing and winning.
The following guidelines will help an instructor design training programs that are appropriate for the athletic formation stage.
- Encourage participation in a variety of exercises from the specific sport and from other sports, which will help the athletes improve their multilateral base and prepare them for competition in their selected sport. Progressively increase the volume and intensity of training.
- Design drills that introduce athletes to fundamental tactics and strategies and that reinforce skill development.
- Help athletes refine and automate the basic skills they learned during the initiation stage and learn skills that are slightly more complex.
- Emphasize improving flexibility, coordination, and balance.
- Emphasize ethics and fair play during training sessions and competitions.
- Provide all children with opportunities to participate at a challenging level.
- Introduce the athletes to exercises that develop general strength. Athletes should begin developing the foundation for future strength and power during this stage. Emphasize developing the core sections of the body - in particular the hips, lower back, and abdomen - as well as muscles at the extremities - shoulder joints, arms, and legs. Most exercises should involve body weight and light equipment, such as medicine balls, resistance bands, and light dumbbells. Refer to chapter 7 for multilateral strength programs.
- Continue developing aerobic capacity. A solid endurance base will enable athletes to cope more effectively with the demands of training and competition during the specialization stage.
- Introduce athletes to moderate anaerobic training, which is new to athletes in the athletic formation stage. This will help them adapt to high-intensity anaerobic training, which takes on greater importance in most sports during the specialization stage. Athletes should not compete in events that place excessive stress on the anaerobic lactic acid energy system, such as the 200-meter sprint and 400-meter dash in track and field. They are usually better suited for short sprints of less than 80 meters, which involve the anaerobic alactic energy system, and endurance events of longer distances (e.g., 800 meters and longer) at slower speeds, which test aerobic capacities.
- Avoid competitions that place too much stress on the body. For example, most young athletes do not have sufficient muscular development to perform a triple jump with the correct technique. As a result, some may experience compression injuries from the shock that the body must absorb somewhere during the stepping and hopping segments of the jump.
- To improve concentration, introduce athletes to more complex drills. Encourage them to develop strategies for self-regulation and visualization. Introduce formalized mental training.
- Introduce athletes to a variety of fun competitive situations that allow them to apply various techniques and tactics. Young athletes like to compete; however, it is important to de-emphasize winning. Structure competitions to reinforce skill development. For example, base the objective of a javelin-throwing competition on accuracy and technique rather than on how far athletes can throw the javelin.
- Provide time for play and socializing with peers.
The fast improvement in coordination that occurs during prepubescence sometimes slows or even slightly regresses during pubescence. Growth spurts of up to four or five inches (10-12 cm) per year, specific to this stage of children's development, normally occur with disturbances in coordination. This is mostly because limb growth, especially in the legs, changes the proportions between body parts and their leverage and, consequently, the ability to coordinate their actions proficiently.
Although these trends are evident in all children, those who practice sport continue to gain in the quality of coordination compared with those who do not. During pubescence, balance and the accuracy and timing of physical actions continue to improve in these children. Girls tend to improve visual orientation and rhythm of motions better than boys because of sex differences and because girls have a more natural talent for dance and artistic sports.
Differences in coordination abilities are also visible between early- and late-maturing children. Early maturers go through a slight coordination crisis, which may temporarily affect the fine coordination of physical actions (Sharma and Hirtz, 1991). Consequently, because of their fast rhythm of physical growth, early maturers need more exercises for coordination improvement than do late maturers. The key is to introduce a variety of exercises that require balance, changes in rhythm, and spatial orientation. The athletes should feel that they are in control of the exercise if improvements are to be made. Choosing exercises that are too easy or too difficult for the athletes will stunt progress. The best program for improving coordination includes a variety of exercises and games that are at the skill level of the individual athletes or groups of athletes.
Learn more about Conditioning Young Athletes.
Quick leg action and agility exercises
Forward Crossover. Focus: quick leg action, agility. Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction. Repeat.
Forward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses in front of the left leg for 10 meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Backward Crossover
Focus: quick leg action, agility
- Moving left, the right leg crosses behind the left leg for five to eight meters or yards in each direction.
- Repeat.
Carioca
Focus: agility, quick feet
- Quickly shuffling sideways facing in one direction, perform 3 to 4 forward crossovers, followed by 3 to 4 backward crossovers. You should cover a distance of 8 to 10 meters sideways, facing one way, forward crossover, backward crossover.
- Quickly turn around at the end of the 10-meter distance and repeat the same actions facing the other way.
- Complete at least 2 to 3 sets facing both ways.
Foot Touches
Focus: quick footwork, agility
- While standing, perform these movements by lifting the feet to meet the hands. touch the left hand to the right heel in front of the body, then the right hand to the left heel in front of the body, then the left hand to the right heel behind the body, then the right hand to the left heel behind the body.
- Repeat as quickly as possible.
Note: Simple reaction-time training should be part of most activities the children perform. Reacting to the demands of play will result in a reaction-time training effect.
Go, Go, Go, Stop
Focus: reaction time, acceleration, deceleration
- An athlete stands 10 meters or yards ahead of the remaining participants, facing away from the group.
- The caller calls out "Go" as many times as he likes and then calls out "Stop."
- At "Go," the runners run toward the caller, and at "Stop," they freeze on the spot.
- After calling out "Stop," the caller turns to see whether anyone is still moving.
- The last person caught moving becomes the caller for the next round.
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