YOUTH PERFORMANCE TRAINING

In my experience, performance training for youth athletes tends to be an

underutilized concept during the stages of their athletic development.

Performance training is an exceptional way to assist in the growth and

development process of youth athletes.

This also offers them the opportunity to gain measured progress confidently and consistently to be able deal with sport demands.

Periodization, which is the long-term plan of progressing training

protocols, is key in this growth and development. Implementation and

integration of a periodization plan is paramount for young athletes if long term

success is to be attained. Years of diligent training would be required for the

body and mind to adjust before performance goals are achieved to the fullest of

the athlete’s potential.

The challenge during this period is getting the young athletes to adopt the positive habits of physical, mental, and nutritional preparation as they play a key role in maximizing their own performance and development.

Athletes would potentially be at a disadvantage if they fail to possess an acceptable level of all three traits.

Therefore, the consistent maintenance and progression in these areas of athletics become a necessity in the development process.

The novice athlete could potentially enhance his or her athletic ability using more

general methods of training.

These training methods would still elicit a favorable adaptation response, while requiring little stimuli, if paired with some type of a periodization plan during the early development phases. Having built a good foundational base, the now more experienced athlete, to enhance their athletic ability even further, will need to use the concept known as specificity training.

This principle would require a customized training approach more closely fitting

the athlete’s desired performance outcome.

Specificity training demands that the athlete is involved in training that maximizes the adaptation to more sport specific movements like those during competitive play.

This effectively increases the probability of the athlete’s ability to execute plays with more precision and timing.

Athletes who play sports with more frequency and at a high level, consequently,

place great demands on their physical and mental capabilities.

Their training regimen and supporting habits, out of necessity, will contrast in comparison to

sports or activities with less demands. Some examples of these include training

intensity, recovery protocols and psychological habits and practices.

When there is lack of understanding about the direct benefits of performance

training in the development of young athletes, coaches and parents tend to have

their teams or child participate in more skills and/or technical training. The

thought is that technical skills will provide the most immediate benefit while

needing the least resources. As such, technical skill drills become a more

emphasized training aspect during the development process for many young

athletes.

I am not saying these are unimportant skills to hone. In fact, I would agree with

the idea that technical skills training should be an intentionally frequent habit.

However, since strength and mental focus are also included in the training

process, all successful athletes display these abilities in relative amounts. Having

a more equal ratio between these traits, especially in physical skill-based sports,

allows said athlete to perform at his or her potential best.

Since the goal of performance training is to create a more complete athlete with potential for long-

term growth, the roles of physical training, mental training and nutritional training become more crucial during the process of development.

These factors may also contribute to transforming specific areas of weakness into strengths to

gain even the slightest of an advantage during competition.

With physically demanding sports, athletes are expected to display moderate

degrees of relative strength, power, endurance, speed, etc. needed for

competition.

There is a baseline or standard of performance for most sports and

having inadequate physical training for the rigors of that sport is detrimental to

the athlete’s individual long-term success. Injuries during play increase in

likelihood if there is a physical conditioning deficiency and will likely be a more frequent occurrence when there is little to no physical training done to mitigate against said injuries.

Performance training for youth athletes must be considered a necessity as it is an

important factor which aids in the development of the athlete’s ability to perform

to their highest potential.

Although the primary objective of performance training is to increase physical capabilities and capacities of an athlete, factors such as nutrition and the psychological demands of that sport should also be programmed into phases of their development.

The long term physical and mental preparations during these developing stages

shape the foundation for more permanent change in an athlete’s long-term growth.