Training Young Athletes: The Philosophy of a Part-Time Trainer and Full-Time Dad

By Kelly Clineville Published: March 3, 2010Posted in: Sports TrainingTags: athlete, clineville, dad, training, transition

I used to be an athlete. Not a great one but an athlete all the sa e. I played ultiple sports!so e better than others. My dad li"ted and #as ore interested in staying physically "it than ost o" y "riends$ "athers. I noticed this "ro an early age, and having an e%ercise roo in the house allo#ed e to be a#are o" the need and bene"its o" e%ercise "or the sa&e o" e%ercise. I started li"ting around age t#elve, and by the ti e I #as in high school, I #as stronger and "aster than ost o" y class ates. My hand'eye coordination #asn$t any better, so y gross athletic s&ills didn$t translate as #ell in baseball, bas&etball, and soccer as they ight have in trac&, #restling, or "ootball. I #ent to a very s all school #here baseball, soccer, and bas&etball #ere the only sports available. In college, I played in both intra ural and adult leagues. ( "e# years a"ter college, I et y beauti"ul #i"e and her daughter and #e #ere arried. )e soon had another little girl. My transition "ro athlete to so ething else #as progressing. I #as 2* #hen I happened to stu ble across a +o#erli"ting ,S( aga-ine and started reading the articles. I #as particularly i pressed #ith the ethods o" so e o" the ore "a ous po#erli"ters and the con.ugate ethod. I continued li"ting and had even gathered so e reading aterial along the #ay li&e the Secrets o" Soviet Sports Training, The Bodybuilding /ncyclopedia by (hhhnold, and +o#er by 0red 1at"ield. The +o#erli"ting ,S( articles in particular and the in"or ation available on the internet ade e loo& at strength training in another #ay.

(t 30 years old, I "elt the itch to co pete in so ething, so I started co peting in po#erli"ting. My transition "ro athlete to so ething else slo#ed. I did this "or a "e# years until y youngest daughter started playing sports. It #as obvious that she loved playing, but it #as al ost pain"ul to #atch her run so eti es because she #as so 2&noc&3&need.4 This led e to study athletic training "ro a di""erent standpoint. I learned that y daughter #asn$t 2&noc&3&need4 but that her &nees #ere in valgus and her an&les in eversion. It #as obvious "ro #atching her that she see ed to be at ris& "or a &nee in.ury, and y research revealed that "e ale athletes in general #ere uch ore li&ely to have (56 tears. This pro pted e to research #hat could be done to a&e her less li&ely to have a &nee in.ury. I had helped y little brother train years be"ore, but #hen I started researching "or y daughter, I developed a healthy789 obsession #ith per"or ance enhance ent. My oldest daughter played so e sports but #asn$t as interested in athletics as y youngest. My youngest really en.oyed playing sports and going to y po#erli"ting eets. I still re e ber #hen she #as about "ive years old and #e #ere #atching the )orld$s Strongest Man on /S+N. :ne o" the co petitors had "allen doing a car "lip race. She loo&ed at e and said, 2;ou could do that better than hi , couldn$t you, <addy84 I replied, 2I don$t &no#. Those cars are real heavy.4 She got an e%tre ely surprised loo& on her "ace, loo&ed bac& at the television, loo&ed at e, and as&ed, 2(re those real en or are they robots84 (s she gre# older and started transitioning "ro recreational sports to travel sports, I "ound that not only did I not have enough ti e to co pete, but it #as di""icult to "ind ti e to li"t at all. )hen I #ent to the gy , it #as to train her. (s all dads &no#, so eti es you end up coaching your child$s tea , and I #as no e%ception. My transition "ro dad=athlete to dad=coach and trainer #as co plete. I used the &no#ledge I had gained "ro training her to train the tea . I constantly read and researched, so the training progra s #ere al#ays tin&ered #ith. I "ound that not only did I en.oy helping y daughter, but I en.oyed helping other people eet their athletic goals as #ell. My career #as in e ergency ental health assess ent, but I "ound ysel" doing so e athletic training on a part3ti e basis. I$ currently #or&ing #ith a travel so"tball tea and a high school volleyball tea . I$ also "inding ti e to train ysel", #hich I believe is a necessity #hen training others. )hat "ollo#s is an overvie# o" y current philosophy o" training young athletes. I #rote this initially to give to the "a ilies o" the &ids I$ll be #or&ing #ith so that they #ould have so e idea o" #hat to e%pect "ro e. I$ sure there are any dads #ho have had si ilar .ourneys, and I #ould encourage the to put their philosophy to paper as it ay help to give guidance to their progra design. (thletic per"or ance enhance ent is an e%citing and dyna ic "ield. More athletes are reali-ing at increasingly younger ages that si ply playing their sport #ithout training outside o" their sport decreases their chances o" success"ully co peting at the level they desire. I believe that this has also led to the un"ortunate practice o" early speciali-ation.

;oung children #ho play one sport year round retard their overall athletic develop ent and open the selves up to overuse in.uries. >esearch has de onstrated that athletes #ho speciali-e in one sport at an early age do tend to reach a higher level o" achieve ent ?uic&er than their ultisport counterparts, but they also tend to pea& at an earlier age #hile the ultisport athletes tend to continue to progress longer. So e "or#ard thin&ing colleges are considering this in their recruiting as they vie# the ultisport athletes as having a bigger 2upside4 than their early speciali-ing rivals. @ust as in any other "ield, i" you don$t spend at least so e ti e loo&ing ahead, you$re in danger o" "alling behind. I try to learn "ro as any sources as possible and have "ound that the ore I learn the ore I reali-e I don$t &no#. I love seeing &ids i prove and appreciate the opportunity to #or& #ith &ids #ho #ant to i prove. (lthough I$ not edically trained, y nu ber one priority in training young athletes is the physician$s creedA 20irst, do no har .4 In &eeping #ith this philosophy, I try to a&e sure not to give advice or reco endations beyond y scope o" practice. I also constantly atte pt to search "or and see& advice in regards to the sa"est and ost e""ective training strategies and ethods available. It$s been said that 2the carpenter #ho "ollo#s everyone$s advice builds a croo&ed house,4 so I$ care"ul to only a&e changes that I believe are sound, not "ollo# the 2ne#est "ad.4 )ith the priority o" doing no har , B >educe the li&elihood o" in.ury B I prove the general health o" the athlete B I prove the per"or ance o" the athlete 0ortunately, eeting the "irst goal tends to #or& to#ard eeting the second t#o. Meeting the third goal ay or ay not #or& to#ard eeting the "irst t#o. It$s possible to i prove athletes$ per"or ance in the short ter but a&e the ore susceptible to in.ury, thus severely ha pering their per"or ance in the long ter . @ust because an athlete is physically able to per"or a ove ent or ta&e a 2supple ent4 doesn$t necessarily ean it$s appropriate "or that athlete to do so. I atte pt to "ollo# an appropriate progression o" training protocols and a&e sure that an athlete is ready to ove on to the ne%t progression be"ore doing so. This is so eti es co plicated #hen #or&ing #ith groups o" athletes, and ad.ust ents have to be ade. y goals in training a young athlete are toA

In order to reduce the li&elihood o" in.ury, I #ant to a&e sure that the usculos&eletal syste is "unctioning the #ay it$s supposed to. I #ant the athlete$s .oints to have an appropriate range o" otion and the appropriate uscles to provide that otion. So e trainers=coaches speciali-e in corrective e%ercises and per"or an assess ent that can be very co prehensive in nature. This can be the best #ay to go #hen #or&ing #ith individual clients. )hen #or&ing #ith a tea , you can o"ten a&e assu ptions 7I &no# that this can be dangerous9 about #hat the athletes #ill need based on their age, gender, and sport. Not .ust athletes but people in general tend to "ollo# patterns as "ar as their bio echanical needs are concerned. @oints have varying needs o" stability or obility. Mobility can be de"ined as the ability to ove #hile stability is the ability to resist ove ent. (s one goes up the body, there is an interesting pattern that can be observed. The "eet tend to need ore stability, the an&les ore obility, the &nee ore stability, the hips ore obility, the lu bar spine ore stability, the thoracic spine ore obility, the scapula ore stability, the glenohu eral .oint ore obility, the elbo#s ore stability, and the #rists ore obility. There has been so e debate about the scapula needing ore stability or obility, but ost o" these debates center around stability versus obility in di""erent planes o" ove ent. This debate can be ade "or every .oint. 0or instance, #e #ant our &nees to be obile in the sagittal plane 7"le% and e%tend9, but #e #ant our &nees to be stable in the "rontal plane 7le"t to right ove ent9 and transverse plane 7rotation9. So"tball is probably the tea sport #ith the highest li&elihood o" overuse in.uries due to the e%tre e one3sidedness o" the ga e. ;ou thro# #ith one hand and catch #ith the other. Most players s#ing the bat either le"t3handed or right3handed. ;ou al#ays run the bases in a countercloc&#ise direction 7unless you "orget to tag up9. Because o" this, ost so"tball players are une?ually developed #hen co paring their right and le"t sides. This is ost glaring #ith pitchers. /veryone has seen pitchers #hose pitching ar see s t#ice the si-e o" their glove ar , but the di""erences can be ore subtle. So"tball players typically have di""erences in shoulder and hip rotation due to the echanics involved in thro#ing a ball and s#inging a bat. )hen you co bine these di""erences #ith the

postural proble s that arise "ro everyday activities outside the #orld o" sports, the potential "or in.ury is increased. Teenagers #ho sit at a des& all day tend to have a &yphotic upper bac& 7"or#ard, slu ped shoulders and sun&en chest9 and have hips #ith a li ited range o" otion. ;ou ight #onder #hy the potential "or in.ury is increased #hen a uscle has gro#n and gotten stronger in an athlete. /very ove ent that #e a&e is acco plished by a uscle or group o" uscles shortening or "le%ing and an antagonistic or opposing uscle or group o" uscles lengthening or stretching. ( uscle or group o" uscles ay gro# or shorten in response to a certain activity in an e""ort to aid in that activity, and the uscles that are the antagonists "or those uscles #ill lengthen or even shut o"" to aid in that sa e activity. 1o#ever, there are any other ove ents that our body needs to per"or other than s#inging a bat or thro#ing a ball and #hat$s good "or one ove ent ay not be good "or another. So"tball players #ill have in.uries #hen they atte pt to a&e ove ents that re?uire their .oints to ove in ranges that they are unable to ove in. They #ill also have in.uries #hen they atte pt to a&e ove ents that re?uire their uscles to provide otion and stability #hen they are unable to. These "ailures o" the .oints and uscles are due to the adaptations that have been ade "ro ove ents 7li&e batting or thro#ing9 ade on a repetitive basis. )e$ve tal&ed about ho# .oints have varying needs o" obility. )hen one .oint does not have ade?uate obility, the athlete tends to co pensate by having the .oints either above or belo# that .oint ove beyond their intended ranges #hile per"or ing various athletic ove ents. This hyper obile .oint #ill ove beyond the range o" ove ent in #hich it is designed to ove and an in.ury #ill eventually result. In.uries #ill also occur si ply because o" overuse #ithout ade?uate rest. Colleyball players can be at ris& "or overuse in.uries. I" volleyball players per"or e%cessive repetitions o" the sa e ove ents #ith the sa e side o" the body, they can e%perience une?ual develop ent bet#een their le"t and right sides. ( volleyball player #ho serves and hits e%cessively #ith one hand can e%perience any o" the sa e issues as a so"tball player because the ove ents are very si ilar. Thoracic spine obility is a high priority "or volleyball and so"tball players because i" the thoracic spine doesn$t ove enough the lu bar spine and=or the shoulder #ill have to ove too uch to per"or the actions needed in these thro#ing or 2overhead4 sports. Colleyball players and "e ale athletes in general can be at particular ris& "or &nee in.uries. Studies have sho#n that girls are "our to eight ti es ore li&ely to e%perience (56 in.uries than boys. There are any di""erent reasons theori-ed "or this increased ris& including the angle "ro the hip to the an&le, ?uadriceps do inance in "e ales, decreased hip and an&le obility, and enstruation. <ecreasing ?uad do inance and increasing hip and an&le obility are high priority ite s "or e #hen I design progra s "or "e ale athletes. I consider there to be seven ?ualities necessary "or athletic ove ent. These ?ualities are strength, speed, po#er, "le%ibility, endurance, coordination, and balance. So e #ould argue that po#er is si ply a co bination o" speed and strength, but "or training purposes, I believe it best to consider po#er a separate ?uality. :ther ?ualities co e into play #hen

one considers athletic ove ents that add a visual co ponent, but these ?ualities aren$t necessary "or ove ent itsel". Cisual s&ills can be incorporated into training and visual s&ills training could be considered a separate "ield. To acco plish y goals o" reducing the li&elihood o" in.ury, i proving general health, and i proving per"or ance, I need to do t#o things. 0irst, I a&e sure the athlete is oving correctly, eaning that the .oints are able to ove in a proper range o" otion, the correct uscles provide the "orce in the right se?uence to ove the .oints, and the athlete &no#s the proper positions to put her .oints in. Second, I a&e sure the athlete is able to a&e her .oints ove #ith the opti u a ount o" speed and "orce possible over the necessary length o" ti e. The seven ?ualities necessary "or athletic ove ent ust be addressed to di""erent degrees to a&e sure the athlete oves correctly #ith the opti u a ount o" speed and "orce over the necessary a ount o" ti e. I use "our ethods to ensure the athlete$s .oints are able to ove in a proper range o" otion!sel"3 yo"asical release, sel"3.oint obili-ation, passive stretching, and dyna ic obility drills. I use these ethods as part o" training and ove ent preparation prior to any athletic ove ents. Muscle activation techni?ues are used to a&e sure the correct uscles provide the "orce "or the ove ents and these are also used "or ove ent preparation #hen needed. Move ent coaching is used to a&e sure the athlete &no#s the proper position to put hersel" in and consists o" de onstrating and e%plaining the proper techni?ue #hen per"or ing speci"ic athletic ove ents such as .u ping, landing, starting, and stopping. Sel"3 yo"asical release is basically a "or o" sel"3 assage that can be acco plished #ith a nu ber o" di""erent i ple ents. The "oa roller is a personal "avorite. Myo"asical release is an atte pt to change the ?uality o" uscle tissue and #ould bene"it any people, not .ust athletes. Sel"3.oint obili-ation techni?ues are atte pts to alter the structures at the site o" the .oint. This alteration is acco plished by the athlete, not by any physical anipulation by the trainer. +assive stretching involves di""erent techni?ues including static stretching and proprioceptive neural "acilitation techni?ues. +assive stretching certainly has a place and is necessary at ti es but is not a techni?ue I use as o"ten as the other ethods entioned. It is an atte pt to increase the passive length o" a uscle. <yna ic obility drills are atte pts to ta&e the body through dyna ic activities that increase the length o" a uscle in ove ent. They can also increase strength, speed, coordination, balance, po#er, and endurance depending on the athlete$s condition. Muscle activation techni?ues are atte pts to isolate and activate a uscle. This is done in an atte pt to 2#a&e up4 the uscle so it #ill be used in other ove ents that don$t isolate the uscle in ?uestion. So e techni?ues are co binations o" all o" these ethods. )hen used as ove ent preparation, all o" these techni?ues serve to raise the core body te perature and pri e the central nervous syste to operate at pea& e""iciency. Most o" these techni?ues have progressions that can be "ollo#ed depending on the needs o" the athlete.

:" the seven ?ualities necessary "or ove ent, strength is the base that all o" the other ?ualities are built on. )ithout strength, ove ent is i possible. (n opti u strength level is the nu ber one priority. This doesn$t ean the strongest athlete #ill necessarily have ore o" the other si% ?ualities, but #ithout a certain level o" strength, the other ?ualities can$t e%ist. (thletes have varying needs o" strength depending on their sport. They re?uire di""erent levels o" strength in di""erent areas o" their bodies. (thletes have di""erent needs in all seven ?ualities dependent on their sport. The selection o" the proper ethods "or training athletes can$t be acco plished #ithout &no#ledge o" the needs o" the athlete #ithin her sport. The proper selection o" ethods can contribute to developing all o" the seven ?ualities concurrently. :ther ethods ay be used to "ocus speci"ically on certain ?ualities to the e%clusion o" the others. 5ertain ethods are inappropriate to use #ith so e athletes i" the athlete isn$t physically ready to per"or the . In an atte pt to insure that I 2do no har ,4 I have to a&e sure a proper progression is "ollo#ed. 0or e%a ple, po#er is a co bination o" strength and speed and can be developed #ith a nu ber o" di""erent e%ercises and drills. (n athlete is put at ris& o" in.ury #hen certain po#er speci"ic e%ercises are used i" she hasn$t developed an appropriate level o" strength, speed, coordination, balance, and endurance. +rogra design is a co plicated atter. Many "actors ust be considered, including but not li ited to preparedness o" the athlete, e%ercise selection, load selection, repetition range, set range, rest periods bet#een sets and sessions, recovery ethods, periodi-ation ethods, proper progressions o" ove ents, and ove ent te po. This is a basic overvie# o" y philosophy "or training young athletes. (dditional detail in regards to the speci"ic ethods that I use are beyond the scope o" this introduction. My speci"ic ethods are o"ten odi"ied #hen I beco e a#are o" #hat I believe to be ore e""icient ethods. My philosophy isn$t as dyna ic as y speci"ic ethods but #ill also probably be so e#hat altered as I learn ore.