Performance training

I found this article quite interesting. I wonder how many kids are involved in this sort of thing. Aside from team practices, I also wonder what kids are doing to prepare for the fall season and tournaments. My child, for example, is going to a camp and will do some jogging, but that's about it.

(The full article is at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/fashi ... tness.html.)

TRAIN LIKE A PRO, EVEN IF YOU'RE 12
By Catherine Saint Louis
The New York Times
Published: July 19, 2007

BRACE yourselves, parents. Besides shuttling the kids to cello lessons, algebra tutoring, soccer matches and basketball practice, there’s one more activity emerging to give prepubescent go-getters a leg up these days: sports performance training.

Because many team coaches don’t have the time or the expertise in exercise science to make their troops faster and stronger, specialty programs — part gym, part pro-training camp — have stepped in to fill the need. For roughly $35 a session, they provide rigorous conditioning for any aspiring child, regardless of ability, using the kinds of practices that have set apart athletes like Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters.

Sports performance training is becoming de rigueur for ambitious stars in the making or unfit youngsters whose parents want to shore up their confidence. Great athletes aren’t born, they’re made — or so goes a slogan for Velocity Sports Performance, one of the leading centers that aim to treat Jack or Kate like Steve Nash or Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

....

Although some as young as 8 participate, 12- to 15-year-olds make up the bulk of participants at national chains like Velocity and CATZ (Competitive Athlete Training Zone).

Sports performance centers resemble a pro-training camp — except there are no five o’clock shadows or tattoos. Clusters of children (some knobby-kneed, others ripped) alternatively warm up, hoist weights and do plyometrics or speed work supervised by coaches.

Some of the agility drills resemble amped-up neighborhood games: participants, for instance, jump diagonally over lines on the ground. Hopscotch anyone?

Other tasks are more grueling. Running while dragging a weight is not for the fainthearted, nor are the super-fast treadmills at Athletic Republic. Faces clench as the machines force legs to go quicker than they could on their own. One result is that eventually children “are able to generate those same velocities by themselves,â€￾ said John Frappier, the founder of Athletic Republic, who has a master’s in exercise physiology.

....

John Maiolo from Monroe, Conn., said he saw what Velocity could offer his daughter, Marissa, who plays three sports but likes soccer best: “The way I see it, if they can get the kids in there young enough, and get them to understand how to run, how to pivot, how to turn, how to jump, how to excel at all these basic movements, it becomes second nature when they are on the field.â€￾

Sports performance training teaches athletic fundamentals during the “skill hungryâ€￾ years of neuromuscular growth. It also helps single-sport players avoid injuries by broadening their abilities, advocates say.

This world attracts its fair share of hard-charging mothers and fathers. “I had a parent introduce her daughter to me as the next Mia Hamm,â€￾ said Jim Liston, the president of CATZ. “That’s not a lot of parents. That’s just a few.â€￾

Although sports performance outlets strive to be chummy and supportive, parental pressure coupled with the ethos of continual improvement wears down some tender-age athletes.

“It’s really easy to see the difference between kids that handle the pressure, and kids that aren’t able to,â€￾ said Melanie Michaud, a former Velocity coach who now works for CATZ in Needham, Mass. “The ones who can’t handle it, when they reach junior year of high school, they’ll be tired of playing.â€￾

Parents who say “we are not going to give Billy or Mary a chance not to do thisâ€￾ need to reassess, said Fred Engh, the president of the National Alliance for Youth Sports and author of “Why Johnny Hates Sports.â€￾

Jim Schultz, of Waldwick, N.J., encourages his daughters, Renee, a Velocity year-rounder, and Lauren, who goes twice a month, to think of their sessions as a job. “If you go there and you fool around, you won’t last long,â€￾ he said. “These people aren’t there to joke around. Renee is serious about it. That’s what’s good.â€￾

....

Mr. Maiolo, a controller for a venture capitalist firm, had to overcome his reservations. After all, Marissa had a full plate as the captain of Everton, a premier club soccer team. She also played basketball, soccer and softball for her middle school.

Wasn’t she in adequate shape? “In the beginning you think to yourself, am I one of those parents who must have their daughter be perfect, and have all the opportunities possible?â€￾ said Mr. Maiolo, who swam in his heyday. “Am I going overboard? Am I trying to be the athlete I never was? You second-guess yourself, and that’s good.â€￾

Ultimately, the Maiolos went for it, and Marissa has no regrets. “If I didn’t go to Velocity I’d still be what I was before,â€￾ she said. “I needed to go there. It’s not like I was horrible. It made me better.â€￾

....

Do trainees improve? “The answer is a qualified yes,â€￾ said Avery Faigenbaum, an associate professor of exercise science at the College of New Jersey. “If we put a 10-, 14-, 15-year-old in a sensibly prescribed program, the child will get faster, jump higher, she’s stronger and she’s faster on the court.â€￾ But gains should be taken with a grain of salt, he advised, since children naturally improve with age. As Dr. Faigenbaum puts it: How to improve the vertical jump of an 8-year-old? Do nothing. “She’ll jump higher at 12,â€￾ he said, barring drastic changes in body composition.

Overtraining is a concern, since parents often don’t realize the importance of recovery between hard workouts.

“They need to look at the total stress being placed on their kids,â€￾ Dr. Faigenbaum said. “If you believe the only way to make gains is if it hurts,â€￾ then “you’re getting set up for an overuse injury.â€￾

....

As word of mouth spreads from parent to parent, it may only be a matter of time until performance training is as widespread as SAT prep. Mr. Schultz, the parent from Waldwick, N.J., hopes not.

“Hate to say this, because I’m a competitive person and I don’t want everybody to get a competitive advantage,â€￾ he said, “but you can send your kids to all the camps in the world — if you put them in this program, you know they’ll improve.â€￾

[Cujo]

I think there are several factors in play here. 1) schools have cut back on phys ed and recess and this is a great way to get kids engaged in physical activity - nothing wrong with that, 2) competition and drive towards elite status has intensified and parents are looking to give their kids an edge by getting them training, 3) if the training is done properly it may help prevent some of the overuse injuries that we are seeing in young athletes ie patellar injuries (tracking problems) and ACL problems for young women. I think the bottom line is if the kids are enjoying it and they are not being forced to go by overzealous parents then it is fine. I think these companies are reacting to a burgeoning market.

My own particular concern is that my child be in aerobic condition for the season. No doubt the other exercises mentioned in the article are all to the good. But if players aren't in aerobic condition, then I think they become more injury-prone in the latter stages of a half or game. Besides, it's at those times when the better-conditioned team has the advantage.

Here's a question for coaches: what do you advise your (12-16-year-old) players who want to jog or work out on days between practices? Would you rather see them rest instead?

[Cujo]

Originally Posted by Arnold

My own particular concern is that my child be in aerobic condition for the season. No doubt the other exercises mentioned in the article are all to the good. But if players aren't in aerobic condition, then I think they become more injury-prone in the latter stages of a half or game. Besides, it's at those times when the better-conditioned team has the advantage.

Here's a question for coaches: what do you advise your (12-16-year-old) players who want to jog or work out on days between practices? Would you rather see them rest instead?

I think some little light work on in between days is ok but muscles need to rest the day after a heavy workout. A little light weight work would be ok too but nothing too aggressive.

What if, for example, a player's team has two or three intensive 90-minute or 2-hour practices per week in August? Is it OK for a player to do, say, a 2- or 3-mile run on the days between?

I guess what I'm leading to is this: Once regular practices and games start, is it too late to do independent conditioning work?

[Cujo]

Originally Posted by Arnold

What if, for example, a player's team has two or three intensive 90-minute or 2-hour practices per week in August? Is it OK for a player to do, say, a 2- or 3-mile run on the days between?

I guess what I'm leading to is this: Once regular practices and games start, is it too late to do independent conditioning work?

Once the games start conditioning can only be maintained. I would not recommend a 3 mile run the day after an intense practice. I don't think there would be any benefit. Just some light jogging to elevate the heart rate and loosen up the muscles. If your son is doing good workouts every other day now he should be ok for August. Make sure that he is doing interval training that replicates what a player experiences on the soccer field. He should not be running 5 miles at the same pace. The heart rate needs to be elevated and lowered in intervals. Don't forget to have him cool down to gradually reduce the heart rate back to the resting rate. He should not be doing sprints and then just stop. Light jogging at the end is advisable. Anything over 2 hours for practice is not advisable either. 90 minutes is fine.

Thanks. The interval training is a good suggestion--I'll bet it's easier to do that with friends. I don't jog or run myself, and haven't done so since high school. I certainly never jogged regularly as a 13- or 14-year-old. So I'm not sure how to advise my child--except to say don't overdo it, rest when you are sore, and stop when you feel pain!

[Cujo]

Originally Posted by Arnold

Thanks. The interval training is a good suggestion--I'll bet it's easier to do that with friends. I don't jog or run myself, and haven't done so since high school. I certainly never jogged regularly as a 13- or 14-year-old. So I'm not sure how to advise my child--except to say don't overdo it, rest when you are sore, and stop when you feel pain!

There are several good books that will help with interval training and the basic idea is to raise and lower the heart rate if I can find mine I will get you the names (believe it or not I have not unpacked everything two years after moving) In soccer training you can do this by running distance at a minium of two different paces. ie, 7 minute mile pace and then backing off to 12 minute mile. Or better yet getting out onto the field with the soccer ball and dribbling at full speed for a minute and then doing ball control at a slow pace i,e pull backs etc. I have never liked running without the ball as a training tool but sometimes that is the only venue available. I would recommend that he get down to a field with the ball and do his running with the ball at his feet thereby killing two birds with one stone. I like to get my heart rate up to 150 to 165 and then back down to around 100. When he has his physical check with the doctor about his own particular physiology and what range the dr recommends. If I had twenty players their peak numbers varied quite a bit depending on how hard they worked and their individual makeup. Remember good hydration (not too much) and proper stretching ie no bouncing stetch in one direction.

[Liverpool Coach]

Hi, I did not read the article you attached but am responding to the questions you pose. My preference on camps is not for players to do a full week at a time. I prefer 2 - 3 times a week with rest in between. For instance several of the kids on my team just returned from a week long camp and had not improved at all. They said there was a lot of goofing off and no real attention being paid to what they were doing. This is not always the case but not all camps are good. I have others that are doing foot skills training 1 - 2 x a week and conditioning 2 -3 x a week. This is a better scenario in my opinion. The conditioning program they are in is one that not only works on their conditioning but also their running form, agility, balance, power, quick burst speed ( 1st step) and speed over distance ( 40 - 60 yards ).
As for training at home on your own I feel the best things you can do are 40 yard wind sprints and agility drills. If you run a mile try to break up the run to simulate a soccer game where at times you are lightly jogging and then sprint 40 yards and then lightly jog and then spring 10 yards and so on. There are all sorts of things you can use for agility such as an agility ladder but if you don't want to buy one you can set up all sorts of things by just using things around the house.
The off days can be used to strengthen your core such as crunches, knee raises, Australian press ups, and maybe some plyometrics.
Always do some stretching both dynamic and static.
And lots of cold water to help keep the muscles hydrated and avoid cramping
The best part is conditioning can really be done at home if you have a child that is that motivated and they can even work on their foot skills at home also but 1 - 2 x a week in small groups is very beneficial

Thanks Liverpool Coach and Cujo for your advice--those are great suggestions. L.C., it's interesting what the players said about the camp. It's got to be tough to keep large groups of kids focused and motivated for five or six days in a row, especially in the summer heat. Your approach sounds very sensible.