{"id":805,"date":"2019-08-01T14:49:23","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T18:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianstrengthca.com\/?p=805"},"modified":"2023-07-19T11:44:12","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T15:44:12","slug":"using-athletics-and-strength-and-conditioning-programs-to-keep-kids-active-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianstrengthca.com\/using-athletics-and-strength-and-conditioning-programs-to-keep-kids-active-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Athletics and Strength and Conditioning Programs to Keep Kids Active for Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sarah Applegarth M.Sc, CSCS, CSEP-CEP, R.Kin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With daily public school-based\ngym curriculum diminishing, and the allure of screen time, the incidence of\nobesity in Canada has our country receiving a failing grade on our physical\nactivity report card. In 1978, 14% of Canadians were considered obese (1). This\nobesity number rose in 2015 to 25% in adults and 24.5% of 15-year-olds were\nreported as overweight (1). This number is projected to rise to 30% by the year\n2030 (1). This will create a significant burden on our healthcare system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participation in sport and\nsupplementary strength and conditioning programs are necessary to help kids\nminimize the occurrence of obesity, and provide them with a platform to develop\nphysical literacy skills. However, at times through sport, we are running into\nchallenges of kids specializing at an early age to try to achieve elite status.\nHockey is a common example of this with 8 and 9-year-olds playing as many as 70\nhockey games through the fall, winter and spring. This is potentially setting\nkids up to miss windows of opportunity to develop and optimize other crucial\nskills through participation in typical summer activities like soccer, tennis,\nbaseball and weekends at a cottage near water. Before the age of 12 years old,\nphysical literacy skills may be optimized if they are introduced to sport\nparticipation in unstructured and\/or structured play. Physical literacy skills\nconsist of gross motor skills like running, jumping, twisting, kicking,\nlunging, throwing, swimming. Also important are the ABC\u2019s of movement (agility,\nbalance, coordination, and speed), and the KGB\u2019s of athleticism (kinesthetic\nsense, gliding, buoyancy, sliding)(2).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, the International\nOlympic Committee made a bold statement on youth athletic development\nnoting \u201cEmpirical\nevidence shows that a diversity of activities in early development is an\nindicator of continued involvement in more intense activities later in life,\nelite performance and continued participation in sport\u201d (3). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Canadian Sport for Life long\nterm athlete development model has broken down potential physical requirements\nof athletic development into the 5S\u2019s: Suppleness, Speed, Skills, Strength, and\nStamina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this model, there are suggested windows of trainability in childhood where these physical skills may be optimized to reach genetic potential if introduced at the right time. The suggested windows of trainability are based periods, before, during and after the onset of a growth spurt. Additionally, strength coaches need to be mindful of the fastest rate of growth or Peak Height Velocity (PHV). Sport For Life offers an excellent resource that outlines in detail a process for movement development from an early age to active participation through adulthood. Click HERE <\/a>to see their Physical Literacy: Building a New Normal for all Canadians document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being involved in activities like\ngymnastics, tennis and track and field are great for exposure before the PHV as\nthey encompass the basic movement skills and the ABC\u2019s of athleticism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, participating or\ncompeting in cardiovascular activities like swimming, soccer rugby, cross\ncountry running and mountain biking at PHV will allow for aerobic system\ntraining during the window of opportunity to reach genetic potential in that\nsystem. Post PHV athletes need to consider starting to build on their strength\ncapabilities and power as there is a window of trainability 12-18 months\npost-growth spurt where this is very sensitive to training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As strength and conditioning\ncoaches this is crucial information to keep in mind when designing team and\nyouth programs. Beyond an understanding of their capabilities, emotional\nintelligence, and their needs, you can assess what stage your athletes are in\nby plotting their physical growth monthly to determine when a rapid change is\noccurring and they are in their PHV. Alternatively, the University of\nSaskatchewan has a great online resource (5) where you can plug in simple\nanthropometric variables and get a print out of when an athlete is going to\nreach PHV and what their adult stature will be. As the training age advances, a\ncoach needs to prepare proper exercise progressions and regressions to adjust\nfor the differing needs of athletes within the same training group or team.\nThis information can be utilized to design an educated plan for growing\nathletes and educate parents on the types of supplementary activities they can\nget involved with to assist in becoming a well-rounded athlete and maximizing\ntheir potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is key to point out that these\nwindows are suggested, and should not be treated as firm programming\nnecessities. At our facility, we may use these guidelines initially as we begin\nthe learning process of assessing the needs of the kids we work with. However,\nover time we create programs based on the specific abilities and needs of the\nindividual which may vary from the suggested windows of development. We do this\nwith specific testing and assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of the sensitive\nperiods, all fitness attributes can be improved (to varying degrees) at all\nages. Degree of improvements and focus will be dependant on needs and goals.\nWhen designing a program for any developing athlete is it important to know\nboth their physiological stage, their current fitness, skill level, and\npsychological maturity. A small battery of field tests can give you a sense of\nwhere your athlete is and help to direct your exercise selection and\npriorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At our facility, we use the following guidelines as we learn about the athletes we are working with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the kids we work with, kids\ntypically start with programs we focus on the technique of basic strength\nmovements like squats, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups and progress to introducing\npower movements like kettlebell swings, DB snatch, Olympic bar hang cleans and\nvarious DB strength movements for those who are capable and competent. We then\nprogress those who are ready to speed and coordination drills like Hex Rail,\nshuffles drills with cones. At times we also use coloured cones with specific\ninstructions to move to a specific colour and\/or direction.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We next progress kids towards\nmore challenging programs that build off the exercises they have practiced in\nthe earlier phases of training and increase volume and intensity with supersets\nand trisets. Table 2. Shows a sample program of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Systematically through an\norganized, thoughtful approach to child sport activity participation and\ncomplementary training programs, we can ensure children are exposed to physical\nliteracy and 5S of sport performance to help reach their potential. This will\nhave them more apt to participate in physical activities through adulthood. The\nimpact of this will resonate with a healthier mental, emotional and physical\nsociety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n