Prepare your young athlete for success!

There is no question that youth sports programs today place greater demands on young athletes. Athletes who play competitively on travel or showcase teams train with more intensity and frequency than before.

With a growing interest in youth strength and conditioning, it is essential to understand what is developmentally appropriate and when training becomes counterproductive. When I say developmentally appropriate, I do not mean that all kids should have the same workout program because they share the same age or play on the same team.

There are factors to consider associated with acute or chronic injuries that coaches, parents, and strength and conditioning coaches need to know. These include pubertal growth spurt (peak height velocity), muscle and bone growth, and muscular strength. Strength training is effective and safe for young children if the program is designed correctly. A good weight training program, combined with a calcium-rich diet, will maximize bone density in children. 

It’s not easy to write in general terms about the best type of strength and conditioning program for all athletes because the demands of each sport are complex and diverse. For example, endurance athletes use a combination of Long Slow Distance training (LSD) and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with intensities mostly below their maximum oxygen output. The greater emphasis is on LSD to avoid overtraining. A young endurance athlete may workout 5 – 8 times weekly, including in competitions or tournaments.

What does a good strength and conditioning program look like for a youth athlete, and how does it change as they mature into adolescents? 

Factors to consider when designing a strength and conditioning program for young athletes

There are many factors to consider when training pre-adolescent and adolescent boys and girls. Training age (how long an athlete has been training versus their biological age), type of sport, puberty, and muscle and bone development need to be considered.  The adults working with them should have reasonable expectations and knowledge of exercise principles.  

Pre-adolescents 

Before the age of 10, they can benefit from resistance and endurance training. It is not reasonable to expect a pre-adolescent to gain muscle size instead of increasing strength. Free-flowing testosterone is not great enough to achieve a hypertrophy response instead of a general increase in strength. The increase in strength is more likely due to neuromuscular factors like increased motor recruitment or improved coordination.

The bottom line is that your 10-year-old boy may be stronger than the average child his age, but he won’t be sporting big muscles on the field. Actual changes in muscle size come later with maturity.

Children as young as six years old get stronger by using a variety of modified weight machines, free weights, and body weight. A study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that strength gains of roughly 30% – 40% have been typically observed in untrained, pre-adolescent children when the intensity and volume of training are adequate. With an increase in participation in travel sports by young children, I would say that the training needs to be proportionate to the demands placed on their growing bodies. 

Adolescents 

This is where it gets tricky. This is the age where more injuries occur due to over-training, repetitive use, and improper recovery methods. Injuries occur more frequently at this age because young athletes are encouraged to become single sport athletes with year-round participation, developing adolescents are more vulnerable to repetitive movements, and fundamental fitness skills tend to lack at these ages, despite greater playing frequency. Not only should boys and girls ages 12 – 14 strength train, but it is also necessary.

It is a misconception that resistance or weight training prevents children from growing or somehow impacts their genetic destiny. Coaches must pay attention to the intensity and frequency of a program. At this age, children go through a growth spurt rapidly and are more vulnerable to muscle tissue damage and tightening of muscle tendons.

Adults should pay close attention to young athletes’ complaints and not chalk them up to “growing pains.” Damage to the growth cartilage from trauma or overuse may impair bone growth. This is evidenced by numerous studies focused on sports injuries in children. I cannot stress the importance of proper, supervised training for youth athletes. 

What is a good strength and conditioning protocol for a young athlete?

Consider a typical week for a young athlete during the school year. A team will likely practice 3 – 5 times per week and compete on the other days. In addition to practice and competitions, many teams include a conditioning or resistance training workout somewhere during the week, coupled with skill practice. This schedule has nothing wrong, provided children are adequately hydrated and nourished. 

A good fitness regimen for children should include a dynamic warm-up (different from static stretching), resistance training/sport-specific movements, flexibility and mobility, and stretching at the end of the workouts. I have been in enough gyms and around youth sports long enough to tell you this is not happening regularly. Teens walk into a weight room and immediately start throwing around heavy weight without adequately warming up. I see it all the time. Time constraints prevent teams from properly warming up or cooling down, but a good coach sees the value in all the components listed above.

The table below is a sample workout protocol (based on my son’s S and C protocol).  If your child isn’t already working with a strength and conditioning professional, be sure she includes these components in her workouts. 

sample youth strength and conditioning workout

Fitness Component	Duration
Dynamic Warm Up leg swings, arm swings, rotational movements	5 minutes prior to workout
Strength Training Compound and multi-joint movements (squats, presses)	20 minutes
Conditioning moderate run, sprints, plyometric exercises (box jumps, skaters)	10 – 15 minutes
Mobility (multiplane lunges, trunk extension/flexion/rotation, groin stretches)	5 minutes
Stretching/Cooldown range of motion movements, static stretching, recovery methods	5 minutes

Of course, strength and conditioning are relative to sport-specific movements, but the fitness components remain constant. As the adult in your child’s life, check in with your child’s coach or trainer to stay in the loop. Also, talk with your youth athlete about the components of a good strength and conditioning workout to help her avoid problems in the future.

Teaching your child about proper exercise principles at a young age is truly one way you can spot your athlete for life. You might even want to hop in!