11-13-2000 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

conditioning The secret to conditioiiing your athletes It's no secret that kids hate conditioning drills. They can be tedious, boring, and quickly drain the fun out of any practice session. But it doesn't have to be that way. The .secret is to incorporate conditioning into your regular practice plan so that it's going on but it's disguised in the drills and activities yt)u're doing to develop skills in your athletes. If you think of your entire practice as a conditioning period, it will become much more game-like in nature. For example, instead of making your basketball team run laps at the end of practice simply divide the team up into groups and have them run a relay race while dribbling a ball through a series of cones. All of a sudden your practice has become much more productive because you have conditioning taking place along with skill development, teamwork, fun and excitement. The following are eome additional conditioning tips: stress the importance of aerobic activity to ) our athletes (aembic activity is endurance training which is low to moderate in intensity over a longer period of time; anaerobic training is high intensity; short-term-training; for example, cross country runners require aerobic training while sprinters require anaerobic training) athletes should not lose more than 2-3 pounds in a week overtrained athletes aa* likely to drop out don't neglect nutrition during preseason conditioning remember that different positions of a sport have varying aerobic and anaerobic demands athletes need .3-5 riays to adjust to their environment during the preseason if the sport requires wearing a lot of equipment you should gradually add it during a 3*5 day period coaches must Ikt able to select the conditioning program and drills that will prepare the athlete for the stre.ss of competition without injuring the developing s)’stems the two svstems likelv to be stres.sed the most bv partic ipation arc the cartliovascular and muscular systems strenuous activity tliat causes pain or is used as pun ishment (like running laps) has no place in youth Strength children gain more benefits from strength exercises that require them to overcome and control their own body weight than they do from special weights or weight training equipment children should do exercises for both upper and lower body strength and do them in moderation use games that promote fitness such as "poses" where children pose as body builders and tighten and relax various muscles nexibility: It's not a stretch to say it's important for youngsters Developing flexibility in youngsters is important for two reasons; it will make them less likely to be injured and more likely to improve their skills. Also, children who are taught to stretch before physical activity will establish good habits that they'll be likely to follow throughout adulthood. Passive stretching is most beneficial for the child and it's where the individual slowly moves to the desired position, just slightly beyond discomfort, holds that position for a short period of time, and then relaxes. For example, slowly bending down and touching your toes, counting to eight, then relaxing and returning to an upright position. Ballistic stretching, which is rapid movement to a desired position, should be avoided because it can cau.se injury. Here are some other helpful Ups regardlag stretching: avoid any stretching movements that place too much stress or strain on join ts don ’t bend the joint beyond 90 degrees avoid deep knee bends, straight leg sit-ups, double straight leg lifts and toe- heel raises » ■/I 'N sports Strength Flexibmty t Youth SportB Journal I Initial Itaua