Do Young Athletes Need to Condition?

By Bruce Cohn
Concord Journal, May 2003
 
As more boys and girls are participating in youth sports, a new trend has grown alongside this phenomenon: youth sports conditioning programs. These programs (of which FIT-TO-GO is one) speak of improving student-athletes’ performance through the use of a variety of training techniques. But there are many questions that need to be asked about such conditioning programs. These include: at what age is it safe for youngsters to train; what differences should be taken into account between boys and girls and why is such training necessary?

In reality, these questions are interrelated but let’s start with the last question first. What most people don’t take into account when they think about youngsters playing sports is the tremendous force that many activities place on young joints, bones and muscles. For example, every time we jump we land with approximately three times our body weight. Repeating this simple movement throughout the course of a game places great stress on the lower body. If we add in the demands of sharp cuts and quick changes of direction it is no wonder that orthopedists report dramatic increases in the incidence of knee and other lower extremity injuries among youngsters involved in youth sports.

Conditioning programs that strengthen the lower body, teach youngsters how to land properly to absorb force and train muscles and nerves to work together in a more coordinated fashion are your best bet for avoiding injury. All student-athletes, but especially younger ones, should begin with exercises that challenge them to raise and lower their own body weight. Special attention must be paid to doing exercises on one leg since so many activities in sports require the ability to stabilize in a one-legged position.

An added benefit to this kind of training is that it teaches young athletes how to strengthen and stabilize their core muscles. These muscles of the abdomen, back and hips are not only crucial for avoiding injury but will enable the young athlete to move on to lifting more weight and extending more force. At FIT-TO-GO we have worked with athletes as young as eleven who have learned to progress in their training through the use of medicine balls, weighted vests and, eventually, free weights once they demonstrated the ability to control their own body weight during lead-up exercises. This ability to perform body weight exercises seems to me a better indicator of readiness for training than chronological age.

In terms of training boys and girls, there is a large body of evidence suggesting that sports conditioning may be even more beneficial for females. We know that, in general, girls go through growth spurts earlier than boys do; are more prone to ACL tears (a type of knee injury) and start with less muscle mass than boys. A good program can help participants make improvements in all of these areas regardless of their gender. Sports conditioning programs need to take individual differences into account and use whatever techniques are appropriate to accommodate them.

As I have noted before, gone are the days when kids could simply organize their own games and play to their hearts’ content in the sandlot. Our children are involved in more organized leagues, play longer game schedules and seem to be experiencing more injuries. In addition to improving performance, a well-constructed conditioning program may be your best investment for avoiding youth sport injuries.

Bruce Cohn is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Middlesex School in Concord. He runs FIT-TO-GO Total Sports Conditioning and is a nationally certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Bruce can be reached at 781-316-0061 or brucegym@rcn.com.