IYCA - The International Youth Conditioning Association : The International Youth Conditioning Association

Using Complexes In Warm Ups to Improve The Skills Of Young Athletes

Young athletes olympic lifts warm up tips

Young Athletes weightlifting specific warm-ups By Wil Fleming When your program is full of barbell strength training , in particular the Olympic lifts, it is important to sharpen the skills of your young athletes with a weightlifting specific warm-up. A general warm-up is necessary for young athletes to increase mobility and activation, prior to training. Once the athlete is warmed up in general however, a specific warm-up for the days activities should be used to prepare. In all sports the general warm-up is followed by a specific warm-up, baseball players should touch a ball before.. More »

Developing Speed and Agility for Athletes: The Short-to-Long Approach

Renowned speed expert Latif Thomas explains his short-to-long methodology to developing speed and agility for athletes People say all the time that speed and agility for athletes is just like talent: It can’t be taught. I’m here to show you how that belief is flat-out wrong. Speed is a skill. The ability to take advantage of the potential of one’s body, and to do so consistently, is a highly technical skill. As coaches and athletes, we often allude to this concept when talking about speed development, but rarely do we discuss how important this statement is and what effects it.. More »

Evaluating Yourself As A Coach

Become The Best Coach You Can Be By Wil Fleming There are a lot of great coaches in the world, and this newsletter reaches plenty of them. To become an even better coach evaluation is really important. I think that coaching breaks down into four categories and seeing where you are an expert or could need some work is a helpful tool to become a better a coach. Anatomy and Kinesiology This category is first as it is likely the first thing we learned in school that actually pertained to our development as coaches. For coaches that.. More »

Your Youth Fitness Business Operating System

Youth Fitness Business Systems By Pat Rigsby To run a youth fitness business that functions at a very high level you need the following Business Operating System components in place: An Overall Business Growth Plan – Most fitness businesses approach growth very arbitrarily. They randomly try to do things and don’t really have a plan. It’s very much like the difference between designing a program based on a client’s assessment and goals versus just giving them random workouts. It might work out ok – but the odds of it doing as well as the planned.. More »

One Shell At A Time

Coaching Young Athletes: One Shell At A Time By Dave Gleason When we are educating prospective parent members about the value of long term athletic development we often use very poignant and effective analogies. This is paramount in guiding parents to a better understanding and, at times, a paradigm shift as to the optimal way to train their child(ren). Once more, it is imperative that our parents as well as our athletes comprehend the inherent risk of early specialization in sport… and the 6 week “bigger, stronger, faster” quick fix. A common analogy that.. More »

Co-Existing With Today’s High School Athlete

How To Co-Exist With High School Athlete Programs By Wil Fleming Some of my fondest memories of training came when I was in high school training with my Olympic Weightlifting club 3 nights per week. We had a great time and became better athletes in the process. To me it was a lot like AR before there was an AR. I loved going because I knew that what I was doing was aiding what was expected of me as a high school football player and track athlete. My coaches supported me and would often come by.. More »

Blueprint to Building Your Ideal Youth Fitness Business Video

Youth Fitness Business Building Success Do you wake up each day excited to go to work? I’m sure you are passionate about helping your clients or athletes achieve their goals but are you doing EXACTLY what you want to be doing? Well, if your answer isn’t an enthusiastic YES, then I have something special for you. IYCA Expert Dave Gleason did a presentation where he shares the exact plan he used to dump an unfulfilling career as an In Home Trainer to open his dream facility and build an ultra-successful business serving the hottest market.. More »

Becoming A Better Youth Fitness Coach

Youth Fitness Coaching Tips From Dave Jack By Pat Rigsby It gets tough to access the credibility of coaches in this internet age. Many people that call themselves ‘coaches’ who haven’t actually coached anyone and there are many giving fitness advice that really shouldn’t. So who do you trust? That’s where the IYCA is here to help. We constantly research and make sure to listen to coaches that are in-the-trenches getting great results. We know there is a lot of noise out there on the internet, so when we actually find quality information from.. More »

Core Training For High School Athletes

Training A High School Athletes Core By Wil Fleming Not very long ago AR Bloomington was fortunate to get IYCA Board of Experts Member, Mike Robertson, to do an in-service for our entire team and he really knocked it out of the park. Mike’s selected topic was “Core Training”, needless to say his presentation changed the way that we both think about and train an athlete’s core. The IYCA training system is at the forefront of training high school athletes, so I thought that I’d share with you my takeaways from Mike’s presentation. First.. More »

Concussion Prevention: A Pro-Active Approach

concussion for high school young athletes

Concussion Prevention For Young Athletes By Jim Kielbaso The concussion problem in sports has reached epidemic proportions. The NFL is spending millions on awareness and just instituted new practice rules to reduce the number of blows the players are exposed to during practices. Several high school athletic associations are also implementing new rules to deal with the issue. So far, everything has focused on how to deal with the athlete after the concussion, but there is now a movement to help educate athletes, parents and coaches about sports concussions and what can be done to prevent.. More »

Youth Athletes and Sports Injuries

Youth Athletes and Sports Injuries By Clyde Mealy The demands on today’s youth athletes are higher than ever. More youths are practicing longer and more frequently with fewer days in between to recover. What is the cost of competition? According to Current Sports Medicine in 2008, reports that an estimated 45 million children and adolescents participated in organized sports in the United States alone. The question is how many are being properly trained and supervised. Nowadays, there is no true off-season to rejuvenate and have some fun or to play other sports just because… School athletics.. More »

Three Quick Ways To Become a Better Coach

Become a better coach with young athletes

Become a Better Coach By Wil Fleming In the network of coaches that I have met, the most passionate always are other coaches at AR. Every one of the coaches that I have met wants to do the best they can FOR their athletes. As a franchise this sets AR apart from any other that I have ever witnessed (outside of maybe Fitness Revolution!). The franchisee at the local Starbucks isn’t trying to become better at brewing coffee, the local owner of Chipotle isn’t trying to build a better burrito, but each and everyday the owners.. More »

Coaching in the Weight Room

Coaching High School Athletes in the Weight Room By Jim Kielbaso Just about every sport coach now recognizes the fact that a strength program can help their athletes optimize performance, reduce the risk of injury, and improve overall health and self-esteem. Some coaches are very comfortable in the weight room, while others feel totally out of their element. Either way, there are a few easy steps to follow to maximize your effectiveness in this environment. Many coaches get overwhelmed in the weight room and never really give their best instruction or encouragement. But, many high school.. More »

Around The World For Better Balance Training For Young Athletes

Young Athletes Balance Training By Dave Gleason In this video IYCA Expert and Athletic Revolution Pembroke Owner Dave Gleason discusses and demonstrates one of his favorite Activities for training dynamic balance in young athletes. Progressions, regressions and even a way to make this exercise more fun for even the youngest of athletes is included in this short video coaching clip. Let us know what you think of these exercises for improving the balance of young athletes below.

Designing The Right Speed & Agility Training Program

Speed & Agility Training Program Design By Wil Fleming Training athletes in speed & agility can be some difficult business. Without a plan in mind of how to train a speed session, what can start as a speed session can crumble into a conditioning workout, with no lasting effects on an athlete’s ability to move quickly. When I am training athletes in speed & agility I find it necessary to first, break it down into the component parts that I would like to train,and second assess the size of the group that I will be working.. More »

Outcome Based Coaching In A Nutshell

Young Athletes Coaching Style In A Nutshell By Dave Gleason The primary coaching style we want to use with our youngest athletes is called outcome based coaching. This style of coaching puts more emphasis on the outcome of the activity or exercise you have asked for from from your athletes. Outcome based coaching utilizes very little cueing or technique modifications if any. Our 6-9 year old athletes can suffer from goal confusion, leading to frustration and a less than average experience. As athletic revolution franchisees our goal must be to provide an exciting, memorable and remarkable.. More »

Modifications to Training Programs For a Young Athlete on the Spot

Young Athlete Programming Modifications By Wil Fleming When I first started training I figured out quickly that the best coaches developed programs ahead of time. They approached each session with a clear picture of their goals for a young athlete and designed a program that would accomplish those goals. As I began coaching I knew that is something that I wanted to do as well. I want to be a coach with a clear vision and purpose, plan for everything, and get results with my athletes. In my “eye test” for other coaches, making training.. More »

Using Weighted Sleds for Acceleration Work

Using Weighted Sleds With Young Athletes By Jim Kielbaso There are plenty of toys out there designed for speed development, but one of the most effective and easiest to use is a weighted sled. The research on resisted sprinting using these sleds is way behind the actual use of the device, but that’s usually how it goes. More recent information has shown that proper use of these sleds can have a positive effect on a young athletes ability to accelerate – one of the most important aspects of speed in many sports. Most of the.. More »

Teaching The Perfect Push Up To A Younger Athlete

Push up for younger athletes from the IYCA

Younger Athlete Push Ups Exercise By Dave Gleason Teaching the push up to a younger athlete can be arduous and complicated depending on physical maturity, body awareness, current skill and or experience. Let’s face it, in most scenarios the younger athlete has had no instruction, incomplete instruction or instruction with incorrect information. Once more, the opportunity to perform a push up is usually at the end of a practice, as a form of punishment or as an element of a timed standardized testing protocol. We know none of these story lines are optimal for any young.. More »

How to Create a Strength Training Program For Young Athletes

Jim Kielbaso acceleration Training program for young athletes

Strength Training Program For Young Athletes Strength training program design can get very complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. The bottom line is that you need to develop a well-rounded, comprehensive program that encourages hard work and progressive overload of the musculature. If those components are in place, you are well on your way to helping your athletes reap the benefits of a strength training program for young athletes. Keep in mind that “young athletes” can mean just about anyone under 18 years old. In this case, the program is mainly geared toward athletes 12-18 years old. Strength Training.. More »