[wpfblike] Youth Fitness Certification From The IYCA Big changes are happening in my personal life. But they’re changes I’m making for a ‘business’ reason. I’m moving to Kentucky. Heading south just in time to avoid what promises to be yet another nasty mid-western winter here in the U.S. And I admit that the move is bitter-sweet for me. I have great friends in this area. I know the neighborhood well and enjoy the people I encounter daily. But for the greater good of the IYCA, I decided to take this rather.. More »
Youth Fitness: Are You Making a Huge Mistake?
[wpfblike] Youth Fitness Industry Is Booming Sometimes the signs all lead in the same direction – Does that make sense? The Youth Fitness and Sport Training niche is the fastest growing in our entire industry. Entrepreneur Magazine has cited this specific demographic to be one of the most lucrative and expanding markets in the world. From private practice and franchising to government agencies and consulting, the opportunities within this niche are absolutely endless. Very few professionals actually specialize in the area of Youth Fitness or Sport Training making your ability to become a local.. More »
Youth Fitness and the Success Train
Youth Fitness Keys To Success. A post by Brian Grasso What do you think about ‘credentials’ when it comes to our industry? It seems to me that most professionals in our industry look at the whole credentialing or certification process from a few different angles: a. Credibility of the Credentialing Body b. Member Satisfaction c. Cost In the case of the IYCA, the credibility we have is absolutely ‘locked’ as world-class. And I can say that without hesitation. Whenever I’m judging the credibility of any organization, I always look at what other organizations or esteemed professionals have to say about.. More »
What Jet Lag Taught Me About Training Young Athletes…
Training Young Athletes requires understanding the importance of external factors. A post By Brian Grasso. My life and schedule still isn’t completely back to normal yet. After traveling to and from Australia last week, I find myself jet-lagged and tired to this day. I got to Melbourne on Friday morning (local time), presented seminars on Saturday and Sunday, had two days of rest and relaxation in a nice town called St. Kilda, and then traveled back State side on Wednesday. Ever since I’ve been home, my sleeping schedule has been completely unpredictable and my energy levels come.. More »
Athlete Development- What I Did in Australia…
Worldwide Athlete Development . A post From Brian Grasso. I just got back from Australia… …. And let me tell you – I am jet lagged! The trip home from locations that far away are always toughest. I ended up flying from Melbourne to Auckland – Auckland to Los Angeles – Los Angeles to Chicago. Total time = 28 hours. But it was worth every second. Not only is it an honor to get invited to share my knowledge worldwide, but it’s also incredibly enlightening to sit in the audience and learn from other athlete development professionals. Most of.. More »
Young Athletes And The Olympic Games Lie
How Young Athletes Are Portrayed In The Olympics I’m actually a big fan of the Olympic Games. My favorite part is watching the Opening Ceremonies and seeing the athletes from lesser known countries glow with child-like enthusiasm as they walk into the Olympic arena. But every four years, I find myself feeling uncomfortable with what I am seeing and hearing while watching the Games on television. Because I know the sensationalized aspects of the Olympics are creating more and more confusion and ignorance among many young athletes, Trainers, Coaches and Parents worldwide. Believe it or not,.. More »
Young Athletes And Injuries
I had an absolutely amazing meeting yesterday about Young Athletes. It was with Scott Hopson – the international Director of Education for Power Plate. Known widely as ‘vibration training’, Scott wanted to get together with me in order to discuss the potential of using vibration training with young athletes. Now, I have only known Scott for a few months, but already understood him to be an exceptionally intelligent man and someone who I respect a great deal. Having said that – I had my reservations about the meeting. I am a traditionalist to the core.. More »
Youth Athletic Development Coaching For Speed – A Lost Art
What you’re about to see is one of the final phases of a system for teaching speed and agility to improve youth athletic development. You start youth athletic development by Introducing ‘Skill Sets’. You then Teach ‘Deceleration Techniques’ through the Principles of Movement. You then Integrate these techniques into a functional and specific format. It is progressive and systems oriented. And it works. Notice how I coach as my athletes are working. I stop to show and explain what was right and what was wrong. Coaching is an art. It is.. More »
Kids Fitness Team Training Made Easy
During the ‘Activation/Torso’ portion of my training session. That’s when I do it. I literally walk around and chat with each athlete while they go through their basic activation or torso drills. And that’s where I ascertain and mentally plot the session. Have a look – It never stops amazing me how often I see coaches and trainers discussing the finer points of making young athletes and general kids fitness better, but only ever focus their conversation on things like speed training techniques or set and rep ranges. COACHING and COMMUNICATION.. More »
The IYCA – My Inspirational Weekend
It was a treat, a pleasure and an honor. Here’s the short video clip of Gray, Lee and myself: And to think… The IYCA has only just started. Brian
Youth Fitness Specialist Why This is ‘Your IYCA’
How Valuable is the Youth Fitness Specialist Certification? “I’ve been hired by parents from towns from as far as 20 miles away, created Charity programs with my local Boys Club, created a name for myself in Athletic Development through my community and thankfully, due to the revenue incurred from my accelerated skills through the IYCA, am opening my first training center in January. This is what I’ve accomplished with my Youth Fitness Specialist certification and this is what it will do for you” That’s a testimonial Robert Belley wrote for me over 12 months ago. His career has.. More »
IYCA – Loving Every Second of it
The Growth of The IYCA So I make the drive from my home in Schaumburg to Northbrook – about 20 minutes or so. I’m meeting with two editors from Men’s Health to discuss a book deal as well as chat with a local school district about bringing our Fit Schools project to their respective PE programs. Now, although I’ve talked on the phone with my two Men’s Health colleagues dozens of times, I’ve never met them face-to-face and certainly have no idea what they looked like. When I stopped at a grocery store just before my meeting.. More »
Developing Young Athletes: What is Athletic Intelligence?
[wpfblike] Developing Young Athletes ‘Intelligence’. Defined by the dictionary as – “The capacity for learning, understanding and aptitude for grasping relationships” That sets the stage very nicely for the meaning of this IYCA-based term. What about ‘Athletic’? It’s defined as such – “Involving the use of physical skills or capabilities” String those two definitions together and you’ve got the basis for the main motivation needed when training and developing young athletes. In short – “Increasing the capacity for learning and understanding various physical skills and how they relate”.. More »
An Invitation – From Myself and Gray Cook
You may recall a few weeks back when we hosted our first ‘Coffee, Tea and Talk’ event for all IYCA members. No charge. No strings attached. No registration. I know full well how little face time you get with some of the industry ‘big dogs’ and even less interaction with the heads of many other certification company’s. And as silly as this may sound, the IYCA was created by Coaches, for Coaches. I’m not a ‘velvet rope’ kind of guy. I don’t try to shield myself or my time from people because I.. More »
Common Mistakes in Youth Speed Training
The video above is an excerpt from the Youth Speed Training’ DVD in my Complete Athlete Development system. Teaching quality deceleration and acceleration skills from different angles is the most important place to start with an effective Youth Speed Training system. Do you have a system for Youth Speed Training? Complete Athlete Development will be off the market very soon, but the speed training system I outline within it will make all the difference in the world to the success rates of your young athletes. Heath Croll down in Virginia had this to say – .. More »
Complete Athlete Development For Coordination
Complete Athlete Development Video Clip The above video clip is from the ‘Coordination Development’ DVD in my Complete Athlete Development system. Complete Athlete Development is literally changed the lives and careers of countless Trainers and Coaches worldwide due to it cutting and revealing look at how to TRULY train and develop young athletes. Head Football Coach, John Reese, has this to say about it – “I received your Complete Athlete Development system a few weeks ago and have to say that so far am loving it. I have only just thumbed through the exercises,.. More »
Training Young Athletes Speed – The Success Keys
Training Young Athletes Speed Is not all about making them sweat. It’s about making them better. It’s not about making young athletes tired. It’s about teaching them so they become more effective. A lot of my training system isn’t ‘sexy’. It’s not the ‘cool, new, funky’ stuff that looks impressive. But it works. And it builds rock solid athletes every time. Here’s that training young athletes speed video clip:
Coaching Young Athletes – Your Passion or Job?
Coaching Young Athletes Can Be So Rewarding. “We made it to the State Quarterfinals for two consecutive years. This had never been done before in school history” I would say that’s the crowning achievement of my career. I’ve trained Olympic athletes. Highly paid professionals from various sports. National Team competitors from all over North America and Europe. But I have never been more honored or filled with pride than I was when I received a letter from the head football coach of a high school program I volunteer for. The quote above was part.. More »
Peaking for Young Athletes?
Peaking for Young Athletes. Should we do it? At a seminar I presented this past weekend in Canada, I opened my day-long presentation with an introduction filled with passionate and thought provoking insight into the Art of Coaching, the need to TEACH and the necessity we have as an industry to steer the youth conditioning niche a different direction such as Peaking for Young Athletes – specifically, to stop creating short-term training programs within which biomotor improvement (speed, strength, flexibility etc) is at the top of the priority list and in lieu of developmentally sound sequences and adequate instructional.. More »
Elevating Young Athletes
Young athletes require support and guidance. Quick thought for you… How can you elevate the Young Athletes you train? The ones who constantly work hard, are forever giving you their best efforts and never let up no matter how difficult the session is. How can you help elevate them into a team leader? Because sometimes they are quiet. They lead by example, to be sure, but maybe you want more of their tenacity known. I don’t struggle with this problem… in fact, I have a system for making this work. But I really want to hear your thoughts. Click below.. More »