I have been privileged to work at one of Australia’s leading Junior Sports Specialist Schools for the past 12 years. In my role as a Senior Strength and Conditioning coach I have worked with over 1500 junior developing athletes. I have helped to improve their knowledge around high performance training, as well as prepare their bodies and minds to perform at their best. Many of the junior athletes I have worked with have gone on to represent their state and/or country in their chosen sport, gained scholarships to division one colleges in the USA, and successfully transitioned into professional athletes. During my time working within this specialist program I have been able to refine my craft in working with youth athletes to ensure they are robust, injury free, independent, and confident.
Sport is a huge part of the Australian landscape. We love to watch sport, but even more so, we love to play it. Everyday around the country there are hordes of young people training and playing the sports they know and love. They spend hours upon hours training to refine their skills and push their boundaries in order to compete and be the best they can.
Does this sound like your child?
If it does, then here is some information you need to know.
In the early stages of a young person’s athletic development, having the right guidance is crucial for their long-term success, not only within their sport, but in them having a good relationship with health and fitness for life!
Every parent wants the best for their child, don’t they? I’m a parent, and I know I do.
As parents we will do anything for our children. Making the right choice when it comes to their maturational, and athletic development is no different.
A training program aimed directly at younger population groups must have a holistic focus that takes into account the individuals physical, psychological, and social differences. Programs must promote exercise and training methods that minimises the risk of injury, and that promotes fitness behaviours that will form the foundation for habits later in life.
Do you want your child to be successful short term or long term?
A colleague of mine once said to me, ‘No one remembers junior champions….’, and this statement made me realise that short term success isn’t the primary goal when dealing with younger population groups.
Do these names ring any bells?
Olivier Mutis, Vladimir Voltchkov, and Wesley Whitehouse.
Well these men all won the Junior Wimbledon Championship in 1995,1996, and 1997 respectively. I’m almost certain not many people would be able to recognise these names in light of the success they achieved at such a young age. Now what if I mention a man by the name of Rodger Federer. Instantly nearly every person would be able to identify who I am talking about. Rodger Federer went on to win the Junior Wimbledon Championship in 1998, and if it wasn’t for all the success he had once he went professional, we may well of never heard of this great athlete.
Now I don’t want to downplay the success all these men had by being very successful junior athletes, however the point I am trying to make is that short term success doesn’t always lead to long term success.
Youth athletic training needs to be a considered process, and this is exactly what my program at Ultimate Conditioning Health and Fitness aims to do…slow things down. The world we live in today is faced pace, and everything needed to get done yesterday. Unfortunately, this same approach is too often applied to youth athletic population groups and what everyone forgets to realise is that with this population group we have time on our side.
You don’t put the icing on the cake before it is baked, do you? I know I don’t. It just doesn’t work. Youth athlete development is no different. There needs to be a solid foundation of physiological characteristics developed before more complex exercises, and methods, are introduced.
In the initial stages of the Youth Athlete Development Program at Ultimate Conditioning Health and Fitness, your child can expect to enhance key physical characteristics such as their coordination, balance, strength, core strength, and mental resilience, with injury prevention being a major focus of the overall program. It is these characteristics that will help to form the basis for enhancing their power, speed, and agility in the future.
So, what does the Youth Athletic Development Program at Ultimate Conditioning Health and Fitness offer your child?
Firstly, they get access to over 12 years of specialised strength and conditioning experience working with youth populations groups. They get high quality coaching and expertise relating to the training methods applicable to them, and their stage of development.
They get high quality individually modified exercise prescription and programming that will allow them to progress at their own pace. The program they get is for them, where they are developmentally, and helping them work towards where they want to be.
It offers them access to small sized training groups with capped numbers, which will ensure they are only ever training with 12 other people at any one time.
And what do you get as a parent?
Most importantly, you get confidence knowing that your child will be working in a safe and controlled training environment that will help to guide them on the correct path to maximising their talent, and ambitions.
Another key benefit of the programs is you get value for money.
I know first-hand how expensive it can be for children to participate in organised sport, especially if you have more than one. At Ultimate Conditioning Health and Fitness, I aim to make prices reasonable, and affordable. The more sessions they do the more value for money you get. Sessions prices range from $13.75 to $22.50 per session based upon how many days per week your child is training in the gym. This price includes gym access, physical assessment, and ongoing programming and coaching.
So, come and experience what it is that Ultimate Conditioning Health and Fitness has to offer your child. Click the button below to get them started on their journey to becoming the best they can be.