Youth Athletes – “Earn the right to progress!”
We strongly believe that our athletes have to EARN THE RIGHT TO PROGRESS which means that they must be able to perform a particular exercise with excellent technique and control before they are able to progress onto a more advanced version!! If this is not adhered to, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.
Start with WHY?!
It is so important to ask this question in order to maximise your training! If you jump into the most advanced exercises when you’re not ready, this will severely hinder your ability to improve. It is also likely to end in injury! So, ask yourself…
“WHY are you prescribing that exercise? Is it to improve power? If so, has the athlete already developed a good level of strength? If not, why are they attempting a clean and jerk??”
All too often, I see young athletes performing advanced exercises such as single leg bounding or Olympic lifting because “that’s what GB Sprinters are doing” or “this was on YouTube” but as a coach or athlete you have to ask the question…IS THIS ATHLETE READY for that particular exercise and is it appropriate??
Develop solid systems
At Go Performance we have tried and tested progressions for all of our youth athletes to build a fantastic foundation that they can build upon. This gives a clear pathway of progression for the athlete and coach. It gives us a clear path from day 1 to build a young athlete who has never performed a bodyweight squat, into a fine-tuned athlete who is able to perform a wide range of movements with precision, speed and skill.
We believe that developing appropriate strength in young athletes lays a solid foundation that allows other qualities such as power (rapid, explosive movements) to flourish further down the line. This has to be developed systematically as there are no short cuts to building this game changing speed, power and strength that we are aiming for!!