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Old Forum Resources on general athletic ability for kids?

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mindquest

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Just read this post on Elitefts and mentioned NPR article:

http://asp.elitefts.net/qa/training-logs.asp?qid=203781&tid

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/02/03/269521744/young-athletes-risk-back-injury-by-playing-too-much-too-soon

and was wondering if anyone has recommendations for resources (books, article, videos...etc) on developing a general base of athletic ability for kids (grade school not high school)?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

 
 
I have not read through a lot of their material, but this (http://www.strongkid.com) is the only resource I know of that is dedicated to the subject (at least where strength is prioritized).  My kids are three and five, and I have found a few ways to keep them safe and having fun while they "play along" with my training sessions.

1. Rings. They both love swinging on rings, and do pull-ups with some assistance.

2. Sandbags. I have a heavy sandbag, and I bought two small neoprene bags (sandbells, 10lbs and 25lbs) that they cary, squat, move overhead, and throw. They are soft enough that injury seems impossible if they drop it.

I'm sure that in a few more years (ages 8-10?), light kettlebells will start becoming a tool for light practice. To me, that seems like the most important part for young kids: make it fun and a practice session. No forcing it and no pushing them to their limit.
 
Thanks for the website tip, I will definitely look into it. I have been doing alot of searching and can't find many resources, seems like a niche that needs to be filed.
 
I think a big thing to do with kids is to get them to a park to play. It's simple, but all the good stuff is. They hang from monkey bars, climb up slides, balance on jungle gyms and, above all, run around. Get them to do stuff that's fun. If it's fun, they'll do it more. Ride bikes, go on walks, whatever...keep those kids moving.

The difference between doing this completely unorganized exercise and sitting in front of a Playstation is huge. My kids will watch me with the kettlebells (and count reps, sometimes). They might grab one here or there and do a goblet squat (kid squat form is crazy good, btw) here or there, but they don't really do anything with them. That's fine. I want them to know it exists. If they get interested, then we'll go from there.

Another thing we do is hang competitions off a chin-up bar. My 2 girls (9&7) can both deadhang over a minute. My 4 year old boy can hang for over 30 seconds. It's a simple thing, but I see it as a 'grease the groove' type of thing. Just keeping simple strength work will keep things on the right path.

 
 
I've got a friend that was pretty well trained from a young age.  More than his strength (which was largely acquired in his high school days) is his ability to intuit new movement skills.  I was amazed at how he could pick up different sparring modalities.  His dad was the local badass in his Philippine village and from about 7-14 would just give him random useless tasks to do.  He'd just hand him a sledgehammer and say "hammer this fence post until I come back" or "flip this tractor tire to the end of the yard before dinner."  Says he never understood why his dad made him do these things and thought his old man was a bit crackers until he started playing more organized sports around age 12 and found that he outperformed everyone from the get-go.  I think the key was that it was never something he had to do for a long time and that became tedious...it was just a constant series of one-offs that his dad threw at him completely at random as he thought of them.
 
Tim & Charles,

 

Thanks for the replies!  Once it heats up over here they will be outside again as much as possible, sad to say I don't live in an area where the kids can roam free like I used to do when I was young.

Still looking over the book list at strongkid.com and hoping to pick up one that is a good fit for my needs.

 

Thanks again everyone!
 
i dont understand these responses.  for a grade school kid, imo, just let him or her play whatever pick up sports with friends he wants.  instead of getting bored to death doing goblet squats they could be, lets see, skating, skiing, playing soccer, baseball, flag football, basketball, hockey, racing...
 
Daniel,

That's sort of the problem. Kids don't play pick-up games at a park anymore. It's kind of sad, but they'd rather be at home playing on electronics. I kick my kids out of the house all the time. If they can't find anything to do, I make them clean up stuff...they find something to play pretty quickly. Because of all the jerks that float around parks, you shouldn't just let you kids go on there own for hours at a time (like I did when I was young) if you live in a big city. Getting kids out in the sun and running around has to be a priority. It doesn't have to be league soccer or softball, but it does have to be something you, as a parent, make happen.
 
Since kids aren't playing as much in their early years, youth sport coaches are finding they have to do more GPP to back-fill the gaps and bring the kids up to "healthy beginner" status.

Most parents don't recognize they play the most important role in their kids physical education by just getting them out to play on a regular basis.
 
ah tim, i see your point,  and agree if there is no pick up than you have to make it happen somehow :)

i was fortunate i guess, i lived in a safe town, in a neighborhood with a couple dozen kids and we'd play soccer, football, flashlight tag, other random stuff in the woods, in a pool the whole neighborhood played in together.  i guess looking back, i can be grateful for that.
 
Dave,

My college final field studies project/class was centered around PE in grade schools (sadly there is no current official program in Nevada).  The "mastermind" if you will on the subject is Pangarazi, who emphasizes the need for everything to be in a play type format.  He gives a lot of game ideas to develop all needed skills, down to fine motor control (an example is learning to juggle with scarves, dance moves, etc.).  I'd highly recommend the book for anyone wanting solid ideas on applying what we now know about movement and strength through StrongFirst and FMS and applying those concepts to developing children.

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Physical-Education-Elementary-Children/dp/0321592530/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392845142&sr=1-3&keywords=physical+education+kids
 
Tim,

Sadly you're right.  Thus we have to take it upon ourselves to find others who recognize this as a problem and form groups, etc. to allow kids the opportunity to spontaneously learn sports, etc. in an organized way.  Apathy never solves anything and I can't think of an excuse any of us can make (myself included) for not forming groups within our local communities to create these missing outlets.

 
 
Here's a book on the subject:

http://www.stadion.com/children-and-sports-training/
 
Dan John is a great resource in this area.  he responded to one of my posts a few months back concerning training with my teenage daughter.  he also wrote a book which would be helpful which can be found on his website.
 
below is Dan John's response to my topic - which was entitled "S&S for teenager".  I had asked for any input that others might have had working with strength training for young athletes, and in particular, their own kids, and Dan John responded with the following - I think it's on topic enough to include in this post concerning athletic ability:

Well, I have over 30 years coaching HS (and college and…).  First, the best and worst moments of my coaching career have been working with my daughters. From the highs (state champ, certified as KB instructor, both competing in the discus at state in the finals) to the lows (coaching your own daughter!), it is an experience in giving and learning.

Do NOT ignore the short warm up. The Pelvic Tilt (the second exercise) is something that might do a world of good for her the rest of her life. Those three moves are perfect…if she throws the javelin, it’s the best thing I know. Those two extra stretches, from my experience, won’t do much for a 14 year old girl, but teach it so she can keep it in her pocket for “later.” And, there is always later…

I STRONGLY suggest you switch out the shoe for half a glass of water. Use a plastic cup and put it on her fist. In my experience, nothing teaches the focus of strength for teen females better than this. If she bends the elbow, loses Zenith, or stumbles, we say “Baptized!” and we all laugh. She will buckle down, flow better, tighten up and learn the basics of strength.

Whether or not this is a good or bad choice, don’t worry about it. We can’t help but open the internet and fine more things to do.  Trust the process. Here is what we know for sure: I doubt she will get hurt doing this…seriously doubt it, she will certainly knit up the area between the shoulders and hips, she will learn to pack and move the shoulders, she will learn the hip hinge and the squat, her grip will improve, she will learn how to snap the glutes (superior sports performance key one) and she will have some time with you.

Can you do more “more?” Sure, but don’t. Trust the process. Have one or two tiny assessments like a Vertical Jump or Three Long Jumps in a row…boing, boing, boing style. Maybe even a biannual FMS test…whatever. Any kind of “this is better” assessment is all you need. Lindsay add sixteen feet to her shot put during high school…that was one simple assessment.

I have a book on my website, “From Dad to Grad.” You can get it on Kindle, but they make you pay for it (I wanted it free or 99 cents). I am expanding it into another edition, but I wrote this when Kelly, who is now a mother and in her third year as a First Grade teacher) was 14. Let me just say this: it happens fast and enjoy it.

You could do far worse than S and S…I’m not so sure better. If you are looking for the Perfect Program, be sure to watch “Groundhog Day.” The writer said in an interview that they had figured that he repeated that same day “tens of thousands of times” before he figured out how to move on.

A perfect program is like that: you will let a lot of living go by before you ever find it…I doubt you will. So, dive into the deep waters of S and S and, like Captain Pickard: “Make it so.” Focus on the journey towards the perfect swing and Tai Chi Get Up and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

And, I envy you a bit…
 
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