The statistics are staggering. There’s nearly 3.2 million children age five to 14 who received medical treatment for a sports-related injury in 2017. More than a million of those needed emergency room treatment. Yet we continue to hold up youth sports in America as a solution. To what exactly? I’m trying to figure that out.… Continue reading Why Your Pre-Teen Is Weak And What To Do About It
This game is called the “Escape Game” or “Gate Game.” It’s been part of my training repertoire since before All-Star opened our doors in March, 2008. This is an absolute favorite among athletes and across all age groups. Athletes from every sport and even a lot of “non-athletes” love to play. So simple to set… Continue reading The Escape Game For Speed, Agility and Quickness For Athletes
Strength and conditioning coaches and fitness trainers love to talk about progressions. Let’s face it, there are numerous progressions for just about any exercise or activity you can think of. What’s the next progression for the exercises you’re currently using or doing? Are your progressions practical and context-specific or are they progressions for the sake… Continue reading Exercise Progression and Athlete Mastery
Accountability. The word, and the concept, get thrown around so much, it’s become a cliche. But are we using accountability with youth athletes more like a blunt object than a sharpened tool to sculpt success? Much has been said and written about the value of accountability in training and sports. So much, in fact, that… Continue reading Accountability or Unnecessary Confrontation for Youth Athletes?
Play contact sports for any length of time and at one point or another you’re probably going to have your ‘bell rung’ by a powerful blow to the head from a hard hit or fall. Rising awareness of the severe, abiding repercussions of strong impacts to the head — concussions, mild traumatic brain injury, neurological… Continue reading Side Hits to Head Can Lead to Brain Damage, Concussion
A few years back, I was asked to be part of a project with a huge task. Our goal was to produce a book that provided a “definitive guide” to what it meant to help young athletes develop successfully and safely. I got to co-author with some amazing youth fitness professionals. It was an honor… Continue reading Steal This Book! (Sort of)
A study of high school and college football players suggests that biomarkers in the blood may have potential use in identifying which players are more likely to need a longer recovery time after concussion, according to a study published in the July 3, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy… Continue reading Blood Biomarkers May Help Predict Concussion Recovery Time
I’ve been around the Youth Training and Fitness field for 20 years and I’ve made enough mistakes to know I don’t know everything.However, I DO know that parents and coaches are still committing some “deadly sins” when it comes to training youth athletes!Listen in as I share 5 of those “deadly sins.” Find out: Why… Continue reading Podcast: 5 Deadly Sins Parents and Coaches Commit in Training Youth Athletes
A review led by a sports scientist at the University of Stirling has set out new international guidelines for protein intake in track and field athletes. The findings of the paper form part of the updated International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) consensus statement on Sports Nutrition for Track and Field Athletes. Dr Oliver Witard,… Continue reading New Protein Guidelines for Track and Field Athletes
Drinking a casein shake just before overnight sleep increases gains in muscle mass and strength in response to resistance exercise. But to date, no study has directly addressed whether this effect is due to increased total protein intake only, or if a bedtime beverage is better. According to a review published in Frontiers in Nutrition,… Continue reading The Scoop on Bedtime Protein for Bigger Gains
