Interesting Youth Sports, Health And Training Facts

AAU JO’s 2009 a day off for the girls

”Can we go to the mall”

Back In the summer I wrote a post on health and training facts. It got a great reception so I decided to do some more while you have time to really read,reflect and maybe even plan implementation of some easy to do stratagies that will help your youth athlete next season.

According to the Tanner Stages of Development Girls peak growth spurt is around 9-13 with the onset of breast development and ultimately menses. For boys it is a couple of years later closer to 12-15 with the onset of voice changes,acne and facial hair. Until 12 or 13 years old the best and fastest girls can still beat many boys, which thrills them to no end. Just remind them it’s not for ever but it is still fun.
Girls and boys have the same strength until puberty.
If a girl hasn’t yet started to menstruated she is still in the running for a little more height.
Girls tend to store a little (I did say little) extra fat before menstruation begins so if she is of a normal weight variant she should not diet.
Researchers now believe that fat is used as a fuel resource with youth girls as much as carbohydrates are .
In hot and humid climates it is a very good idea to weigh your kids to see how much water to drink before arrival to practice.
Most of the energy used in competition isn’t just from the night before a meet but the week before a competition. We should always be preparing our youth athletes with proper nutrition,not just on meet day.
Eating sugary foods or honey right before a race or at practice doesn’t provide instant energy.
The post meal is probably more important that the pre-meal because it determines just how much energy stores the athlete will have for the next outing.
The child that can find for themselves a level of joy,passion and interest will find ways to perform at their best and enjoy the sport even if not progressing to higher levels of competition.
All great performers from Hockey to top Classical Musicians speak of the role of fun, passion or love for the pursuit has played in their achievments.
Researchers overwhelming identify that parents have the greatest influence on attitudes and outcomes in a childs sports life good or bad.
Fewer than 1% of youth athletes will ever become pro’s.
The worst incidents of youth sports violence at an event or practice have featured parents with children fourth-though eighth graders.
Children that attend well run skills based camps and clinics are likely to benefit athletically from the experience.
Experts say that emotional state of children regarding sports participation is much more fragile that we parents are often aware of,no matter if our kids are great performers or great particiapants. We need to always be aware of the buliding of our kids esteem. Good performance or not. Overly focusing on either isn’t a good idea.
For many youth athlete parents it is just as difficult being the”Star Kid’s Dad” as one of the parents of a ,not as athletically competitive athlete. Parents often feel the pressure of consistently winning and when this doesn’t happen they as well as the children can bear the brunt of a large let down even disappointment. Learning early no one wins all the time can help balance both child and parent.
A famous elite track coach that was speaking at a track clinic stated that youth athletes benefit greatly by measured observable improvement not just in time, but in technique. Grab a video and show your athlete just what he has accomplished.
No matter how much raw data and official statistics given, most parents believe that a scholarship is readily available for their child. Parents word to the wise invest as much time and cash into your childs academic pursuits as their sports pursuits
Experts say that participating in varied activites in early youth 6-13 actually improves the specialized sports athletes performance in high school and beyond. Why do we see so many track athletes running year round? Something to think about.