I posted this in my own newsletter this past week... Of which Mr. JP himself is a subscriber!!!
JP asked that I post it here for discussion. I won't lie, my ability to post on message boards is limited (due to my schedule). Discuss among yourselves for now and I will try to add some commentary here and there!!!
Before I get started here, I don't REALLY view this as folks being critical... I just thought it was a catchy title!
It seems as though some of my articles are being posted and shared all over the world-wide-web... and I certainly have no problem with that.
You may remember last week when I posted a Q & A from my new book regarding how to select adjunct sports for your young athletes to play. Well... a bunch of soccer coaches and parents posted my article on their own discussion board and have been drawing some conclusions!
If you need a refresher, last week's article can be found here -
http://www.developingathletics.com/x...nl_vol_79.html
I have no interest (or time) in arguing with people online - but I thought you would enjoy their conclusions (in quotes) and my responses.
I'm sure there will be more next week... this post will likely find its way back to there discussion board!!
Enjoy!
1)"The problem in my house is I have a 12 year old that has made the decision to play no other sport then soccer. She has played basketball and softball in the past and was quite good at both, at least at an entry level. No amount of encouragement to consider other sport teams will make her do so. I sit on the fence trying to determine whether this is a good thing or a bad thing".
Nowhere in my reply did I suggest that the adjunct activities must be other organized sports.
Adjunct activities could also include supplemental training either at a facility or on-site with a qualified developmental coach. Many personal trainers and strength coaches in North America run basic 6-week-type ‘optimal strength & conditioning programs’ that do not necessarily reflect how a good development coach would train a young athlete.
I recently was asked to participate in a Knee Injury Prevention Program sponsored by Chiildren’s Memorial Hospital in which data showed (a) that ACL and other knee related injuries in young female athletes were becoming a tremendous epedemic in North American sports and (b) that soccer was among the top three sports within which young female athletes experience knee-based injuries (the other two being volleyball and basketball).
If other sports do not interest your children, how about a developmentally sound training program that is geared towards preventing injuries by teaching the principals of systemic strength (with a dominance on the posterior chain), torso-based strength and movement economy (especially with respect to cutting, changing direction and deceleration). All of which serve to decrease the injury risks mentioned above.
Unfortunately for consumers, many (most?) training facilities concentrate far too much on overt performance gains in short periods of time rather than providing developmentally-sound training prescription intended to increase and foster neural activity and prevent injuries.
At my facility we see soccer players of varying abilities and ages. Posterior chain strength development, movement economy, torso strength and other neurally stimulating activities (including movement games that have a focus on hand-eye coordination) are part of a weekly routine for our soccer players.
Make no mistake though, our training prescription is intended to combat the potential of injuries we know exist during certain age brackets, provide an athletic stimulus that differs from what a young athletes chosen sport is and prepare there bodies for the rigors of more specialized forms of training once they reach an appropriate age... we are NOT intending specifically to increase their ability on the field-of-play (although that is a natural benefit of our training program).
By the way... before I get accused of being arrogant and trying to ‘pitch’ my facility in this response, there are several coaches across this country that are excellent at what they do with young athletes. If you are looking for a developmental coach, please drop me an email and I will see if I can locate one in your area for you.
Other adjunct activities could be as easy as ‘family days’ at the park. These days, it seems as though many parents would rather sit on the sidelines and critique coaches and trainers for what they are doing right and wrong with there kids. I encourage all of the parents I come into contact with to informally design fun and neurally stimulating games that focus on a broad array of athletic skill and ‘play’ with there kids minimally once per week. These games should not necessarily reflect or serve to enhance the child’s soccer playing abilities - think outside the box. Safely climb a tree to a reasonable height (systemic strength), than perform side shuffle with Mom or Dad for 25 feet while passing a basketball back and forth (if the side shuffle is taught well, you would have movement economy and hand-eye coordination). Next, play a game of scramble to balance (globally applicable balance) while playing catch with a tennis ball (upper body peripheral dexterity). End the circuit by throwing a few tennis balls at trees or objects located at varying distances away (kinesthetic differentiation). Repeat this circuit 3 - 4 times.
2)"Every time my kid plays a sport besides soccer, he gets hurt. Whether the sport is organized or not".
So he's trying to be a good all-around boy like Brian says, but he's finding that to be a dangerous thing.
Could be conicdental, or it could be because he lacks global athletic skill outside of soccer which exposes him to injury?
The plastic nature of a young nervous system suggests that abilities are best and most optimally gained while in pre-adolescence. If the same stimulus is applied consistently and exclusively at a young age, then those specific neural patterns could leave you exposed to a variety of potential overuse injuries as well as leave you with a less than optimally developed warehouse of athletic ability. This could dampen or limit one's abilities later in the adolescent ages and certainly lead to injuries outside of there respective sport.
3) "Which European countries are not specializing their top soccer athletes by the age of 10 or 11, which is when we do it here in the US...
All are specializing their top players. They also provide cross training. I have seen the training at PSV and Ajax. The players also participate in basketball and swimming, including at some ages water polo.
I think Brian carries his arguement way too far. You do want specialization; you do not want exclusion through specialization.
His numbers are interesting as well. 4-40 games? I would hazard that the over whelming majority average 7 games a month with a tournament included".
A few points here -
As Speed, Strength and Development consultant to the Illinois ODP, I am curious as to which European countries advocate specialization in soccer at a young age. Part of the reason I remain involved with this state’s ODP is because on a European tour last year, The executive staff of Illinois ODP were thrilled to see that the developmental protocols I outline here for them are very much being incorporated in major soccer powerhouses throughout Europe (including Great Britain).
By definition, ‘providing cross training’ means that they are not specializing. "The players also participate in basketball and swimming, including at some ages water polo"... EXACTLY! There is a cross reference of neural activity at a young age that serves to augment and enhance athletic ability as a whole. Thanks for proving my point!
European sport science communities (especially in the former eastern bloc) wrote the book on this multilateral type of training style. The facts are overwhelming in favor of adopting this type of protocol with young athletes in North America but we as a society want no part of it. Can you imagine the head coach of a local travel soccer or baseball team hosting a parent information meeting and explaining how the training program for this coming year was going to include basketball, swimming and water polo!!
I can’t see how specialization or "exclusion through specialization" are any different, practically speaking. The point is that adding a variety of athletic skill development into the programs of young (especially pre-adolescent) athletes serves to (a) broaden the youngsters' athletic ability through an enhanced nervous system (b) reduce the risk of potential injury by not making skill development one-dimensional (c) enhance their potential ability in any particular sport via developing global skill and (d) prevent against emotional burnout - which is a highly problematic issue in North American youth sports.
My 4 - 40 games per month was not necessarily reflective of a typical soccer season. Youth baseball teams can play as many as 3 - 5 games per weekend and an additional 2 - 3 during the week. Having said that, how many soccer (baseball, volleyball or any other sport for that matter) practices end with a fun scrimmage? Never discount the specified loading experienced in a regular practice schedule as counting towards totals.
I have been researching developmental systems of training for over a decade and working as a practitioner for roughly the same. European models of sport development were always built on the essence of multilateral development and conditioning. The foundation of these systems were based on the notion that youngsters gained global skills and abilities as they aged - this was seen as a continual process that eventually lead to a refinement of skill acquisition and specified load training. The method of development was referred to as ‘The Process of Achieving Sport Mastery’.
The basic rationale was to develop well-rounded athletic ability via general preparatory exercises. Over time, this global-type GPP training would elicit an adaptative response which would allow for more intensive and specified realms of conditioning and skill acquisition. Specialized training in any sport was highly discouraged until the young athlete reached a particular chronological or biological age (with the exception of sports like figure skating and gymnastics which require elite competition at younger ages).
Recently, I was visited at my facility by Leigh Stacey who serves as the Program Coordinator for the Long-Term Athletic Development System of New Zealand. Her nationally-based program includes athletes between the ages of 9 - 14 years. The following list shows the New Zealand’s LTAD basic curriculum - notice how non-specific the training stimulus is:
Day One - Aquatics (stroke technique, conditioning)
Day Two - Ball Skills (hand-eye, foot-eye and dexterity development)
Day Three - Gymnastics (spatial awareness, systemic strength, dynamic balance, torso strength)
Day Four - Strength Training (skill acquisition, system strength, torso strength)
This protocol is applied to all athletes in the New Zealand LTAD program REGARDLESS of sport.
Linear Mode
