Developing long term successful athletes by focussing on the foundations of athletic performance
Everyone wants their teenager to perform as well as possible in sport.
To build great future athletes we must start with the basics.
Children & teenagers are more sedentary than they have even been before. We are finding that simple, natural human movement skills need to be taught. Get the basics right and we can build a strong foundation to give your child the best possible chance to achieve his or her sporting dreams.
For developing youth athletes learning the process of training in a fun and engaging way off the field is to build fundamental movement patterns before beginning the next process of improving performance in their sport through physical development training, by adding these layers to the fundamentals, you can build strength and resilience before getting more specific with training at a older age in regards to improving speed, power, strength and capacity while maintaining that resilience long term.
The notion that resistance training can cause negative effects on development and maturity in children is incorrect
When supervised by qualified professionals, appropriate exercise selection is crucial for those young athletes who are often physically underprepared to tolerate the demands of sports.
Benefits of resistance training for Youth Development include;
Enhance muscular strength and power of youth
Improve cardiovascular risk profile of youth
Better motor skill performance and may contribute to enhanced sports performance of youth
Increase a young athlete’s resistance to sports-related injuries
Improve the psychosocial well-being of youth
Can help promote and develop exercise habits during childhood and adolescence
Resistance training programs that include jump and weight training can help to improve strength and coordination. It also encourages motor unit activation, movement pattern development and bone density. This will help to decrease the risk of sports-related injuries.
A great program encompasses movement patterns, core strength, power & speed, agility & reaction times and aerobic/anaerobic endurance at levels appropriate to the junior athlete.
Our program consists of functionally sound movement and strength training with a strong focus on basic and proper technique.
Sessions becomes progressively more challenging once basic movements have been mastered.
We work on:
SPEED – Acceleration, Deceleration, Linear and Lateral Movement Techniques, Running Mechanics, Footwork
EXPLOSIVE POWER – Plyometrics, Medicine Ball, Jumping & Landing Techniques
STRENGTH – Functional approach with kettlebells, medicine balls and bodyweight
MOBILITY – Various forms of movement prep and stretching
INJURY REDUCTION – Identify & Correct Muscular Imbalances, Balance & Stabilization
NUTRITION EDUCATION – Lessons, tips and advice
A huge focus on injury prevention specific to your teenager run by degree qualified professionals with experience in teenager development
It’s obvious to most parents that the more your young kids can run, jump, hop, swim and enjoy sports, the better. However growing bodies become susceptible to injury; higher levels of sports demand more from our kids, and the pressure of progress starts to weigh down on our kid’s shoulders. most kids are set up to fail — they are pushed too hard, for too long, until they break down.
One of the best ways to manage the pressures of playing multiple sports with multiple training sessions, plus school and a social life is to optimise their athletic potential away from the field of play.
Helping youth athletes jump, land, run, push, pull and be injury resilient is one of the most valuable tools a kid can have.
While most youth athletes simply do ‘more and more training’, the philosophy here at Optimus Health Group is to allocate a percentage of their training week to get an opportunity to learn and discover how to move well… because that’s one of the best ways to prevent injuries.
Our High-Performance Manager Jake Leslie is working on neck strength during pre-season for rugby forwards. In the professional league, the average pack of forwards can produce up to 2721KG of force into a single scrum. These boys aren't quite as heavy but they still need to put as much work into developing the correct strength. Mind the swearing...it is quite a tough exercise!