General Information
- Focus in on improving general sports ability and fostering positive attitude about sports conditioning. movement, and exercise
- Train for anatomical adaption rather than physiological improvement
- Concentration should be on enjoying training
- Do not push children
- Coed Training since no developmental differences between boys and girls
- One hour sessions combining skills practice (30 min) with sports play (30 min)
- Encourages transfer of skills and techniques used in practice to the game
- When introducing program, consider adding a single fitness training component each week for the first 5-6 weeks.
- Motor Skills, Flexibility, Cardio, Strength, Speed, Agility
Motor Skills
- Preparatory for skill acquisition
- Rolling, kicking, throwing, dribbling, catching
- Simple Balance
- Walking on narrow lines, jumping onto and off of low surfaces
- Simple spatial and reaction time
- Catching
- Simple kinesthetic awareness and spatial orientation
- Crawling, rolling, front somersault, throwing, catching
- Simple hand-eye coordination
- Dribbling, throwing, catching
- Skill-enhancing
- Ball exercises, ball hits and throws, catching skills, rebounding ball catch, dribbling, relays
- Advanced balance
- Scissor kick handstand, backward roll, cartwheel, cartwheel against wall
Strength
- Informal Circuit Training
- Calisthenics, Partners, Light Medicine Balls
- Begin with single cycle
- progress incrementally to 3 cycles
- 10-15 Reps
- Consider performing a combination of other types of exercises between each weight training exercise for variety.
- Cardio calisthenics, motor skill exercises, or agility drills
- >1 year training
- Continue with circuit training or progress to conventional weight training during late preparation period.
- 1 warmup set (12 reps x 50% workout resistance)
- 1 workout set (10-15 reps)
- Continue with circuit training or progress to conventional weight training during late preparation period.
- >2 years training
- Continue with circuit training or progress to conventional weight training during late preparation period.
- 1 warmup set (12 reps x 50% workout resistance)
- 1 workout set (8-12 reps)
- Continue with circuit training or progress to conventional weight training during late preparation period.
Power
- Play & games
- Obstacle courses
- Throws: Tennis Ball, Baseball
- Alternating arms for balanced development
- Introduce 2-3 low intensity hops, jumps, and medicine ball exercises
- See Low Intense Plyometric Exercises
- Graduate to Low-medium plyometrics in one or two months
Speed & Reaction
- Activities
- Games (soccer, tag, dodgeball)
- Relays
- Sprints
- Run fast and continuous for no longer than 4 to 6 seconds
- Those approaching puberty should increase distance progressively
- 20 m to 40-50 m
- In team sports, progressively combine speed tasks with skill performance
- Throwing, kicking ball
Agility
- Those approaching puberty should add speed training with turns, change of direction, and stop and go
- Zigzag, stop & go, slalom patterns, quick turns
- Focus should be learning skills involved in drill rather than quickness and fast feet
- Obstacle courses and Games
Cardio / Endurance
- Activities
- Play and Games
- Medium to fast for short play
- 2-4 bouts with variable rest interval
- Relays
- 40-200 m, medium speed
- 2-4 bouts with 2-3 minutes rest
- Aerobic Activity
- Low intensity, steady pace
- Jogging, swimming, rowing, roller skating
- Progress from short to longer durations
- Obstacle Course
- Long Course
- Play and Games
- Find ways to make enjoyable
- Small groups with various task
- Let children find their own pace
Flexibility
- Perform Dynamic warm-up before speed, agility, sports practice, or competition.
- Perform weight training exercises through full range of motion.
- Correct deficiencies found in Functional Movement Screening (FMS) at end of workouts.