Have you ever been to a high school basketball game and seen a player who just stood out above the rest.  His quickness, his speed, his agility, his endurance, everything just seemed to be so much better than everyone else’s out on the floor.  Well, unless your young athlete has inherited some unbelievable genes, chances are some hard work will be required in order to stand out above the rest.

It’s sad to see that the obesity rates among children continue to climb, and while lack of activity and poor nutrition are to blame, there’s still hope in teaching kids the proper way to live a healthy lifestyle.  If done early enough, teaching kids the importance of making healthy decisions can have a lasting effect throughout their entire lives.

Obviously, getting kids active is a start when trying to help them achieve a healthy lifestyle.  One of the best ways to do this is to encourage them to join a youth sports team.  The key word here is encourage.  Kids are more likely to enjoy physical activity if they’re given options instead of requirements; the same can be said with nutrition.  It’s important that kids be taught how to make healthy eating choices, but instead of forcing kids to eat healthy, allowing them to have healthy options to choose from will lead to a healthier and happier little rascal.  Getting kids interested in physical activity and making healthy eating choices is a huge accomplishment, but it’s also the first step in developing better athletic performance in kids.
 
The next step to increase sports performance in kids is to develop better balance and coordination; without balance and coordination, the base for improvements in other areas isn’t going to be there.  Exercises such as standing on one foot, learning to ride a bike, summersaults, eating with the non-dominant hand, and coloring are great for developing one or both of these components.  Choosing no more than 4 balance exercises with 1-3 sets of 10-20 reps (6-10 on each leg) is a great start for improving balance.  These exercises should be held for 3-10 seconds for each repetition, and if your child starts to become “sloppy”, it’s time to stop.
 
The next step to achieve athletic efficiency in kids is to get them on a structured strength training program.  Over the years, there’s been such a big debate about whether or not strength training is detrimental to kids, and contrary to past beliefs, the main medical and fitness organizations are all for kids being on structured resistance training programs.

So when is the best age to start lifting weights?  When a child hits the age of 7 or 8, they’re neuromuscular system has started to reach a point that it’s ready to be trained.  This is also the age when kids have a long enough attention span to be able to follow directions and respond to the cues of a fitness professional.

To start your young athlete out on a strength training program, the best way to start would be to have her complete body-weight exercises and 1 set of 15-25 repetitions for exercises with external weight.  These exercises should be done under the guidance of a knowledgeable fitness professional, and proper form and technique should be stressed more than intensity.  Problems arise when a program is progressed too quickly with little attention on form and technique.  It’s always better to have your youngster do too little than too much, not just because of safety reasons, but also because it’ll keep your child more motivated to exercise.  Also, realize that strength training is new to them, so being patient with kids and addressing any concerns is an absolute must.  When done safely though, strength training for kids can be very beneficial.

Once a strength base is achieved, the next area to focus on would be to help your child improve her reaction time.  Different plyometric drills, such as frog hops and jumping rope, are great for increasing the efficiency between her nerves and muscles.  A good approach would be to start with 2 exercises of 1-3 sets of 3-8 repetitions, and work up from there.  If your child starts to get winded easily or becomes less explosive, it’s time to call it a day; continuing with the workout is counter-productive and can lead to injury.

Along with reactive or quickness training, training for speed is another component that needs to be enhanced.  There are two types of speed to work on with your child.  The first is forward speed, and the second is lateral speed.  The most basic forward speed drill is sprinting, and the most basic lateral speed drill is shuffling.  A good start to achieving better speed is to have your child complete 4-6 exercises of 1 set of 2 repetitions for 10 meters. 

Speed is another area that needs to be handled with care because if a child becomes too tired and breaks form, the results of the exercises will be counterproductive; only complete an exercise if your child is still performing them quickly and correctly.

I just touched on this concept, but form is another area that needs to be addressed early.  I’m not just talking about lifting form, I’m talking about running, hitting, shooting, throwing, kicking, etc.  This is one area that if it’s not corrected early enough, it can be nearly impossible to ever correct.  Form is huge; proper form will help your child run faster, throw farther, hit harder, etc., and one way to achieve proper form is to maintain proper flexibility.  Since kids are very flexible to begin with, a lot of times, just maintaining that flexibility is all that’s required.  Proper warm-ups and cool-downs will help maintain/increase flexibility, as well as proper stretching programs.  By improving flexibility, not only will risk of injury decrease, but your child’s neuromuscular patterns will improve, leading to better performance.

Increasing sports performance in kids is easy to do, but it must be done with care.  The most important thing to remember is quality over quantity; focus more on form and technique than on the intensity of the exercise.  Let your child talk with you about his concerns and enjoyment with exercise.  Starting slow and following a proper progression is the best approach to keeping your child happy, active, and safe.  A program that consists of at least 2, but no more than 4 days per week of exercise, will help your child achieve the safest and best results.  Utilizing the knowledge and experience of a nationally-certified fitness professional, who knows how to work with kids, is the best approach to take when it comes to improving athletic performance in kids.  By being patient and encouraging with your young athlete, you’ll not only set him up for athletic success, but you’ll also set him up for a healthy life. 

Dan Falkenberg, BA, ACE-CPT, NASM-PES 

Dan can be reached at DanFalkenberg.com.