- by Kelly Miller
- 1 minute read
Youth Training – Part 3
[Long but parents, you will want to read this one] One of the first things we aim to assess after meeting a young athlete is their physical literacy. Physical literacy “training age” is essentially our ongoing assessment of how someone moves; their body awareness, coordination and movement patterns. One thing we see a lot is, due to sport specialization, it’s possible for youth to be very talented on the ice, field, court, yet seem to have limited physical literacy in the gym. If athletes from a AAA team are compared to those of a house league team of the same age group, they are actually likely to have a similar physical literacy off the ice. This is where training age comes in, as it is not necessarily the same as how old they are. Training age is related to hours spent in the gym learning movement patterns. How nicely a player squats, hinges, lunges, pushes, pulls or braces their core off the ice doesn’t always directly predict talent on the ice.
By correcting faulty movement patterns in the gym, we can improve performance on the ice, and dramatically reduce risk of injury. For example, a faulty movement pattern we see in many athletes is the knee falling inwards on a squat, and this is closely related to ACL injuries.
�� To be able to perform your best, and stay healthy, you need to be able to move properly. The Varsity Spartans program helps teach proper movement patterns, that will be the basis for more advanced movements as a child grows and develops. Any child that wants to improve on-ice will eventually start strength & conditioning, so learning how to do so properly from a certified coach is a great way to start.��
�� If you’re ready to get your off-season started or have any questions about the Spartan program please contact [email protected] ��