I want to emphasize student-athlete because that is exactly who high school athletes are. They are students first and athletes second. Now I’m not going to go on a tangent about today’s youth, especially in sports, but heres what Coach Geno Auriemma of UConn had to say:
But that isn’t the purpose of this article but it does coincide with what I want to touch upon today. When people ask me what I do, I tell them, “I am a strength and conditioning coach.” Been doing it for over 10 years now and I receive a lot of questions from friends and family who have young kids in sports looking to improve their performance through training.
So I figured I’d share my thoughts on Why All High School Student-Athletes Need a Strength and Conditioning Program:
It’s Now Essential: In today’s athletic world, strength and conditioning plays a huge role in the success of an athlete and team as a whole, and whether or not a coach keeps his/her job. When people talk about how teams win in the off season, it’s because they are following or part of a strength and conditioning program. As a former strength coach at a college level, athletes spent the most time working with me than their sport coaches. Strength and conditioning programs are becoming a norm to have at schools and if you or your young student-athlete are interested in playing at the college level, well then they better get comfortable with being in a strength and conditioning environment.
Build a Strong Foundation: It’s suggested that young kids play multiple sports in order to have a well rounded experience in movement. As a kid I was involved in hula, martial arts, baseball, basketball, volleyball, dodge ball, surfing, and more which entails a ton of different movements and impact on the body. As you get older and mature is when you can start being a little more specific. Today, too many young athletes spend too much time on playing one sport or doing “specific” training. If you are sending your kid to a bunch of speed and agility camps but they can barely perform a proper squat or do a lunge exercise without looking like they are going to fall over, you are setting them up for injury. Strength and Conditioning programs should be teaching your young athletes the mechanics of speed and agility, the basic exercises with proper form, and working on energy system training (conditioning).
Coming from a collegiate background, the majority of the kids who excelled further are the ones who had a good foundation of understanding exercises and how to conduct themselves in a training facility. The young athletes with no foundation, had to play catch up to the rest. The young athletes who “thought” they had a strong foundation, had to unlearn bad habits which set them back from where they “thought” they were.
Don’t Care about Numbers. Care about Movement. While getting stronger and improving the amount of weight you can lift is important in strength and conditioning, for young student-athletes – they should never be chasing after the numbers just to have bigger numbers. It turns into an ego thing and they start to sacrifice proper movement for more weight.
Here’s a big news flash!!! College Strength Coaches don’t care about your numbers because we think most of them are bullshit. We are never impressed with a kid or parent who tells us they can bench, squat, or clean X amount of weight. We really don’t care nor do we pay much attention to it when it’s on paper. We care more about form and how well a young student athlete can conduct themselves in a training environment.
Learning Environment: In a good strength and conditioning program, young student-athletes learn about what their bodies are capable of, they learn how to move properly to reduce the risk of injury, and they learn the 3 D’s of my coaching philosophy: dedication, determination, discipline. All which are needed in order to have continuous progress physically and mentally.
It’s a Privilege. Not all young student-athletes have the privilege of access to a strength and conditioning program. I have the utmost respect for strength and conditioning coaches because many become mentors to the youth. It is not a glamorous job nor do many of us get into the profession to make a lot of money. We become coaches because we want to help others become the best versions of themselves not only as an athletes but also as a person. But again, not all strength and conditioning programs and coaches are equal which is why you must educate yourself on what to look for in a program and coach.
I’M HERE TO HELP YOU.
If you are a parent or student-athlete interested in finding a strength and conditioning program, coach, or personal trainer, to help you improve your performance and you don’t know where to start and you have questions, I’m here.
Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at daniel.aipa(at)thekuproject.com
