Groovin' the movement

This is a quick post about learning. Many, many parents of athletes, particularly baseball and softball, choose to use weighted balls and bats in order to "make their kids stronger." 


On the surface, this makes sense. But if you look a little deeper into what there body is learning to do, you'll see that often that the intricate  motion of throwing is changed when a heavier ball is used. 

Nobody follows through like that at the plate!

Watch a player swing a bat with a donut on it, does that swing look like the swing they are going to take when they walk to the plate?  From watching youth baseball, I would hope that player doesn't take his "on-deck weighted" swing with him to the plate!

The same principle needs to be used when teaching movement to younger athletes. They are at such a prime learning age, it makes no sense to refine mechanics and then all of a sudden switch to a heavier or lighter weight that might disrupt that pattern.

What we do in our sports training is similar in concept. For kids up to age 12-13, we do minimal weight lifting. instead we focus on developing body control and awareness through body weight exercises. Then we simply try to groove the correct movements into a motor skill that can be executed without thought, essentially making the movement a "sure thing."

In summary, if you've got a younger athlete who appears to be excelling in a given sport or movement, don't confuse them by throwing another variable at them. Instead, groove that quality pattern, keep refining it over and over. Then when they get to 14-15 years old, then we can start adding some external resistance.