Why am I doing this?

I've said it many times before. And I am going to keep saying it no matter how much parents don't want to hear it:

Developing movement skills, and thus athletic ability, is like developing any other skill - It takes time and there is a process. Just like there is a process to learning the rules of language.

So here at Peak Performance, we emphasize teaching skills through drills. Far too many sport coaches, whether they be volunteer or "professionals" are busy simply running kids through drills without teaching them the one thing that matters, WHY AM I DOING THIS DRILL?

You really have to make a conscious effort to teach kids how to move. So if you simply ask them to do a ladder drill. Yeah they will probably be able to do it, but if you can't teach them how it carries over to their sport, then you're simply making a "ladder" athlete (a kid who's great at ladder drills). And last time I checked, there wasn't a trophy or scholarships given out for being good at ladder drills.

At Peak Performance, we emphasize the big WHY. We want our athletes to know why they are doing a drill and what skill it is they are developing.

We want you as parents to know as well. So if there is ever a point that your young athlete comes to you and says, "we did such and such drill today...but I don't know why," PLEASE send me an email. I want you and your athletes to know what it is your kids are doing and why it is your kids are doing it.

Our Movement First Program will be starting on August 30th. This is for athletes ages 8-12 and the time is from 6-6:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sign them up today!! The cost is $48. And trust me, this will be one of the best things you could do to develop their movement skills and thus, athletic ability!

Youth Sports Development

When people think of youth sports development, they often think of sports skill development such as improving their golf swing, curveball or jump serve.

But if you want to actually develop a young athlete, improving their movement is a MUST.

How can anybody possible think that a 14 year old who has minimal hip mobility, a tight upper back and a weak core can possibly hit a curveball by "working" on his swing? Take a step back and see what the is the basis of the swing?

Movement.

Teach kids to move more efficiently, with fewer biomechanical restrictions and you'll clean up the swing in a hurry without even working on the swing!

Our Summer Speed, Strength & Power Camp just passed the half-way point. Within the 2 different groups, there are 2 different groups split on ability level/age. Each group gets a slightly different workout. The youngest group is focused on exploring movement, learning what their bodies are capable of. The oldest group is refining movement and learning HOW to workout on their own. The other two groups are essentially one step ahead of the younger group.

This is the spectrum that needs to be followed. This is DEVELOPMENT. The younger athletes we are working with will one day be at the level of the older kids. But there is no way in heck that the 8 year-old's in our groups will be doing the same workouts as the 18 year old. The 8 year old is different than the 12 year-old, who is different than the 15 year-old who is different than the 18 year-old.

Train smart, train hard, train MOVEMENT FIRST.

Good or bad??

I watched a video today and I want you to watch it. This will take about 4:00 and I want you to consider what you have just seen.



Now considering how it appears this kid got this strong...




Was he lifting external resistance?

Well other than the curls no. He wasn't.

Is this going to destroy his bones??

Probably not. Why you ask? The way that this muscular system was stressed is in a systemic fashion. He is not doing isolation exercises but rather he is controlling and managing his own body weight. This puts the right kind of stress on bones, ligaments and joints.

Another interesting fact is that the 6-pack you see on this child was not developed by doing hundreds of situps but rather was developed as a result of his body needing stability during the inverted pushups, pullups, gymnastics and other calisthenics.

Reading the comments on this video when it was posted on Yahoo!, there were hundreds of people who were upset claiming this poor kid was ruining his body and developing a "complex."

Perhaps more american kids should "ruin" their bodies like this and develop a "complex" of fitness. Perhaps then we'll stop that runaway train that is childhood obesity. If what you saw in this video disturbs you, then it is definitely a great idea to keep your child away from the following:

1. Monkey bars at school
2. Jungle Gyms at the park
3. Tree's he/she can climb
4. Hills they can run up
5. Things they can jump off such as benches and steps
6. Fun group activities such as partner wheel barrow's, crab walks, bear crawls and other weight bearing fun stuff

So this child has a relatively large amount of muscle and a relatively small amount of body fat on him. That is no reason to say my 5 year old should not be active.

Now my disclaimer. If indeed the parents are pushing this boy to do more and to engage in weightlifting at such a young age, then perhaps there is cause for concern. But from what I see. This boy is perfectly healthy and a model for engaging in physical activity instead of parking it in front of his playstation.