Sports Performance Essentials for Athletes Aged 8-13 Years
Social media is packed with complex exercises demonstrated by top athletes. But ages 8-13? Not the time for them, even if the post claims to show “5 great ways to increase speed.” As with everything, creating a foundation of strength and stability should be the number one goal. Once that foundation is built, then those fancy social media exercises can be applied. There are many ways to achieve results; the goal is to stay consistent and focus on what’s essential rather than what looks fun. Today, we’ll focus on training for movement efficiency, nutrition, and sleep.
Sports Performance Training Essentials for Ages 8-13:
Training young athletes can be challenging. They see professional athletes using weights and doing high-intensity drills, and they want to do that too (or at least they think they do ;)). Athletes in the 8-13 age group are not only dealing with constant changes in their center of mass but also a range of movement challenges. Focusing on lateral (side-to-side) and rotational movements in all areas of the body may help young athletes adapt more easily to these constant changes. The more in tune the athlete is with their body in space, the more effective and adaptable they will be as they continue to grow and develop.
Nutrition Needs of the Developing Athlete:
The window for the body to grow and change is relatively short, making nutrition during this phase crucial. The challenge here is that young athletes often don’t like eating the nutrients necessary to reach their full growth potential. Most kids in the 8-13 age group are very active but rarely get the macro- and micronutrients needed to fuel their bodies effectively. The goal at this stage is to ensure they get the necessary calories while maximizing the intake of vitamins and minerals without going overboard. The goal is not to put on extra weight but to make sure the body has the right nutrients available for growth and development.
Sleep for the Developing Athlete:
Sleep is often a challenging topic. Kids typically don’t want to sleep—unless they have to wake up for school. Going to sleep late is often seen as “cool.” However, it is extremely important for the developing athlete to get plenty of sleep. Studies show that the more sleep, the better. In this developmental stage, eight hours of sleep is crucial, but closer to 10 hours would be even better. Sleep is when the body builds and repairs itself. It’s the only time the body can truly relax and focus on maintenance and growth. Without adequate sleep, especially if the athlete is very active, the body never has a chance to complete regular maintenance and grow as needed.
Develop the foundation:
Effective Movement, Nutrition, and Sleep are Essential for the Developing Athlete. Ages 8-13 is when these factors begin to really matter. Finding effective strategies to help the developing athlete meet the needs in each of these categories is extremly important, though it can be challenging. No matter what other athletes are doing focus on the foundation and see your developing athlete unleash the potential!
#unleashthepotential
Written by:
Kirill Vaks
BA, CSCS
Take action… Now!
Voorhees Flyers Training center.
The Hollydell ice arena, in the main building.
