Teaching kids

[Asteer]

For those of you that teach kids, I thought the following text may be of some interest. It has nothing to do with karate; in fact it is about alpine skiing. However, it provides an interesting teaser about the latest thoughts on developing young "athletes."

What is the definition of an athletic person? What characteristics do Herman Maier or Bode Miller possess that enable them to perform on a consistent basis? Physical fitness, effective technique, a psychological advantage, good equipment, the right strategy or an ability to adjust to the unexpected. At different stages of early development, the training of some skills have more impact on the final result than others. Unfortunately, far too many ski programs favor short term results as opposed to long term development.

In the short term, a 13 year-old athlete who lacks good endurance or well developed basic motor skills, but who devotes 75 days a year to skiing, can perform at a reasonably advanced level. The question is though, how will they perform in the future when the degree of difficulty of the run and the speed involved increase, when situations become more complex and unpredictable or when courses and seasons get longer? Isn’t it more important to prepare our athletes for the future than for next weekend’s race performance?

Up until very recently, the general tendency was to train each performance factor separately (physical, mental, motor and technical abilities), and then test the impact on overall performance in simulations or races. The latest research (Vickers, 2000) shows that there is another more effective way in the long-term.

By introducing two or more components at a time into one exercise, for example a mix of speed, precision, balance and problem solving elements, this enables us to develop several components at once (just as playing soccer improves our endurance, agility and coordination). When used in physical preparation, this approach enables athletes to become more autonomous and to adapt more easily to unexpected situations. The objective is no longer to execute one or more moves but to enable them to understand the situation, solve problems, have fun doing it and to be effective.

A 10 year-old athlete should devote more time to developing basic motor skills such as speed, balance and coordination because that is when the body will develop the most for that type of stimulant.

However, a 16 year-old athlete whose growth spurt has ended can begin training to increase physical strength. This is a good time to exploit that component. Research shows that by the age of 13 or 14, speed, agility, balance and coordination skills are determined much more by the work that was done earlier than by what will be done in the future (Norris, 2000). We must understand these "windows of opportunity" in order to prioritize physical training.

This long term approach to physical training is based on solid growth and development principles, developing the right physical and motor skills at the right time.