OT: Conditioning for Teenage Athletes

[jimp1234]

My 14 year old son is really excited about playing Little League baseball this season (cycling with Dad is not cool this year.. <sigh>...) and I was thinking about putting together a home conditioning program for him. Anyone have any favorite books or DVD's on teenage athlete conditioning either baseball specific, or general conditioning? Which brings me to home equipment. I have a small assortment of bands, hand weights, and a swiss ball at home and I don't have room for a full blown home "universal" so any recommendations for lightweight home exercise equipment would be helpful as well.

TIA

-Jim

[caleb]

Baseball players exercise?

http://dans-sports.com/baseball/16x20/scan0033.jpg

[learlove]

conditioning for Little League? Meybe he could swing that little Wii joystick around.

[Lifelover]

1. Footwork

2. Footwork

3. Footwork

Check with your family Dr. to be on the safe side.

Since he is still growing, never do any kind of "power" lifting where you are trying to find a max weight.

Otherwise, youth/adult conditioning is pretty much the same. Just assume that he is starting from ground zero (even if he isn't) and watch him make gains like a weed.

Did I mention footwork? Ladder drills, basic running, cutting, pivoting, 1 and 2 foot jumps, and 360 degree reaction, etc.

Good footwork goes a long ways towards reducing injury as well.

[kestrel]

My boys play soccer and run cross country. They both run 4 or 5 times per week. Plenty of stretching before and after. The oldest began some weight training in HS, and it has continued for 4 years now, but running has been the best fitness tool for either of them. No expensive gym memberships, and no expensive equipment. Fitness through running and practice. Ability and skill play a big part in success, but the ability to go hard the entire game has proved to be a valuable asset to both over the long term.

[jpw]

Swimming? No impact on soft bones and joints.

Do NOT allow him to run on hard surfaces for prolonged periods - stick to dirt and grass.

Keep it FUN.

[Climb01742]

i'd do mostly bodyweight stuff. some explosive ply-o stuff. agility drills. core stuff on the balls and planks. stretching. keep it as functional as possible.

performbetter.com has some good dvds on conditioning.

also check out stack.com for some good videos of workouts. if you sift through the site, there are some pretty interesting stuff pro athletes do. and it's all free content.

[Peter P.]

I've found this web site to have the most comprehensive information about weightlifting, including weightlifting for teenagers.

http://www.exrx.net/

Go to the Beginner's Page and scroll down to Special Populations.

[andy mac]

a world cup/olympic ski coach recommends parents get their kids into gymnastics - strength and coordination that's helpful in all sports.

:beer:

andy

[rugbysecondrow]

I like this:
http://www.crossfit.com/

but this might be a good place to start for him:

http://www.crossfitkids.com/

Also, I always liked Fartlekking. It seems to maximize the time you have for training and I find you can make it mirror the type of activity you are training for. An example of how I used it for Rugby was:

Set up work out stations on the corners of the pitch (Sit ups, push ups, Squats, Lunges). Run from station to station. Jog the shorts, sprint the longs, stopping at each station for a 30 second workout. Do this starting at 15 minutes and work up from their. It gets you in incredible shape and doesn't do heavy weights. Also, all the exercises gets the core involved, which is key to any activity. Also, what it does is helps to mimic some of the motion of the sport. You could set it up on the ball diamond and use the bases as stations.

Most importantly, make it a fun workout that has goals and is broken up. One of the stations we used to have when we used partners was a tire pull (exactly what it sounds like, two people wrestling over a tire). It is a good workout but it was also fun...

Have fun.

[Lifelover]

I've found this web site to have the most comprehensive information about weightlifting, including weightlifting for teenagers.

http://www.exrx.net/

Go to the Beginner's Page and scroll down to Special Populations.


That's a great resource. Thanks for posting.

It may debunk my understanding that kids should not work towards max weight training.

[rePhil]

Has your son played before? Let us know as it makes a huge difference.
We live in a big baseball area. Age 14 around here is Babe Ruth League.
I watched average little league players transformed by their familes hiring major league coaches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John-Ford_Griffin
and sadly
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Doug_Million

Above all,make it fun. Enjoy playing catch with him.

[tuscanyswe]

1. Footwork

2. Footwork

3. Footwork

Check with your family Dr. to be on the safe side.

Since he is still growing, never do any kind of "power" lifting where you are trying to find a max weight.

Otherwise, youth/adult conditioning is pretty much the same. Just assume that he is starting from ground zero (even if he isn't) and watch him make gains like a weed.

Did I mention footwork? Ladder drills, basic running, cutting, pivoting, 1 and 2 foot jumps, and 360 degree reaction, etc.

Good footwork goes a long ways towards reducing injury as well.


Also if hes into baseball maybe hes into ballsports in general. I play some squash (maybe its racketball for you guys) and ive got to say that its hard to find anything so intense. And its great fun.

Speed and footwork agilty reaching stretching acceleration and stopping yet its a mind game too. Great sport if you ask me.

[slowgoing]

He's also almost in high school. Talk to the local high school baseball coaches and see what they recommend for their freshmen and sophmores. They should be up to speed on this if they're any good.

[jimp1234]

Thanks all.