At CFOC we offer a Teen Program (consists of baseball, lacrosse, soccer, water polo players, etc.) that trains three times per week and we also provide the strength & conditioning program to the SCHS Boy’s Lacrosse Team three times per week.  Over the years we have learned a lot about kids, teens and what it takes to keep them engaged and motivated.  In this article, it will answer some questions regarding our teen program in hope that parents will get a better understanding to why their teen or child should enroll in a well designed program such as ours.

Many parents ask the question “at what age should my child start participating in a training program?” It is around 6-7 years of age that human muscle innervations is completed which implies neural connections from the brain to the muscular system have formed; by 10-12 years of age reflexive motor patterns are conditioned and somewhat permanent (Grasso 2005). These findings indicate that between the ages of 6 – 12, introducing proper motor skills may be advantageous (Drabik 1996).  When I state ‘motor skill’ I’m not implying that we place weight on these kids.  We would first train them with no weight, perfecting form and then slowly add light weight (in the teen years we can start to add more and more weight).  Research done, by Annesi et al 2005, has demonstrated that children as young as five have positive benefits from a well designed program that increases motor coordination, strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, and other physical traits (Faigenbaum et al. 2009).

During the 1970’s and early 1980’s we were informed that resistance training was harmful to our youth.  However, after really analyzing the data that suggested it was harmful it was concluded that nearly all the injuries were the result of improper training and supervision or faulty equipment.  Current research has not yielded any overt clinical injuries from a well designed and supervised program at any age (Faigenbaum et al. 2009).  Again, well designed implies taking the chronological age as well as maturity into consideration. Resistance training, also called weight training or strength training is what we do at Crossfit. It increases muscle strength, endurance and power.  Muscle strength is increased by pitting muscles against a weight, such as a dumbbell, barbell or other types of resistance, such as Olympic lifts.  You can also utilize body weight.  However, a well rounded program will incorporate other physical skills.

Another question posed to us occasionally is “do you offer a sports specific training program?”  While we understand parents desire to improve their child’s physical abilities in their sport- this is not the best approach.  Think about the wide array of physical capabilities that combine to create athleticism.  It is far more than any sport specific training program could offer—strength, balance, coordination, rhythm, power, visual perception, etc. Regardless of the sport your child chooses to play, they will need to be proficient in all the capabilities listed above in order to advance their level of play.  Sport skills and General Preparations are two different things.  All sports have different tactical skills, for example in water polo, you must be able to tread water, swim, dribble, pass the ball and shoot which are specific skills for water polo. However, these skills are made up of more general physical capabilities such as endurance, coordination, strength, visual perception, power, etc. which aid in creating overall athleticism!  If you focus your training on a specific skill set, you will ignore the important foundations required for that sport.

Our Kids/Teen program focuses on a well designed program incorporating 10 general physical skills: Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.  It also focuses on the strength & conditioning of each athlete.

As for the pre-season training of the SCHS Lacrosse Team, we have designed the program to not only incorporate the 10 General Physical Skills but also adopt the CrossFit Football methodology in order to prepare them for their season.  What is this method?  It was developed by a former NFL player (Jon Welborn) and the programming takes into consideration the sport and the demands placed onto the players during a game and the distances they will have to travel.  The program replicates this by combining “high intensity movements with a comprehensive strength and speed program which results in a training program that is unparalleled in this industry.”  Every athlete needs to be fast and explosive and needs to perform when tired and exhausted.  The training received at CrossFit Orange County will build a faster, larger, stronger athlete that will have the advantage over their rivals by being able to endear the rigors of that contact sport.

Crossfit in itself, is broad, general and inclusive.  Therefore, during off-season the athletes should continue to participate in our high school program.

References:
Annessi, J.J. , et al 2005. Effects of a 12-week physical activity protocol delivered by YMCA after school counselors (Youth Fit For Life) on fitness and self efficacy changes in 5-12 year old boys and girls. Research Quarterly For Exercise and Sports, 76 (4), 468-476.
Drabik, J. 1996. Children & Sports Training. Island Pond, VT: Stadion
Faigenbaum, A.D., et al. 2009. Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement papers from the National Strength & Conditioning  Association. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23 (5), S60-S79.
Grasso, B.J. 2005, Training Young Athletes:  The Grasso Method, Schaumber, IL: Developing Athletics