Since starting Round 1 Fitness back in April 2010, I have regularly been asked the following question:
‘My son/daughter plays football/soccer/rugby/hockey/netball – they really want to take it a bit further. What would you recommend they do to get stronger for next season?’.
The answer to this question is both really SIMPLE and completely COMPLICATED. Most kids don’t do much ‘training’ outside of their sports – and whilst their coaches might get them to do a few pushups at training (if they are misbehaving!) there is no structured strength program. So what do young athletes who need a foundational program (a combination of teaching and training fundamentals) – do in order to become STRONGER, FASTER and BETTER?
They attend the ‘Developing Athletes Program‘ at Round 1 of course – where the emphasis is to teach our athletes how to move effectively, improve balance, as well as athletic ability. Conditioning work, for the most part, comes in the form of low-skill GPP work that does not require huge levels of skill. The sessions are designed to be ‘FUN’ and includes challenges where the athletes can compete with/against one another.