Youth Sports - A wasteland

Yesterday morning we had a great training session. Unfortunately we came back in the afternoon to begin work on acceleration mechanics. I met the athletes at a soccer complex and youth football complex. Big mistake! Our training was outstanding. Some good teaching, but I could not ignore what was going on around me. It was truly amazing. I saw soccer team after soccer team start their training session with anywhere from three to five minutes of jogging, really it was slogging. When they finished this waddling exercise in futility then they immediately got on the ground for stretching. They did static stretching for at least ten minutes. How do you think they felt after static stretching for ten minutes in ninety degree heat – very lethargic and tired? Absolutely, that set the tempo for the practices. Amazing fifteen minutes of wasted time that could have been productively used to actually warm them up and improve their athleticism. It is no wonder that we have the ACL injuries that we have in female athletes.

This scene is repeated daily everyday throughout the United States. It is not like we do not know better, but the word is not getting to those who need it most, the youth coaches. Chances are they are parents volunteering to coach, their hearts are in the right place but they need guidance and direction.

At the same complex was youth football and cheerleading. What a show. Big fat overweight parents chain smoking watching Johnny get ready to be the next NFL number one draft choice and hoping Suzie will make it to be a Tampa Bay Buc cheerleader. It was pretty depressing.