Is the "Travel Team" and "League" concept as beneficial as we think? A note from Training Champions Institute's Ron Patulski: When you listen to what the premier college and professional strength & conditioning coaches have to say, you'll realize quickly that there is some serious downside to this concept. Here's what Latif Thomas of "Athlete's Acceleration" has to say on the subject, which echoes the collective consensus of these premier coaches: "I'm starting to see a pattern. Actually I've seen it for a while and it keeps getting worse. It's the problem of young athletes (17 and younger)specializing in one sport and playing it year round. What's worse is many of these athletes play one sport 12 months per year and then play other sports at the same time for the school team. Where I live it's soccer. Some club teams hustle you by making you commit to say, winter and spring soccer when you try out in the fall. So while I'm trying to get kids in shape for the sport season they're currently in, these kids are off playing soccer games once or twice a week. Then *some* parents and athletes have the audacity to get upset when the coach ignores, dismisses or replaces their uncommitted, over trained, entitled athlete. I've seen it literally drive coaches into early retirement. I try to figure out why parents think it's a good idea to play a kid on 4 different soccer teams, 12 months per year. The way I see it the only arguments are:1. They think their kid is the one out of 100 that is going to earn an athletic scholarship. 2. The club coach sells them a line of BS that they believe to be true. 3. Ignorance in the true sense of the word: to be uninformed or unaware. It's probably a combination of all three. Here's the deal: Kids should be encouraged to play a wide variety of sports, not focus on one. Training should focus on developing fundamental movement skills that are universal. They shouldn't be repeating the same finite number of movements over and over. That just leads to over use injuries. In fact, taking a break from their 'primary' sport to play another sport will actually make an athlete better at that 'primary' sport. It'll make them hungry to play, keep them from getting stale, reduce injury, improve overall athleticism, etc. Now, if you're one of those coaches or parents who thinks it's a good idea to have kids specialize in one sport at a young age, you're probably pretty defensive right now.You're thinking 'Who is this guy to tell me what to do with my kid?' Point taken. So don't just take my word for it. Talk to people who are smarter than me." Over the past several years we have seen this become an increasing issue and unfortunately several cases have resulted in over-use injuries leading to serious injuries. As you know, we address muscle imbalances in our training to create optimum movement. Unfortunately, in situations like this, the athlete continues to play their sport and allows very little, if any, time to get the rest that's required. More importantly, they don't get the flexibility and strength training required to reduce these type of injuries and perform at higher levels. So, the question is; how can an athlete get more flexibility, strength and speed, and correct faulty movement patterns doing the same thing over in their sport(s) week after week? Simply put, they can't. There simply is no substitute for consistent strength, speed and agility based training to reduce injury, enhance athleticism, build confidence and ensure success. As you can see there appears to be a risk getting caught up in a pattern like this. Keep your young athlete well prepared by allowing them to get adequate rest away from their sport and the training that will give them the flexibility, strength and speed to keep injury to a minimum and performance to a maximum. Also, if you have any specific questions about this issue's topic, training, nutrition or want to get yourself involved in a training program, please contact us at Training Champions Institute at 315-414-0555. Our next Open House is scheduled for Saturday, August 2nd, 10am-12noon.Dedicated to training methods that maximize potential and performance,Ron PatulskiTraining Champions Institute6505 Basile RoweEast Syracuse, New York 13057315-414-0555Note: The programming used at Training Champions is based on the principles of "Human Movement Science," and is not intended to replace or interfere with any medical advice or treatment for a specific condition.
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