Proceed with extreme caution in the booming youth fitness market.
by Mike Mejia, CSCS
When I first sat down to write this article, I originally planned to title it "Not Everyone is Properly Qualified to Work with Developing Young Athletes", but it didn't have quite the same ring to it. Admittedly, I was pretty annoyed; having just witnessed yet another example of adults putting kids through some questionable conditioning drills during a local sports practice.
Unfortunately, though, as the popularity of youth fitness training continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, this sort of thing has become par for the course. And although I can't necessarily fault well-meaning parents and coaches who are just trying to get their athletes into better physical condition, I can turn a spotlight on unscrupulous trainers who are attempting to cash in on what is one of the most rapidly expanding markets the fitness industry has ever seen.
Where a mere decade ago you'd be hard-pressed to find any suitable fitness options for kids outside of their school gym class, today, health clubs and trainers alike are specifically targeting their marketing efforts at young athletes and their parents. From kid-friendly workout classes and specialized machines at the local gym, to workout DVD's and even entire "sports-specific" training facilities that cater predominantly to athletes age 8 and up- the message is clear: training kids = big bucks!
And therein lies the problem. As with any other potentially lucrative industry, in addition to those who are truly qualified to deliver the types of services in need, there will inevitably be people looking to exploit the situation for their own gain. Often amongst these are personal trainers, who may in fact be certified to work with adults, but haven't necessarily done any kind of in depth study into the field of human growth and development. As such, they're ill-prepared to address the specific conditioning needs of children and adolescents at different stages of their physical maturation.
Believe it or not, training young athletes is not as simple as throwing down an agility ladder and just having a kids "run through a couple of drills". Nor does it involve having them perform the exact same strengthening exercises as their adult counterparts, albeit with a little less resistance. Before being able to prescribe effective fitness programming for children and adolescents, trainers need to have a firm grasp of what are known as "sensitive periods" in a child's development- when specific bio-motor abilities such as balance, coordination and reaction time can best be trained.
They also need to have an appreciation for the rapid changes in height, weight and limb length that occur around the time that a child enters puberty- especially the impact those changes can have on their ability to move efficiently. A "speedy" 11 year old for instance, may not be quite as fast by the time he's fourteen, as his body attempts to acclimate to changes in it's anatomical structure, resulting in longer limbs and altered neuromuscular control.
Simply prescribing this athlete endless repetitions of speed drills, or strengthening exercises without first working on improving things like postural alignment, range of motion and kinesthetic awareness (the ability to know where one's body is in space) may fail to produce the desired improvements. This holds especially true if he was not trained in a manner to take full advantage of these aforementioned sensitive periods.
So what does all of this mean to parents who are looking to get their children involved in a program geared towards improving physical fitness and resistance to injury? It means that you're going to have to do a little homework. Below I've compiled a little list of things to consider before committing your child to any type of fitness endeavor:
1. Ask about credentials: You shouldn't just walk into one of the growing number of sports training facilities and immediately look to sign your kid up. Nor is it necessarily a great idea to buy your young athlete a bunch of sessions with a personal trainer who helped your friend "lose a ton of weight". Before having your child embark on a fitness program, make sure you ask what type of credentials the person that you're entrusting them with possesses. A few of the things you should look for include:
- Certification as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, or as a Performance Enhancement Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Both of these certification programs are geared towards those working with athletic populations.
- Certification as a Youth Fitness Specialist through the International Youth Conditioning Association. This certification prepares fitness professionals to address the specific conditioning needs of children and adolescents.
- A degree in physical education/ exercise science can also be helpful, but isn't essential. While individuals who possess this type of degree have likely done more in depth study into human physiology than that which is required by a certification program, it doesn't necessarily mean they're qualified to work with developing young bodies. I for instance hold a master's degree in exercise science and use very little of what I learned in pursuit of that degree when working with my athletes.
2. Watch a session in action: Whether it means overseeing a personal trainer putting another client through their paces, or checking out a group session at a sports training facility, if at all possible, try and get a look at exactly what you're signing your child up for. Even if you don't possess a "trained eye" it's still pretty easy to spot things like a lack of focus on the workout(i.e. trainers constantly checking i-phones, or conversing with others), allowing poor exercise technique, or pushing kids beyond their physical capabilities.
3. Beware outlandish claims and the "Jack of all Trades" approach: Bold promises of amazing results in a relatively short period of time should definitely be viewed with some skepticism. First off, if your child hasn't done any sort of formal training before, pretty much any program will produce improvements in things like strength, speed and agility. So, it's not that big of a deal if he, or she gets a tad faster on the "Six Weeks to Blazing Speed" program. The real test is whether they're being taught the kind of things that are going to help them become better athletes in the long run.
For instance, are they being coached on proper running and lifting mechanics and constantly reminded about the importance of maintaining good mobility? Or is the main focus of the training simply to improve their numbers on tests like the 40 yard dash and vertical jump, so that mom and dad can be handed a nice, shiny progress report on "how well they're doing"?
You should also be extremely wary of trainers who add terms like "speed and agility" and "sports-specific training" to their laundry-list of services. If a trainer lists things like pre and post natal fitness, bridal boot camps, Zumba and weight loss programs among their specialities, chances are, he or she probably isn't also an expert in youth sports conditioning. Nothing against those other training disciplines; I just find that in my experience in this business, it's difficult to be really good at that many things. Given the way the fitness industry is constantly evolving, with new information coming out on a seemingly dailybasis, it's tough enough keeping up-to-date with one particular area of expertise- let alone five or six.
Hopefully my little rant here has given you some keen insights into what to look for when choosing someone to handle your student athlete's conditioning needs. Because as youth sports continues to get more competitive by the day, there's going to be an increased demand for these types of training services. And the more educated you are about the topic, the better equipped you'll be to make the right choice for both your child's physical welfare and your piece of mind.
