Resistance Training For Juniors

At junior levels, training rightly focuses on the technical and tactical aspects of the game. Every now and then, however, a team will field several players that are stronger and faster than their peers. These players evince the observation that chronological age differs from developmental age. In other words, 15-year-old children will vary in the physical characteristics of height, weight, etc, and the athletic capabilities that are resultant. While these cannot be standardized, training can help each player, regardless of their chronological or developmental age, to compete at optimal levels.

Resistance training, plyometrics, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and repeated sprint training (RST) can be used to achieve these optimal level. However, many parents are unsure of the safety of some these methods of training.

The UPDATED POSITION STATEMENT PAPER FROM THE NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION has the following statements:

"In a report, there was no evidence of either musculoskeletal injury or muscle necrosis (death of muscle tissue) after 14 weeks of progressive resistance training." (page 2)

"Youth resistance training, as with most physical activities, does carry with it some degree of inherent risk of musculoskeletal injury, yet this risk is no greater than many other sports and recreational activities in which children and adolescents regularly participate. In a prospective study that evaluated the incidence of sports-related injuries in school-aged youth over a 1-year period, resistance training resulted in 0.7% of 1576 injuries whereas football, basketball, and soccer resulted in approximately 19, 15, and 2%, respectively, of all injuries." (page 2)

"Because weightlifting movements involve more complex neural activation patterns than other resistance exercises, childhood may be the ideal time to develop the coordination and skill technique to perform these lifts correctly." (page 3)

"Another concern related to youth resistance training regards the safety and suitability of plyometric training... plyometric training conditions the body through dynamic movements, which involve a rapid eccentric muscle action that is immediately followed by a rapid concentric muscle action. When the stretching and shortening of a muscle are performed quickly, the force generated during the muscle action is greater than the force that would be generated if the muscle were not stretched immediately before the muscle action. The contention that age-appropriate plyometric training is unsafe for youth...is not supported by current research and clinical observations. Indeed, comprehensive resistance training programs that include plyometric exercises have been found to enhance movement biomechanics, improve functional abilities, and decrease the number of sports-related injuries in young athletes." The NSCA goes on to cite the playground game of hopscotch as plyometric in nature! 'This type of exercise, although game like in nature, actually conditions the body to increase speed of movement and improve power production." (page 3)

"A traditional area of concern related to youth resistance training is the potential for training-induced damage to the growth cartilage...Although children and adolescents are susceptible to injury to the growth cartilage, the potential for this type of injury may be less in a preadolescent child than in an adolescent because the growth cartilage may actually be stronger and more resistant to sheering type forces in younger children...To date, injury to the growth cartilage has not been reported in any prospective youth resistance training research study. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that resistance training will negatively impact growth and maturation during childhood and adolescence." (page 3)

The document is 20 pages in length, including 258 references collected over 38 years (1972-2008). Here is the link for those who may be interested in reading it.

http://www.nsca-lift.org/Education/E-learning/Would-my-Youth-Athlete-Benefit-from-a-Strength-and-Conditioning-Coach-/

Hopefully, this will ease parents' minds, and address some of their concerns over some very important questions they may have had.

Thanks for helping us keep the game beautiful.