Month: March 2018

Long Term Athletic Development

The pursuit of athleticism and fitness should not only be restricted to youth athletes, but rather ALL children should be active, and participate in activities that increase their physical capabilities. It is a common misconception that exercise should be limited to only adults and athletes. Kids benefit greatly from practicing new sports regularly and should be encouraged to sample as many different sports and activities as possible. This sampling approach will give children the greatest exposure to the wide variety of movement patterns that are possible for the human body. Specializing in only one sport from an early age has the associated concerns of injury risk, likelihood of burnout, and non-guaranteed elite performance in the chosen sport. Our goal here at Chimney Rock CrossFit is to increase the broad capabilities and strength qualities of our youth athletes. We aim not only to increase their future sport potential, but to reduce the risk of sport related and free play related injury.

In 2016 the National Strength and Conditioning Association released the ‘Ten Pillars of Successful Long Term Athletic Development’. Of which we believe the most important is that “The health and well-being of the child should always be the central tenet of long term athletic development programs.” We offer a: kids class, teens class, and team sports performance program and they all aim to increase the general physical preparedness of your children. We believe in a long term approach that emphasizes a fun exploration of one’s abilities and a relentless pursuit of healthy movement patterns. We believe that the training should be well rounded and individualized, while focusing on both strength and conditioning.

We have used these tenets and principles since I began working with youth athletes in 2015. Over the coming weeks I will discuss my experiences and philosophies on working with youth athletes, as well as give insight into what it’s like to train at Chimney Rock CrossFit. At this time I would like to spotlight the Boys Bernardsville Basketball team. They have worked very hard the past two off-seasons, and have consequently had the two most winningest seasons in the school’s recent history. This year they made it to the state quarterfinals and went undefeated in their division. Go Mountaineers!

In the coming weeks I will share their training results from the past two years, as well training results from the other high school sport teams that have trained at Chimney Rock CrossFit.

by mike metzger