Joe and Jeff have extensive experience working with young athletes. They utilize information from the International Youth Conditioning Association, the landmark training methods used by Jozef Drabik and others to enhance coordination and progressively build strength using developmentally appropriate activities. Taking a bottom-up approach versus a top-down approach allows kids to learn basic skills and build into complex movements rather than taking the methods of training professional or other elite athletes and trying to apply them to children. Building a solid foundation of movement skills allows young athletes to excel when it comes to acquiring specific skills of their sport.

Joe and Jeff have worked with a very diverse athletic population including: football, soccer, baseball/softball, the Highland/Scottish Games, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, lacrosse, golf, volleyball, swimming, cycling, track & field, marathon running, skiing, and wheelchair sports. Many athletes that have worked with Joe and Jeff have achieved their goals, such as making a sports team, playing at the Varsity level and even reaching the college ranks.

The sports experience, education, continuing education and experience teaching movement allows Joe and Jeff to take into account all the factors that come into play when training young athletes. Giving them progressive, developmentally appropriate activities provides them with the critical movements they need during their different stages of growth and maturation. Providing young athletes with these important tools keeps them healthy and happy playing their favorite sports and participating in other activities they enjoy.

With young athletes, movement and learning to control their own body in space is much more important than increasing one repetition max or improving time in the 40 yard dash. Bigger bench press does not translate to better performance on the field. Strength training is great for young athletes, but it needs to be given to athletes in the proper progression. You would not put a weight vest on a toddler as soon as they became proficient at walking. Putting too much focus on producing maximum force and straight ahead speed can compromise young athletes’ range of motion and puts them at risk for injuries on the field or court.

Focusing on improving coordination is the most beneficial for building athletes in the long term. There is a sensitive period in kids’ lives from middle school to high school age where kids hit growth spurts and their nervous system has some catching up to do. During this time, the nervous system is working on re-coordinating with all the new muscle, ligament, and bone tissues. In essence, young athletes need to learn how to control their bodies all over again during middle school and early high school.

So what separates high school from college athletes? College players are more efficient in their movements. They can change direction and react to plays in less time. This efficiency comes from better mobility in their joints, controlled flexibility (stability) and developed coordination. Mobility and stability result in better ability to absorb force and ability to use that effective absorption of force to create power. Strength will come as athletes age due to more muscle building hormone production (peaks at age 25).

At Stanwood Camano Physical Therapy, we have had a lot of success building athletic potential in participants of our Strength and Power classes. We have developed a number of college and high school varsity athletes.