A few months back I remember seeing this commercial for the first time, “Pull-Up with ChatGPT.”

With how connected people are getting with ChatGPT and other conversational AI tools, this one struck a chord with me. OpenAI clearly felt it important enough a topic to use it in one of their ads on TV. There certainly are many individuals interested in getting stronger, being in better shape, or just wanting to lose weight. I would imagine many of those individuals that frequently use a conversational AI tool turned to it to ask for help.

I love working with AI products as they have expanded my ability to do so many things. Strength training is definitely an area being impacted by these LLM-based tools, but the major shortcoming to the power and effectiveness of AI-generated workouts comes with a problem already seen in the fitness industry today—a lack of proper programming. We generally see a one-size-fits all approach to training, unless you can afford a personal trainer that works with you continuously.

The commercial presents a simple prompt and response, and ChatGPT provides the character a valid workout for pull-ups, but it ends there. He may get stronger at pull-ups, but with “Day 5 — Full-body strength (optional)” he is missing out on so much opportunity over those eight weeks of training. For a simplistic goal this demonstrates a great tool, but then what?

I spent time working on prompting ChatGPT and Gemini to generate workouts and plans, and the results got so much better when as I provided the right details in the prompt. You can generate a great short-term program, but value in the long-term comes with historical data and changes to your goals and requirements. When working with AI, context is everything, and that is where your historical data becomes particularly important.

There is so much possibility with the technology that we have to work with and I am having a lot of fun tinkering around with what is possible. I am already training my son as he prepares for high school baseball tryouts and working with AI has been an invaluable resource.

Feel free to reach out if you would like to learn more, or have me work with you to effectively use AI to help yourself get stronger, healthier, and train towards your goals.

Just a thought:

When advertising comes into play, how do you know when your AI tool is prompting you with something you need, or suggesting something its advertiser wants to sell to you? That is going to be an interesting question going forward as ads and AI begin to merge into our favorite chat AI tools…

I was surprised that the baseball team had their own dedicated strength coach that helps the team run its training workouts. I was also impressed by the weight room at the high school because it was modern, recently renovated, and had the same kind of equipment I have seen at large college programs. They even had their own custom school-branded olympic barbell plates!

It turns out that session also happened to be the day they were conducting assessments. They had four tests lined up for the day. The team separated into three groups to cover three of the four tests: standing broad jump, 5-10-5 agility drill, and standing vertical jump. The fourth test was a 30-yard spirt, that obviously could not be run inside of the weight room.

I first observed the broad jump. They had a mat with measurements printed on it (a standard measuring tape would have sufficed, but the mat did make reading distances much easier). The athletes would stand at the line, make their attempt, and would have to stick the landing in order to count the distance. This test matched what we had measured with our boys.

The second was the 5-10-5 which required three cones, a stopwatch, and ten yards of space for the cones. The athlete started in the middle and would run to one side (5 yards), touch the ground, run to the other side (10 yards), touch the ground, then run back through the middle cone (5 yards). I actually had not seen this drill before, but appreciated the demonstration of agility and speed. It is a relatively simple test to run with minimal equipment.

Third was the vertical jump test, one that has always been my favorite as a former volleyball player. It is a difficult assessment to conduct as it requires specialized equipment to accurately measure jumps. The team provided some kind of force plate mat where the athlete would stand on before jumping as high as he could, straight up. When the player landed back on the mat, the coach was able to immediately read the measured height directly from the device.

Finally, the entire team moved to the gym, set up three lanes, and measured 30 yard sprints from one end of the gym to the other. The coaches stood at the finish line, stopwatch in hand, and recorded the times as each athlete ran through their lane on their respective turns.

This was a good experience for me to observe and see that we were doing the right kind of thing years back, when we measured our boys performing those handful of tests. It also helped me to see that standardized tests can easily differ between programs, and even sports, so assessments are not as simple as performing a single set of tests with every athlete. As it was the middle of the semester, I would imagine the team measured their numbers every couple of months to track progression.

As a side note, the football team was also in the weight room that day, filling up the other half of the space. They had their workouts displayed on a large flatscreen television, as the boys performed their exercises. It is an entirely different thing to conduct a workout session for such a large group, but those are thoughts for a different post.

As I’ve learned over the years the value of strength training comes through adaptation, or “gains” as they are often referred to. When it comes to training around sports, strength coaches are looking to see how work in the gym impacts performance on the field, court, or arena. Sometimes that can be hard to recognize and that is where assessment testing comes into play.

With assessments you set a baseline of performance using a standardized approach so you can repeat the activity and measure actual progress. When it comes to parents and youth in sports, parents want to see progress—is all the money and time they are putting in to help their child get stronger paying off?

There is an opportunity here to do things better and I am back to explore these ideas with you.

I am looking for local clients to help with their training so please reach out if you are interested in me working with helping your team establish good strength training habits.

If you haven’t seen it yet, here is a link back to the post I wrote about my experience running an assessment test with our team. (I still have that notebook and it’s right here next to me!)

My son has been itching to get going with a new workout program, and with the new season upon us, my focus has been on finding the right balance between training and preparation to play. With youth sports becoming a year-long endeavor, “off-season training” is not as cut and dry as one might think.

As he is still only playing 13U baseball, I believe that his ideal focus would be to learn and practice fundamentals, build foundational strength, and continue to develop power.

We will focus on a three-day-a-week program with the following topics of emphasis:

1. Foundational strength: We will be working on core lifts, such as deadlifts, squats, and presses, to build overall strength. Our focus will be on proper technique and gradual weight increases as he masters the basics.

2. Functional training: During this day, we will work with exercises that use single-arm and single-leg movements to simulate strength activities that are more familiar with what an athlete experiences on the court or field.

3. Medicine balls: We will work on rotational and other explosive movements that align with baseball athletes’ throwing and swinging motions on both sides of the diamond. We do not have a wall in our house that would handle throws against it, so we will have to do this at the practice facility, where they have large masonry tile walls to work with!

On a related topic, my son is almost 13, and with that age comes new opportunities. I signed him up for a gym membership at a local gym to take advantage of the equipment and space it provides. The kids grow up too fast!

During this session, the entire group did the exercises simultaneously, and we went through the activities for three sets each. A funny observation was that the boys like to stay huddled up, maybe to chat with each other, so I repeatedly reminded them to spread out so they have sufficient space for the drills.

Exercises:

Squats

• Body weight squats with bench—tapping the bench with their rear ends to prevent leaning forward and minimize pushing their knees over their toes.

• Body weight squats with hands up—focusing on keeping their arms upright and not leaning forward, as it becomes apparent when their arms fall forward mid-squat.

• Goblet squat with 10-pound plate—this was our first time loaded to introduce some weight in the squat process, again focusing on form.

Pulls

• Inverted rows with suspension strap—pull exercises are hard to do without equipment, so we took advantage of having several sets available for us to use.

Twists

• High plank twists—a little core work as a last exercise focusing on rotation.

The boys did a little bit of jogging and then did a cooldown stretch as a group, and just like that, 45 minutes passed, and we were done. There was a comment after our warmups about how shocked they were that time was flying by. Getting lost in a workout is easy when you are focused and putting in the work. That was a good sign and positive feedback to hear!

Although the competition is fun, the most important takeaway from these skill tests is how each boy improves over time. The critical thing is that they put in the work in their own time, and the impact of their efforts will manifest during the tests. (Some will also catch up with puberty; you could imagine some numbers shooting up with it!)

Events

• 20-yard dash

• Medicine ball shotput

• Standing broad jump

Equipment

• Stopwatch (iPhone clock app)

• Mini cones (to mark 20-yard dash start/mid/end points)

• Measuring tape

• Mini 4-pound medicine ball

The links above are the products I used for testing; they are also affiliate links with Amazon, and I may get a commission on purchases.

Doing the tests as a team worked well in several ways:

• The boys were focused on the drills as they were competitive and wanted to see what their numbers and their teammate’s numbers looked like.

• They took each attempt seriously for all events and gave it all they had.

• They had a lot of fun doing it together as a team.

The data had some outliers; knowing that was possible, we took three measurements for each drill. As we do these assessments a few more times, their numbers should normalize, and we will have a clearer picture of where each boy is.

The technique used for each drill does come into play, especially with the medicine ball throws. There will be somewhat of a learning curve as the boys master optimal form for each assessment, and their results should also begin to normalize on that front.

Note: I ran additional tests using a Pocket Radar (#ad) earlier to see if capturing the speed of a medicine ball shotput throw was possible, but throws were not fast enough to register with that device. That is why we are sticking with distance for the drill instead of speed. In the future, it may be possible to switch to measuring the exit velocity of these throws.

Space was even more limited than the last workout, so the boys did a short warmup along the side with some jogging and dynamic stretching. Then, they got into a circle for their team stretches.

After we got into the weight room, I decided to mix things up and focus on stations instead of a circuit like last time. We had three stations with two exercises each. We split into three groups, leaving one with an extra member.

The Workout

• Station 1: Single-leg split squat + side lunge

• Station 2: Pushups + assisted pullups/chin-ups

• Station 3: Single-leg deadlift + lunge with torso twist (with medicine ball)

Details

We did three sets at each station before rotating for about 45 seconds for each set. I would call out the halfway point for those doing the split squat to switch legs. There would be a 45-second rest before moving on to the next set.

The format was a bit more chaotic than last time, and more challenging to monitor the entire group, but they managed to put the work in and did a great job. I will probably use a different format in the future, as it was a bit harder for the boys to focus.

Notes

• Speaking of focus, although the boys were getting quite goofy, I am okay with that. They got their workout in and stayed safe. I would rather have them have fun and enjoy their time than get militant about them staying focused. After all, this is just the beginning of their strength training experience, and in addition to learning proper form and setting good habits, learning to enjoy the process is just as important.

• We used a set of resistance bands (#ad) to help make their pull-ups easier. The linked product is precisely the set that we used and is very helpful to make it easier to exercise with proper form. I had the boys slide one knee into up to three bands for greater tension to assist them as they pulled their chins above the bar.

Next up

Next week, we will work on squats, focusing on proper form. We only have an organized workout once a week, so spending that time on instruction and repetitions will be beneficial. There is a lot to learn, so we will pace ourselves and have fun learning the skills they need.

Introducing Pivvt

My main startup project is a web app I built that makes it easy to follow and answer polls on topics one is interested in called Pivvt (pronounced pivot).

I will share a poll question on Pivvt with each article I post. Visiting the poll link on each article and answering the question will be the most significant support you can give to my work here at FYSTS, and I think it can be fun and educational in the process! Poll results are open to all, and hopefully, your responses can help other baseball parents gain some insight into youth strength training in the future.

With that, here is today’s poll. I am very interested in seeing what blog subscribers think about this topic.

👉 POLL: How important do you feel a strength program is for youth athletes?

I will occasionally add links to products on Amazon, as direct links can still be helpful to share on the site. Any purchases using those links will continue to support the blog. I will not push the product links, but they will be there.

Thank you so much for your support, and hopefully, the content provided on this blog will be helpful to you and guide your youth athletes as they work to gain physical strength, speed, and power.

On Monday night, we had eight boys who were ready to get to work. We did some warm-ups outside first with some light jogging and dynamic stretches. Then, it was time to hit the gym.

Since we had a good amount there, I split the session into eight circuits where each boy would participate in a circuit of exercises. We spent 30 seconds on the drill and then rotated until each boy completed the eight exercises while resting for 30 more seconds between each drill. We went through two rounds and were done over half an hour.

I used workout cards at each station, which made it easy to remind the boys which workout they had to do during the rotation. I got the cards on Amazon and pulled drills from my sets of Bodyweight Exercise Cards, volumes 1-3 (#ad). Many of these series have sold out since Black Friday, but if you want a simple workout aid, check these out. There are other fun-looking card sets, but I went with this one since it provides an extensive library of exercises.

The circuit consisted of single-leg deadlifts, side lunges, squats, Russian twists (using a 4-pound medicine ball), high plank shoulder taps, pushups, bodyweight rows (pulling up from under a racked barbell), and tricep dips (on the edge of a bench).

The boys did a great job and did the exercises quite well! The side lunges were the most difficult to figure out the form for, but I was otherwise impressed by their athleticism despite it being their first session.

As the holidays are upon us, we will not be doing another Monday night workout over the next couple of weeks, but the attached workout can be used for the rest of this week and beyond if they are feeling ready to put in some work over the break!

Home workout plan

All exercises are still bodyweight, like Monday night.

Exercises:

1. Squats

   1. Remember to keep your feet at about shoulder width and lead your squat with your butt back; avoid your knees going too far over your feet.

2. Side lunges

   1. Keep your feet about four feet apart, and your feet flat and both pointed forward. Keep your body tall and go as low as possible.

3. Single leg deadlift

   1. Point your hands down to your foot, point your back foot out, and focus on reaching out as far as possible. Maintain your balance and return to the upright position before switching legs.

4. Pushups

   1. Keep your body flat, so no butts in the air!

5. Bodyweight rows, pullups, or chin-ups

   1. With rows, if you can’t pull up with your legs extended, bend your knees and bring your feet in towards your butt.

   2. *If you don’t have the necessary equipment, alternatively, do Tricep dips.

6. High plank shoulder taps

   1. Keep your core strong and your body steady.

7. Russian twist

   1. Use a medicine ball if you have one; a basketball can work, too.

Both days

Warm up before the workout for five minutes. Anything to get your body moving, like shooting hoops. Try to keep moving during the entire time.

After you complete your workout, jog around a little or do jumping jacks for one minute. Do some stretching to cool down.

Wednesday

Each exercise should be performed for one minute. Rest between each set for 30 seconds. Complete each drill twice before moving on to the next activity.

Friday

Do each exercise in a circuit, as was done on Monday night, for one minute each. Go from 1 through 7, resting for 30 seconds between each exercise. Repeat the circuit twice.

Bonus!

Since we will be off for the next couple of weeks, if you feel ambitious, you can do the same exercises but add 15 seconds more to each movement each time. Try to put in three exercise days a week, and with the holidays, it might be easiest to go on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Doing the exercises thrice weekly will increase each set to 1:15, 1:30, 1:45, 2:00, 2:15, and 2:30.

When we back up again in January, those who put in the work will be ready to start looking into loaded exercises, meaning it will be time to add some weight!

Some changes have happened over the past few weeks, especially on the baseball front. My son was given an opportunity to join a new team that plays at the top league level, which also happens to be very close to our home. Joining the new team involves practices at the MountainWest Baseball Academy in South Jordan.

Our coach mentioned that he would like to start the boys with a strength training program; our practice facility also has a full-sized strength training gym. This provided me with a great way to help the team, as the boys are all better baseball players than I am already!

The “Training in Real Time” blog will continue to include any workouts that I do specifically with my son but also include training details of our team workouts. Premium subscribers will also have access to weekly workout plans.

Before a youth athlete begins a strength training program, as a parent or guardian, you should ensure that your child is in the appropriate physical condition. Maybe you already have if they are participating in sports. Coaches, make sure that your parents are aware of any strength program your players will be beginning so that they can act to get appropriate clearance.

Regarding adults, the critical areas of caution focus on coronary heart and cardiopulmonary diseases. If your child has a heart condition, hopefully, you are already aware and have a clear idea of guidance regarding what activity levels are appropriate.

Keep in touch with your pediatrician and let them know what physical activities your child participates in. If you have any concerns or worries, all it takes is a simple phone call to reach out to the doctor’s office to get an all-clear or to set up an appointment to discuss further. The most important thing is to ensure your child is in proper health before starting strength training.

A big question that often arises is whether it is safe for a child to get into strength training or when would be the best age to start. There are many resources online on the topic, so I decided to give my friend ChatGPT a shot and see what it had to say:

“The medical industry generally supports the idea that strength training can be safe and beneficial for youth when done appropriately and under proper supervision. Over the years, there has been a shift in the perception of strength training for children and adolescents. Previously, there were concerns that it could potentially stunt growth or lead to injuries. However, more recent research suggests that, when done with proper technique, supervision, and age-appropriate loads, strength training can have positive effects on the musculoskeletal system, bone density, and overall physical health in youth.”

ChatGPT’s summary was spot on based on the many resources I reviewed—below are several examples of medical journal articles addressing the topic—the overall sentiment is positive.1

Strength training and youth sports

Kids are not simply little adults and cannot be expected to train like a grownup—you cannot hand a kid a lighter dumbbell and expect them to get stronger. Two significant aspects of youth athletes differentiate them from those older and more mature than they are: physical and mental capability.

Children are still growing and developing and figuring out how their body works and how to control it. Their lack of coordination makes it more important to focus on foundational movements and build “neural pathways” or muscle memory as they start. As children progress, they will be in a better position to move to training requiring greater coordination.

Youth are also developing their mental understanding and learning to think more abstractly. When a child does not appreciate the value strength training has on their overall athletic performance, it will be harder for them to be ready for a program. At the earliest stage, it will be vital that they learn in a way that is fun and helps them master foundational movements, thus creating a platform for their future.

It will be essential to provide sound guidance and supervision to youth athletes as they begin a strength training program. Over time, it will become more apparent when a child is ready to move forward when their physical ability and mental understanding begin to catch up.

In the meantime, they are already on a positive path, being out on the court or field, playing.

Regarding youth training

There is still value in overhead presses with a barbell, but Boyle makes excellent points regarding the natural movement of an arm required for a press. This is an even stronger argument regarding youth athletes not progressing to overhead presses with a barbell too early, if at all.

As a youth athlete progresses from using a band (see video), the next natural step would be to add load using a kettlebell or a dumbbell. As they continue to gain power through the exercise, you can shift to increasing load or repetitions per the focus of their program.

As introduced in the previous post, starting our program with an assessment would be an essential first step. Keeping track of data will help us monitor progress over time, but the first recorded numbers will act as a baseline where we hope to see improvement over the coming months.

Equipment

We worked with the basics, and despite being a tech geek, I find it easier to jot down and keep track of the numbers the old-fashioned way. I do not own a stopwatch, so my trusty iPhone did the trick.

• Notebook and pen

• Stopwatch

• Soccer cones

• 100-foot measuring tape

Details

We chose to use the sidewalk in front of our house as our testing site as we are fortunate to have a long, straight stretch of sidewalk with almost no traffic. We went with two tests: the 20-yard dash and standing broad jump. I had my son perform each test three times so I could capture the results and use an average of the three measurements as our scores for the test.

It took some trial and error to decide on the suitable drills, as is evident from my notes in the photo. Become a premium subscriber for all the details of my thought process and the reasoning behind my decisions. I will also share a copy of the spreadsheet I put together to track my son’s results over time.

The following details the thought process behind how I chose to use the type of test for each assessment and the challenges we faced.

Sprint assessment

I first chose the “flying 10” with a 10-yard gradual moving start where you measure the final 10 yards, which should be at full sprint. We made one attempt, and two things were obvious: the result time was under two seconds, and I relied entirely on my reaction time to start and end the timer. If we had a fancy automated timer, we could pull it off, but counting on my response time would not produce reliable results.

We then gave a simple 20-yard dash a try, a simple pivot, as our cones were already set up for the distance. My son started his sprint on my command, and I had more time to adjust to watching the finish. The setup and capturing results were much more reasonable to do this way. He ran three tests, and the times were similar, so we found a winner.

Jump assessment

One note on the jumping test: I read instructions from my Driveline training that said to start the jump with the athlete’s heel at the starting line—growing up, we always started behind the starting line when jumping. Thinking about it, starting with heels at the starting line makes sense as shoe size would not impact the results, whether your kid’s feet grow over time or if you are comparing other athletes to each other.

Aside from that one difference, the jump assessment was simple and required a measuring tape. Having the equipment to measure a vertical jump accurately was not feasible for us, so the standing broad jump was precisely what we needed.

Rotational power assessment

We did not perform tests for this measurement during the assessment. First, we did not have a medicine ball to use yet. For this kind of test, you will need a little soft wall ball variety with some give instead of a solid or slam ball variety. Second, I did not have a radar to measure speed. I wanted to use speed as it would remove variance from not requiring consistent throwing technique between tests.

Saving results

I created a spreadsheet to measure and keep track of progress. Here is a copy of the format that I created—click to view Google Sheet. You may make a copy or download the file and use it for yourself, and of course, feel free to make adjustments to fit your needs.

KPI Template: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xwcv2utJpDm2o58LN4nNyGvwCetmcFHvx_Z0Ieg6Pfw/edit?usp=sharing

The point of assessments is not about performing the tests better but about having a standardized way of observing progress over time. Some years ago, when participating in a fat burn challenge, I would watch trends in my body fat percentage data while ignoring typical variance when my numbers would rise and drop each time I measured. My primary goal was to see the trendline going downward as the weeks progressed. Seeing the downward trend was motivating because I could see that I was making progress.

KPIs for youth

The goal of strength training for youth athletes is to build foundational strength to improve overall speed and explosive and rotational power. The measurements you take should align with those goals.

Sprinting speed

For sprinting, you could run simple sprints like a 20-yard dash or a “flying 10” sprint. Running sprint assessments can be relatively easy if you have a clear, straightaway space.

Explosive power

For testing explosiveness, you can measure jumping ability, whether it is a vertical reach or horizontal, with a standing broad jump. Jumping horizontally is easy to measure as all you need is a measuring tape.

Rotational power

When gauging rotational power, it helps to use a medicine ball, using a twisting throw where you measure the speed or distance of the throw. Measuring speed would require a radar gun, so measuring throwing length would be more accessible but may take some time as the athlete learns how to throw the ball for optimal distance.

Keep your tests simple and consistent so they are easy to perform and measure accurately. The numbers can be helpful when you are training a child, but at the same time, seeing the numbers and progress can motivate youth athletes to help them see the value of training and further push themselves to continue improving.

What is functional training?

The human body naturally moves in various ways, but some weight training disciplines work muscles by isolating them to optimize strength and size—perfect for a bodybuilder. Functional training parallels our natural movements, especially when tied to movements athletes make when playing sports. Humans today spend a lot of time sitting down, so functional training focuses on using one’s body for balance and support instead of being seated at a machine. Additionally, an athlete is most likely to be on their feet when moving during performance.

Michael Boyle further describes the origins of functional training in his book:

As is often the case, the thoughts and exercises used in rehab found their way from the physical therapy clinic and athletic training room into the weight room. The most basic thought was that the exercises used to return an athlete to health might also be the best exercises to maintain and improve health.

Boyle, Michael. New Functional Training for Sports

(Read more in the book preview on Amazon. #ad)

How does this apply to youth?

Children who play youth sports are still growing and learning how their body moves. Similarly, when introduced to strength training, youth benefit from exercises that enhance their natural running, jumping, and agility movements. Functional training helps them create a solid foundation of strength that will apply to their everyday activities, including sports.

During this developmental period, there should be more emphasis on fundamentals and basic movement instead of focused sport-specific training. In the case of a baseball player, more focus should be put on overall body strength and rotational power, as opposed to just focusing on the ability to throw a ball harder. When a child develops their functional strength, they will naturally be able to throw harder.

We began the program a couple of weeks before I started this blog, so the first posts will be after the fact and not accurately represented in time compared to when the workout occurred. We generally focus on strength training three days a week, so three posts represent about a week.

Day 1: Walkthrough

Getting started sometimes feels like the most challenging thing, but we did it. This was our first time finally getting the garage gym cleaned out and the workout area prepped, so I walked through the equipment and demonstrated some exercises we would cover over the early part of his program. We went over barbells, using a bench with the half rack, kettle bells, TRX (suspension cords), plyo box, and chin ups.

Our primary focus to start will be working on form using bodyweight exercises. This was a chance to get acquiainted and excited about what is to come.

Equipment

As there was no specific workout planned for the day, I introduced some of the different tools that we have available. The home station is a half rack I picked up this spring when I found it on clearance at Dick’s (the rack itself was $0.02 cheaper than the cost of shipping!) The frame is seated on two horse stall mats from Home Depot.

It took a while to accumulate all of these items over the past several years, but it came together once we committed the garage space for our home gym. It finally felt ready to go when I found a set of Olympic barbell plates for sale on KSL Classifieds for a decent price. If you are not in a rush, start your home gym now, even if it begins with a few sets of dumbbells like us.

Here is a callout to one of the tools we used: a wood plyo box with a padded cover. (Purchase a Yes4All plyo box, #ad)

We went with the smallest one (16” x 14” x 12”) as it was the least expensive but also great for beginners. I will go into more detail about specific equipment in the future. However, if you choose to get a plyo box, avoid the all-foam ones because they are too light and tend to slide around to the point where they feel dangerous—get one made out of wood.

The box is excellent, and I am saving up to afford one that is my size (30” x 24” x 20”).

Value of Work

Getting stronger and seeing gains takes effort and a lot of it—there are no natural shortcuts. Development of power and speed comes with hours of training and discipline. A youth athlete may be the best player on their team during little league, but competition continues to increase with each level. Those who train hard and appreciate the value of that work will have a foundation to build on as they move forward in their athletic career.

Strength is Universal

Childhood is the best time to explore and discover one’s interests. In athletics, regardless of whichever sports a child pursues, the value of proper strength training will carry across all disciplines. Generally speaking, athletes who train to run faster, jump higher, and perform with more agility and power can apply those traits to any sport they play.

Preparation for the Future

High school brings the first significant level of competition for youth. By that age, children are well along in their growth into adolescence, where their bodies and coordination become comparable with most of their peers. Student-athletes with a good grasp of strength training principles will have a distinct advantage over those without. These athletes will continue to develop and grow while the others attempt to catch up, if at all.

This is a partial list to stimulate thought about the value of strength training for playing sports. What other reasons have you seen where strength training has helped your child or youth you have worked with?

I have learned from interacting with other parents that many are in the same position. We can see when our kids are ready and could benefit from a strength program, but there is so much content to sort through, and it needs to be more straightforward about where to start and what to do next. Programming is more complicated than watching a few videos on YouTube.

After realizing this, my initial reaction was to reach out to a trainer I had worked with in the past who also happened to play college baseball, so he might be in an excellent position to help. The next day, I received an email from the gym I worked out at, asking if I was ready for my next gig and that I should sign up for a training program in a month or so. At that moment, I realized that I should go out and do this myself—I should become my son’s trainer.

As an aside, I love strength training, have been lifting weights for over eight years, and have worked with several trainers. I particularly enjoy Olympic lifting, with the power snatch being my favorite lift. Learning to train others was a natural fit for the skills I have learned and applied over these years.

I have since completed the training program and am now an NCEP-certified personal trainer. I also did a deep dive into more specific training programs and received certification from Driveline Baseball for their “Youth Baseball Development” and “Foundations of Strength” programs. I have read through Michael Boyle’s book, New Functional Training for Sports (#ad), and have begun to apply the different concepts as I develop a training program for my son.

This blog intends to bring forward the concepts I come across and make sense of them all under the context of training a youth athlete. I will organize the materials to make it easier for parents to consume and apply the concepts and programs for youth across different sports and disciplines.

Please consider purchasing highlighted products using the provided links to support this blog.