Categories: Good things to knowHealth of tennis players

Sport-Based Youth Development

The post by Allistair McCaw

Youth development: 10-year-old’s don’t need to be doing ‘set’ fitness programs

Allistair McCaw

10-year-old kids should not be doing sport specific fitness training. They should rather be playing other fun games & sports to develop their athletic skills. Their ‘fitness training’ should be playing other sports and activities.

Any kid who is playing a single sport and doing specific fitness to this sport is simply specializing and developing a single set skill. This impedes their athletic development later. I always encourage parents of kids to have their kids play other sports and develop other skills. A healthy balance of sports at this age would be: Playing their favorite sport: 3 – 4 x week of 1 hour per session (max) and then other sports 2-3 x week.

Amazing when I suggest this to parents who want their kid to play more (notice I say “they, the parents want it more”). I then just see the panic on their faces when they feel their child might be losing ground on the other kids. This is just short term thinking. Do what is right for the development of the child, and what will keep them in sport longer. Great players comes from great athletes. Have kids at this age play other sports for their ‘fitness training’.

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