Core Agility Power Strength Speed (C.A.P.S.S.) Training

This site is dedicated to a common sense approach of training young athletes.

My Personal Philosophy: "Don't overtrain your athletes; don't burn them out; Always leave them desiring more - of the sport and of themselves!"

ALERT - UPDATE 10/17/2006

The information below was my first real shot at conditioning youth athletes. I believe the drills they perform and me teaching the correct skills is what my intention was. But the testing portion is something I have re-evaluated. I had a few questions for someone that I feel is an expert in the field of Youth Conditioning - Brian Grasso. And here is what he had to say about testing youth athletes:

Hi James,

Thanks for the email.

Couple of comments/questions back to you.

Running faster and jumping higher is a natural consequence of progressing through maturity points - these biomotor improvements are not something that we need to 'look for' in terms of improvement. As children age, various structural and neurological functions occur that elicit increases in biomotor ability naturally. The job of a conditioning coach working with pre-adolescent and adolescent athletes is to teach appropriate skill variances that optimally enable these abilities to improve and decrease injury potential. By highlighting the specific skills of neural sensitive periods, we ensure a strong foundation on which children can improve over-time. Again, searching for gains during youth is counterproductive to long-term optimal development.

You mentioned that these kids feel senses of accomplishments when they see themselves running faster (etc). What if they don't improve? What if from one testing point to the re-testing point, there is no tangible gain? What does that do to their self-esteem?

It is all a matter of perspective from the coach/trainer that must then be taught to the kids. Explain the efficacy of why they don't need to be looking for biomotor improvements as much as they do need to look at skill improvements. Video tape them performing squats, sprints or jumping exercises and then progress through a training program that teaches the essence of these skills. Re-video the kids in 6 weeks (for example) and show them a split screen of before and after... highlight the SKILL developments they have made rather than the biomotor improvements (although it must be said again - biomotor gains WILL be seen in teaching systems regardless if you are searching for them or not).

In terms of developing trust and teamwork... how old are these kids??? Simple team building strategies can and should be apart of all youth sporting ventures, but they don't have to be intricate to be effective. Create fun, physical fitness challenges that require teammates to work together in order to finish, for example.

I hope this helps,

Brian J. Grasso
Executive Director
International Youth Conditioning Association
www.IYCA.org
www.DevelopingAthletics.com

On Season, Off Season, Anytime!

What’s an athlete to do when the season has ended? Unless the plan is to participate in a different sport, all athlete’s must do some training. They could do sport specific training or all around power, agility, speed and strength training.

For our 11U boy’s basketball player’s that do not participate in other sports – we do non-specific sport training. Most workouts consist of bodyweight exercises, medicine ball drills, footwork drills for agility, hopping and box drills. Also incorporated are push-up, pull-up and core exercises for power and strength.

Some of our most successful sessions are limited to 30 minutes while running continuous drills at different stations. There is very little break in these training sessions, but, they are explosive at times and slower paced at other times.

Warmup

1. Easy jog to get the blood pumping

2. Good overall body stretch (trunk twists, arm rotations, etc.)

3. Jogging in place (2 minute)

4. Knee ups to chest (2 minute)

5. Butt kickers (2 minute)

6. Instructional period about that days session

Testing

We started our off-season training this year with a series of baseline tests. These tests were something that we could document and compare over time to mark improvement. These are realistic drills that will demonstrate strength and speed and determine to some extent their balance and agility. Below is the baseline test’s we used:

1. Full sit-ups (as many as possible in 60 secs)

2. Overhead Medicine Ball throw (backwards for distance, best out of three)

3. 30 meter sprint

4. Vertical Jump

5. Maximum Vertical Jump (depth jump off of box)

6. Standing Broad Jump

7. Spoke Drill

8. 30 meter Sprint Fatigue drill

This is a good starting point that can demonstrate measurable improvement. The athlete’s can see their improvement while re-testing every four weeks.

A couple of the tests need to be placed in a certain order, not an exact order, due to the fatigue factor. The Vertical Jump should be towards the middle so they are warmed up, but not exhausted. The Sprint Fatigue must be at the end to accurately indicate their fatigue level. The remainder of the tests can be placed in any order you choose.

Spoke Drill - see Drill of the Week for description and pictures. Also, how to make your own for under $20.00.