The phrase long term athletic development is getting thrown around a lot these days. But what does that actually mean?
At the Parisi Speed School we put kids in the best environment possible to be successful. Our structured system has been designed to build the qualities of athleticism to help athletes thrive. We’ve been doing this for more than 30 years and have accumulated a wealth of experience to build what we think is a pretty special system for long term athletic development.
Simply, long term athletic development looks at the progression of athletes over the course of years, rather than a single summer training plan or season. It has to take into account the age of the athlete, the sport or sports that athlete participates in, and the competing demands for the athlete’s time and energy.
To really develop athleticism and to continue making progress long term requires foundational development.
Focus on quality should be prioritized. There’s a saying I love when it comes to training, I’m not sure where I heard it first, but I’ve heard a lot of good coaches say it “More is not better, better is better.” Quality movement in training translates to quality movement while competing. The opposite is also true, poor movement while training translates to poor movement while competing.
Don’t be in a rush to get the reps in, with consistent training that will come. Focus on each rep being as good as you can do it. The last rep should look the same as the first rep. Once the quality goes down, your set should be done. Then, and this is key, come back and do it again tomorrow!
Fill all the buckets. Athleticism is the combination of a lot of things; speed, strength, agility, power, endurance, etc. A sport is only going to fill so many of these things. If a child is in elementary school, they should play a lot and get exposed to a lot of different sports and movement qualities. If they “specialize” at a young age, they are more likely to have large gaps in their athletic development.
As they get older and maybe they do specialize, just practicing the skills for their sport isn’t necessarily going to make them better! In order to continue development they will need to fill in the gaps that their sport is leaving. Usually this is things like strength, top end speed, and explosive power. Even during (perhaps especially during) a competitive season, it is important to still train these qualities.
Train for speed, power, and strength. Whether you’re looking to improve your speed, strength, or agility, the training sessions for these should have structure and purpose. If you’re just going from one exercise to another, you might just be making yourself tired, not better. When training for speed, power, and strength, fatigue is the enemy! It should be limited. Don’t confuse that with it being ‘easy.’ It is not. Your work sets will be extremely intense, 3-10 seconds of near, if not fully, maximal effort. Then rest until fully recovered so you can do it again.
High intensity programs can work, but only short term. Strength exercises should be performed with quality, and the set completed before form breaks down. Speed training should be determined by times, if the time goes down by more than 5% the set should be completed. A good program should result in your speed and strength improving each block of training.
It’s encouraging to hear more people about developing athletes over time rather than the constant need to be faster for the next showcase which is only four weeks away.To improve athleticism day in and day out there has to be a focus on building the foundation of fundamentals. While it takes more thought, prioritizing the time and energy of the athlete, and saying no to competing demands that aren’t inline with the goal, it is important. Improved performance through preparation leads to more confidence on the field and in life.
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