YOUTH ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT? Dylan Vizzarri

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1 YOUTH ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT? A proactive approach to enhance athletic potential, prevent injury and educate junior players (U/12+) on the importance of physical preparation for sport Dylan Vizzarri dylanvizzarri@gmail.com

2 ABOUT ME, DYLAN VIZZARRI EDUCATION AND QAULIFICATIONS EXPERIENCE FOOTBALL EXPERIENCE Bachelor of Exercise Science (Sports Practice) Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (Australian Strength and Conditioning Association) Certificate IV in Fitness Oakleigh Chargers Football Club, High-Performance Intern/Strength and Conditioning Assistant (current) Head of Athletic Performance at Studio Kinetic (current) Personal Trainer at No Regrets Personal Training ( current) Western Bulldogs Football Club, Strength and Conditioning Cadet ( ) Blackburn Football Club (2003- current) Box Hill Hawks (VFL) ( ) Oakleigh Chargers (TAC Cup), Premiership Player ( )

3 6-WEEK PROGRAM WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE? LEARN HOW TO Master fundamental movement skills Squat Hip Hinge Lunge Push Pull Brace (core) Jump, land, accelerate and decelerate safely and efficiently Improve agility and change of direction ability Improve hand-eye coordination and reaction time WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? ENHANCED PERFORMANCE ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD BY Increased strength, speed and power Run faster Jump Higher Keep your feet in a contest Dodge and fend off opponents easier Increase resistance to fatigue i.e. run harder for longer Reduce the risk of injury Become more durable and resilient IMPROVE OVERALL HEALTH Body composition Psychological well-being Confidence

FIRST OF ALL, LET S BUST THE MYTH - IS STRENGTH TRAINING SAFE FOR YOUTHS? YES! Strength training stunting growth or negatively effecting growth plates is a myth and has been refuted.

4 FIRST OF ALL, LET S BUST THE MYTH - IS STRENGTH TRAINING SAFE FOR YOUTHS? YES! Strength training stunting growth or negatively effecting growth plates is a myth and has been refuted. Scientific and clinical evidence supports participation in strength training for children and adolescents and is well recognised as both safe and effective when appropriately designed and supervised by qualified professionals. It s important to understand that introductory strength training DOES NOT start with any heavy lifting, rather, its primary focus is to master fundamental movement patterns and skills with body weight exercises.

5 WHY AM I DOING THIS? 1. COMBINED PASSION FOR Physical preparation/strength and Conditioning Particularly in youth AFL and BFC 2. MAKE A DIFFERENCE I see a great opportunity to positively influence the development of so many kids Scope for improvement is so big at this age 3. IGNORANCE TO PHYSICAL PREPARATION Australia as a nation is so far behind in this space, particularly with youth at local levels and in schools. Generally speaking, appropriate athletic development programs are not implemented until one is fortunate enough to reach higher levels e.g. TAC Cup. This is completely different in the US, for example.

6 WHY START NOW? TO SET A FOUNDATION TO BUILD UPON IN LATER YEARS Adaptations are predominantly NEURAL during devlopmental years of growth and maturation BRAIN becomes more efficient at controlling and coordinating their own body through movement. Not umcommon to become stronger and more powerful without any noticable changes in body composition Injury prevention Injury rates are at an all time high in youth (more to come in following slides) Unable to tolerate excessive loads without some sort of foundational strength and movement competency It s imperative to compliment kids current training schedule with a properly designed movement-based strength program to reduce the risk of injury.

7 WHY START NOW? CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENTS IS THEREFORE SEEN AS THE MOST OPPPORTUNE TIME TO Engrain quality movement skills before bad habits creep in Neuromuscular control and coordination Much harder to relearn/reverse poor movement mechanics/posture Target strength development Prevent injury for the present and future Develop a foundation to progress to more complex athletic skills in later youth/early adulthood

$(hamstring, calf, quad) Stress fractures Shoulder dislocations Tendinitis/tendinosis Fractures https://www.finder.com.$

8 AFL IS THE MOST DANGEROUS SPORT, IF NOT PREPARED AFL is the highest cause of injury in sport in Australia: ACL Ankle sprains Soft tissue strains (hamstring, calf, quad) Stress fractures Shoulder dislocations Tendinitis/tendinosis Fractures

9 INJURY RATES IN YOUTH ARE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH Conclusions INCIDENCE OF ACL RECONSTRUCTIONS IN YOUTH IN AUSTRALIA IS THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD AND INCREASING Those at greatest risk are: Women aged years and men aged Most rapid increase in reconstruction are among those aged 5 14 years. GIRLS 6 x MORE LIKELY TO SUSTAIN ACL UNJURY The incidence of revision ACL is increasing more rapidly than that of primary ACL reconstructions. Regular neuromuscular agility programs, which help develop healthy movement patterns and strengthen muscles around commonly injured joints, can stave off 50 to 80 per cent of ACL injuries. Prevention is a much more cost-effective strategy Associate Professor Vertullo said.

10 INJURY RATES IN YOUTH ARE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO INCREASING INJURY RATES: Poor physical preparation i.e. non-existent strength and conditioning program Poor movement mechanics Lack of foundational strength and neuromuscular control Sedentary behaviour Poor posture, mobility restrictions and imbalances Overuse injuries have as technology has evolved Early specialisation/overtraining Lack of exposure to a variety of movement skills Training loads too high, unable to tolerate excessive running Just running on its own won t cut it PREVIOUS INJURY IS THE BIGGEST PREDICTOR OF FUTURE INJURY LET S BE PROACTIVE NOT REACTIVE

11 PERFORMANCE ENHANCING BENEFITS

12 WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR BEFORE EXTERNL LOAD (WEIGHT) CAN BE ADDED TO AN EXERCISE? Movement quality and competency TECHNIQUE BEFORE LOAD - MASTER THE FUNDAMENTALS Rhythm, control and coordination Speed of movement Resistance bands and free weights such as dumbbells can be utilised earlier with upper body movements as many youths are unable to effectively complete a body weight push up or chin up to due lack of strength and core control. This allows strengthening of the relative muscle groups to then progress to body weight exercises.

13 SUMMARY STRENGTH TRAINING FOR YOUTH IS SAFE AND IS SEEN AS THE MOST OPPORTUNE TIME TO START ADAPTATIONS ARE PREDOMINANTLY NEURAL IN EARLY STAGES INTRODUCTORY STRENGTH TRAINING DOES NOT INVOLVE LIFTING HEAVY WEIGHTS MOVEMENT COMPOTENCY IS PARAMOUNT BEFORE PROGRESSION (INCREASE WEIGHT ) INJURY RATES IN YOUTH ARE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH AN APPROPRIATE AND WELL-DESIGNED STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM WILL ENHANCE PERFORMANCE REDUCE RISK OF INJURY IMPROVE OVERALL HEALTH

Foundations of Youth Athletic Development

Speed Agility Power Stamina Robustness 27/11/2015 Foundations of Youth Athletic Development Jon Oliver, PhD Reader in Applied Paediatric Exercise Science Athletic Development Strength Fundamental Movement