Everybody is entitled to their opinion.  I get that.  I know I’m probably not going to sway people against what they believe is right.  In my business, there are some topics that can be very polarizing.  For example, there are people that belief Crossfit will change the exercise landscape, while others think it is bunk.

I wanted to address a few scenarios that have come to my attention recently.  People have strong opinions on these topics which is fine, but I thought I would counter with my point of view.  With the understanding that I have access to the finest strength and conditioning professionals in the country.  I think they know a thing or two.

My son/daughter doesn’t need that type of training because he/she is too young.

You know 15 – 20 years ago an individual might have had a point with this statement.  Nowadays, I’m not so certain.  On the surface, it looks a wee bit obsessive to have an 11 year old do speed training or any type of instructional training for a sport.  But, you can’t look at it as just speed training.  You have to look at it as injury prevention.

Last year, we had a fourth grade basketball player that played 35 games over the winter.  High school basketball players play 20 regular season games and maybe an additional 8 games if they make it to the state finals.  So, a fourth grader is playing 10+ games more than an individual whose body is more mature and can handle pounding and back to back nights a little better.

Just cause these kids are young and can bounce back, don’t think the increase in games is not doing damage to the young athletes body.  It is the same in all these sports.  Young athletes are playing a lot more and susceptible to more injuries.  If they have movement pattern issues, then they are developing muscle and flexibility imbalances.

More than ever the young athletes need to have their movement patterns assessed and eliminate any imbalance issues before they get started and compound into serious injuries.  If you are going to ask your young athlete to play more games than kids older than them, then you need to get them specialized coaching to keep them healthy on the playing field.

You don’t know what’s in those “supplements”.  I’m not going to let my athlete take them.

Yes, you do have to do your due diligence when finding a good supplement company.  I use Advocare.  I know there are people that think Advocare stinks, but there are plenty of people who think it is a great product.

I respect your opinion to say that you don’t know what goes in these supplements, but do you really know what goes into a Pop Tart?  I don’t know all the ingredients that are in a Meal Replacement Shake, but if the label says it has this amount of protein in it, the fats are in check, fiber is here, I at least feel comfortable that they are trying to make a healthy product.

Or your athlete can load up on a Chipotle burrito that is over 1300 calories, loaded with saturated fat, and tons of sodium.  If you are going to chastise me about giving an athlete supplemental products (and I’m talking shakes, bars, multi-vitamins), then don’t allow your athlete to eat crap food that gives them absolutely no nutritional benefits in making them a better athlete.

We need to get faster, but we don’t have time with our 3 sport athlete.

There is really nothing I can do.  Now a professional athlete has an off-season, but even they continue to work hard during a long season.  Basketball is about a 6 month regular season.  Michael Jordan was notorious for lifting daily during the season so he could handle the grind.

Ultimately, I do understand if you can’t get your athlete in to train because of all the practices and games, then needing down time.  But, if your off-season and down time is minimal, then I ask how much is success worth to you?

There are high school athletes that train early in the morning, go to school (all the while eating and recovering), then practice at night for the game.  Our training is 2 or 3 times a week, so plan that into the schedule and have one off day to recover.  If you want it bad enough, then you find a way to make it work.  It is our job then to make suggestions and adjust our training if/when we see you lagging.

Feel free to leave your comments in the comment box below.  These are opinions and everyone is entitled to one.  There is no right or wrong answer.