Soccer Playing Tip: Attacking 1 v 1

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the importance of winning your individual battles/matchups and how doing so help you stand apart from other players and help your team win games. That week, I looked at things from the defensive side of the ball (you can read that article by clicking here). This week, I want to shift our perspective to the attacking side of the ball and teach you how to win your 1 v 1 attacking matchups.

First things first is knowing when to attack and when to maintain possession for your team. Attacking 1 v 1 is a risk, but it’s a risk that pays dividends if it pays off as it leads to high-quality scoring chances. My general rule of thumb is this:

If you can read the numbers on the back of the closest defender, then you have the right to go forward.

If this is the case, it means you are already beyond the closest defender and can likely attack open space and isolate one of the defenders. This means moving smartly before you get the ball to put yourself in a dangerous position when you receive it.

Now, once you do receive the ball, here’s how you win your matchup:

1.       Drive with speed. Speed kills in soccer and is lethal in 1 v 1 situations. Particularly if you have an outside back isolated, being able to get that player moving backwards puts you at a significant competitive advantage when you are attacking 1 v 1.

2.       Push the ball past the defender. This is where a scissor or shoulder fake may come in handy to get the defender off-balance, but at the end of the day, we are trying to get both the ball and our body beyond the defender so that they are no longer involved in the play, or are forced to pull you down and concede a free-kick.

3.       Take a big touch into the open space and change your pace. Once you are past the defender, you cannot let them back into the play. If you drove with speed, they are already on their heels, if you put them off balance, then you are already past them with them facing the wrong direction, so now you just have to make it a footrace to the ball that you can easily win.

There you have it. Your step-by-step guide to winning your attacking matchups. Move proactively to put yourself into a dangerous position when you receive the ball, drive with speed to get the defender on their heels, get them off balance and push the ball past them, then take a big touch to make it a footrace that you will win.

Fall Youth Athletic Development Checklist

With summer wrapping up and the chaotic yet serene routine of Fall approaching, I wanted to share a few best practices to set your kids up to develop athletically this fall:

1.       Enroll them in a new sport, preferably one they haven’t tried before, but certainly not the same one they did in the spring. Playing multiple sports allows kids to develop a robust athletic foundation that will serve them later on in life when they become more competitive. Beyond the athletic advantage this gives kids, trying a new sport is also an opportunity for them to make new friends, overcome new challenges, and potentially discover something they really enjoy.

2.       Try a new active hobby or individual sport. If you haven’t tried it yet, I recommend climbing. Climbing, gymnastics, and martial arts are three of the best individual sports/activities you can enroll your kids in to develop a strong athletic foundation because they challenge the foundational athletic skills that most team sports do not, such as upper pulling, grappling, and spatial awareness.

3.       Sign them up for our Fall session of our Little Athlete Academy. In our academy, we combine all the amazing attributes that team sports develop with all the amazing attributes that those aforementioned individual sports/active hobbies develop, and put them together to give your kid all the athletic skills they need to succeed in sports and life. The best part is, kids don’t even realize they are exercising because they are having so much fun.

If you’re interested signing up for our Little Athlete Academy, click here.

Lifting>Running, Sprinting>All

When it comes to athletic development, there is a lot of misinformation that runs rampant in our industry. To this day, parents and coaches still worry that lifting weights will make their children/athletes slower, and that metabolic conditioning/cardio is the key to succeeding in team sports, despite the fact that the athletes who typically dominate team sports are freakishly athletic and have been lifting for years. I think a lot of this comes down to a general lack of understanding so I wanted to share some thoughts on athletic development:

1.       Lifting will not make your athlete slower. Think of it like building a car. Putting a bigger engine in a car will make the car heavier, but it will also allow the car to generate a lot more horsepower, and as a result, reach much higher speeds. The same is true when we lift. Sure, we will likely gain a little bit of muscle mass that will make us heavier, but it will also allow us to produce more power, generate more force, and run faster (assuming athletes are training like it’s 2023 and not like it’s 1980).

2.       Sprinting is the key to building faster athletes. Of course, all that extra muscle does nothing if we can’t translate it to speed. The key is for athletes to sprint as hard as possible, as often as possible, as fresh as possible, while timing each and every sprint. Things that get measured typically get improved and it’s the only way to tell if their training is actually translating to speed.

3.       Build your aerobic capacity through repetitive sprinting. Having a high aerobic capacity is very valuable as it is what drives recovery and allows athletes to sprint again and again and again. The trick is to train it in a way that translates to the game. When most people hear “aerobic capacity” they immediately think of distance runners and steady-state cardio. The reason steady-state cardio is effective is because it keeps athletes in a certain heart-rate range, allowing their heart to adapt a certain way. The problem with most team sport athletes is that they already spend enough time in that heart-rate range. Almost any sport-specific technical work that they do puts them in this range, so they don’t need to intentionally develop it. Instead, they should sprint repetitively because it makes them faster, increases their muscular resilience, and helps them succeed in their favorite sports, while increasing their aerobic capacity.  

All of this is a long way of saying that lifting is far more important than running (I’d advise team-sport athletes to never “go out for a run”) and sprinting is the key to getting faster.

Contact us if you’re interested in working with us!

A Solid Foundation is Key to Success in Sports

Parents will often approach me and ask what their son/daughter can do to get better at sports. Success in sports requires proficiency and eventually mastery of 3 main skills:

1.       Sport-Specific Technical Skills

2.       Athleticism

3.       Tactical Understanding/IQ

Of course, there are other elements at play, but the systematic development of these three skills will drive a player’s success in sports.

In this country, I don’t think we do a particularly great job developing any of these skills at our youth levels. I’m going to use soccer as an example because it’s the sport I’m most comfortable with, but the concepts apply to all team-sports.

If we want to develop mastery of these three skills, we must start by building a strong foundation.

For technical skills, this means starting with mastery on the ball. Young kids should spend the majority of practice with a ball on their foot. The more touches they get at an early age, the more comfortable they will get, the more confident they will become, and the more success they will have as they grow and develop higher-level skills.

For athletic skills, our focus should be on developing fundamental movement skills through play. With early specialization running rampant and physical education continuing to be cut from schools, this responsibility now falls on the sport-coach. Every practice, kids should be jumping, skipping, hoping, crawling, balancing, rolling, and developing the foundational skills they will need to have future sporting success.

Lastly, tactical skill development comes down to practice design. Drills should be designed in ways where kids develop foundational tactical skills while developing their fundamental technical skills. For example, simply having players dribble in space while playing red light/green light rather than dribbling through cones will teach players how to find open space, become aware of their surroundings, and react to a constantly changing environment, just like they will have to in the game.

If you are a parent who is coaching your child’s soccer team, and would like help designing impactful practices that will build a strong foundation for the players, email us and we’ll set up a time to chat.

Lifting is a Tool For Sporting Success

Success in sports requires mastery of three proficiencies:

1.       The technical demands of the sport

2.       The physical demands of the sport

3.       The tactical demands of the sport

Young athletes typically focus on the first category, ignoring or downplaying the other two. At best, they view lifting as a nuisance that has to be done, often neglecting it altogether. Lifting is simply a tool that helps athletes succeed in sports.

Athletes who lift are typically stronger, faster, more powerful, more coordinated, and get hurt less often than their counter-parts who do not, with the benefits compounding over time. Those who start lifting at a “young” age build the type of body that allows them to meet the physical demands of the sport.

As a general rule of thumb, kids should start transitioning into a “traditional” strength and conditioning program at around 12-years-old. Assuming the program is led by a qualified and competent coach, starting at this age gives athletes a significant competitive advantage against their peers that will only continue to increase over time as they stay consistent.

Play More Handball

Handball is the single-greatest and least-utilized training tool we have for coaching team sports. I’m going to use soccer as an example, but the concepts apply to all invasion sports.

Playing handball develops tactical skills that can be very hard to teach, in a way that translates directly to the sport. Off-the ball movement, supporting teammate, finding open space, closing open space, communicating, defending as a unit, stretching the field, and moving the defense are just a few of the many attributes this exercise develops.

The best part about handball is that coaches can teach these skills without being limited by the technical limitations of the players. All these tactical skills can be taught through a possession-type game, but if half the group struggles to receive or pass the ball, it’s going to be very hard to coach these skills because the play won’t develop. By taking these technical skills out of the equation, coaches can teach foundational tactical skills.

See for yourself in the video below:

So, how does this apply to you and your kid? First, I strongly encourage you to share this email with their soccer coach. When done consistently, this simple tool will take their team up another whole level. Next, encourage your kids to play it with their friends. When they get together, rather than sitting behind their screen, show them how to play and watch them have a blast. You’ll be amazed by how much they smile, giggle, and laugh because handball is really freaking fun. You can gamify it by having them play to an end-zone like Football or Ultimate Frisbee, or you can play with small goals that they have the throw the ball into. 

Playing handball also develops fundamental movement skills and foundational athletic skills that will lead to future sporting success. Catching, throwing, running, cutting, jumping, changing direction, and striking just to name a few.

If you want help designing impactful practices that maximize the experience for the players, email us and we’ll schedule a time to chat.

At Home 5-Minute Workout for Your Kids

Parents,

I want to share a quick 5-minute workout that your kids can do at home on their own to jumpstart their day. This routine is perfect for them if they are glued behind their screens and you can’t get them up and moving. It also doubles as a great warmup for them prior to a sports practice to get them physically and mentally prepared to train.

The beauty of this routine is that your kids will love it, the exercises are simple to grasp, and require no equipment.

If you are looking for a full-fledged youth athletic development program for your kids, then I strongly encourage you to explore our Little Athlete Academy. In our academy, we help kids 12 and under build a strong athletic foundation with our proprietary PLAY training methodology so they can maximize their performance and succeed in their favorite sports. Click here to learn more.

Why We Do What We Do

Smiling, laughing, giggling, cackling, grinning, and shrieking. All actions that put a smile on my face and remind me why I do what I do.

I started this business because I wanted to provide children of all ages with the kinds of movement and athletic experiences that I wish I had experienced. The kinds of experiences where kids lose themselves in the moment; where they are fully present and engaged because they are having the time of their lives; the kinds of experiences where they don’t even realize they are working out. 

In the last week, I’ve been privileged enough to work with athletes in every phase of their athletic development journey, from the novice trying a youth athletic development program for the first time, all the way across the spectrum to a college athlete returning for preseason next week. With everyone I’ve worked with, I firmly believe that they have improved athletically and will experience greater sporting success because of it. With that being said, what really stood out to me this week was the amount of smiling I saw, laughter I heard, and other obvious signs of enjoyment they showcased.

This was a proud moment for me as it reaffirmed that the work I’m doing is making a real impact. Kids are developing the physical skills they need to have success in sports and life, and are enjoying every second of it. Just see for yourself in the clip below.

If you want your child to experience this kind of training, check out our Little Athlete Academy to experience joyful-fitness for yourself!

My (Current) Favorite Exercise for Athletic Development

This summer, I’ve had the chance to work with athletes from multiple age-groups and skill levels to develop the foundational athleticism that will help them succeed in their favorite sports. I used it as an opportunity to see how certain exercises translate from one group to another. Time and time again, one exercise seemed to stand above the rest, checking all the developmental boxes, and doing so in a way the kids couldn’t get enough of. Meet Powerball, my new favorite athletic development exercise:

What I love about this exercise is that it positively develops so many athletic attributes:

·       Cutting

·       Reacting

·       Dodging

·       Tagging

·       Tracking

·       Sprinting

·       Finding open space

·       Creating space for teammates

·       Metabolic conditioning

·       Communicating

·       Defending as a team

·       Defensive positioning

·       Change of direction

·       Teamwork

·       Acceleration

·       Deceleration

The list could go on and on, but you get it.

What I think is most important about this game, however, is that while it develops all these amazing attributes, and does so in a way the kids love, it also does it in a way that actually translates to sports. The way they are accelerating, decelerating, cutting, and changing direction are the same way they will do so when the whistle blows. The commitment to finding open space, moving to move defenders, and creating space for their teammates to score, are all skills that are imperative to sporting success and can be hard to coach. This exercise does a great job teaching these skills in a way that makes sense to the kids and actually translates to success in sports.

If you’re interested in your 5-12-year-old experiencing exercises like this that will develop their athleticism, build their confidence, and help them succeed in their favorite sports, then consider enrolling in our Little Athlete Academy.

Soccer Playing Tip: How to Defend 1 v 1

A key to differentiating yourself from other players and making an impact on the soccer field is to win your individual battles/matchups. These mini-1-v-1-battles occur throughout the duration of a soccer match, and are often the difference between winning and losing. Strong team play will keep you competitive in the game, but winning your individual battles is what actually leads to wins on gameday. So, with that in mind, here’s my tip to winning your matchup defensively:

Make the game as hard as possible on the other player.

That’s it.

It’s nothing extraordinary or innovative, but doing this play after play for the duration of the game ensures that you will win a higher percentage of the battle’s vs your opposition. Here’s how you do so defensively:

1.       Always force the player to their weaker foot. 90% of the population is right-sided, meaning, it’s a very safe assumption that the player’s weaker foot will be their left. Forcing them to their weak foot will kill the game for most players, and even if they are skilled enough, and confident enough to beat you, the chances of them actually completing a play on their weak foot are slim to none. Sure, they may beat you, but if they do so on their left, they are either going to dribble out of bounds, take a heavy touch that your teammate can win, or hit a cross over the goal, all positive outcomes and nothing dangerous for your team.

2.       Play physically. This is an attribute that can separate you from the pack: get your hands on the opposition. Any time they run across your space, get in their way, put your hand on their chest, or bump them off their path. Play in, play out, with no exceptions. Doing this allows you to control them. It wears them down and frustrates them to no end, to the point where their head will either be out of the game, or they will hesitate to make the runs they would usually make.

3.       Make them play backwards. Defending 1 v 1 (and as a team) is not about winning the ball, it’s about controlling where the opposition has the ball and what they can do with it. By cutting off passing lanes, and staying between the defender and your goal, you can make them play backwards, and if they are passing the ball backwards, towards their own net and away from yours, you’ve won your battle because that is going to make it much harder on them to score.

BONUS TIP: If for some reason the player does beat you, that doesn’t mean the play is over, it simply means they got past you. Your job then, becomes to react positively and do whatever you can to recover. If the ball is past you but the player is not, it may mean planting yourself between the player and the ball and winning the footrace to it. If the player and the ball get past you, it probably means sprinting as hard as you can to occupy space centrally to protect your net and cover for your teammate who is now in the 1 v 1 matchup; the play isn’t over just because you get beat and those that react positively and recover still have a chance to win that individual battle.

Try implementing these tips into your training. How you practice is how you play, so building these habits over the next month is going to make a tremendous difference when you get out on the field for your games.

Three Reasons Your Child NEEDS a Youth Athletic Development Program

1.       Because they spend too much time sitting down: at school, behind their screens, in the car, etc., and not nearly enough time moving.

2.       Because enrolling in a program will not only impact their physical well-being, but it will also lead to better behavior, better performance in school, and a happier, healthier, more confident kid.

3.       Because they spend too much time developing sport-specific technical skills, neglecting fundamental mental movement skill, coordination, and athletic development.

If you want help building this athletic foundation, check out our Little Athlete Academy, where we help kids aged 5 to 12 do so in a way they undeniably adore.

Soccer Training Tip: Practice at Game Speed

One of the keys to having success on gameday is practicing like you want to play. This starts with the coach by choosing exercises that actually translate to the game, but it then trickles down to the players to practice at game speed. While this seems apparently obvious, it happens far less than you think.

In my 10 years of coaching, I’ve had very few players who bring the “game-like” intensity on their own without needing to be pushed, and I’ve been there too. Unsurprisingly, these players have been the ones who have had the best careers because every time they step on the field to practice, they aren’t just going through the motions, they are actually preparing themselves for what’s going to happen in the game.

At the highest level, practices often become faster and more intense than the game itself. Bill Walton once said that when he played for John Wooden, the game was actually significantly slower than what they had been doing at practice.

So my challenge to you is this: if you want to become the best player you can be, come to training with a new mentality. Come out with the intention to practice at game speed. Move hard off the ball, talk relentlessly, play firm passes, defend like an animal; play at practice like you want to play in the game. Do this for one season, and I promise you you’re going to get noticed, you’re going to improve, and you’re going to do better on gameday.

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level and the coaching to accelerate the process, then check out our Soccer Academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you maximize your potential and become an impactful player on the field.

Practice like this:

Train Kids Like Kids

I was training a private soccer client this weekend when I observed something that stopped me in my tracks. While my client and I were getting our workout in, a family of 3 came sauntering down to use the track. The kids must have been between the ages of 5 and 8. I figured they’d be coming down to play, ride their bikes, or even sit on the turf while Dad got a workout in. To my horror, I watched the dad take these young kids through a high-school level track warmup, followed by a full-fledged running workout that included technique coaching and harsh criticism. I was appalled. To make matters worse, about half way through, another family with a kid around 8 years old popped in to join them. While the Dad’s caught up, I observed the children run away and start playing with the equipment that had been left out on the turf. When the Dad’s finished catching up, they were unable to get their kids to return to the workout.

I don’t tell this story to chastise or belittle the parents in this situation, their hearts and intentions are in the right place: they want their kids to be active, happy, and healthy. This story does, however, highlight the importance of my philosophy to training kids:

Kids Need to Train Like Kids

This means training kids in a way they enjoy, with plenty of games, friendly competitions, and challenges that are within their ability to overcome. Why put kids in sprinting lines when we can create games that force them to sprint? Why have young kids lift weights when we can develop obstacle courses that challenge the same muscles? Why would we make training boring for kids when with a little bit of creativity, we can make it the most fun they’ll have that day? The answer to all these questions is obvious, we shouldn’t and wouldn’t.

Training kids like kids not only develops their fundamental athletic skills that will help them succeed in sports and life, but it also develops their confidence, love for activity, and helps them develop a positive relationship with movement and exercise that will carry forward the rest of their lives. Imagine the kind of experience these kids would have had if they came down to play, and just happened to get a workout in.

Training kids like high-level athletes dramatically increases the risk of injury, burn-out, and helps them develop a negative relationship with activity. Even at elite-level developmental academies, such as European Soccer or Scandinavian Hockey, the kids do not train this way. They develop their athleticism by playing multiple sports (mandated by the academies) and “training” their athletes like kids.

If you want your kids to safely and effectively train in the way they are supposed to, then give our Little Athlete Academy a shot. We train kids like kids and develop their fundamental athletic skills in a way they absolutely adore. Learn more by clicking here.

Athletic Skill Development MUST Precede Sport-Specific Skill Development

I was speaking with my mentor the other day, and he brought up an interesting fact. Of the hundreds of thousands of players who have played in the Little League World Series, only 58 have made it to the MLB. That’s a fascinating stat. These players are the best in the world at their age, yet so few ever make it to the biggest stage. When you dig a little deeper, you can see the answer becomes pretty obviously pretty quickly.

Elite players require expertise in 3 areas:

·       Athleticism

·       Sport-Specific Technical Skills

·       Sport-Specific Tactical Skills/IQ

So often, players bypass the first skill to focus on the second, neglecting critical windows of opportunity for essential athletic development that they can’t get back later down the road. This is what happens with those who play in the Little League World Series. They are ELITE technical players who have sacrificed their athletic development in favor of skill development, leading to an inability to keep up athletically with their peers as they grow.

Unfortunately, this has become the norm in our country. Kids are specializing earlier and earlier in one sport, and missing these critical windows of opportunity for profound athletic development to focus on developing technical mastery in one sport. To make matters worse, many are being encouraged to do so by sport coaches who just don’t see or understand the damage they are doing to the long-term health of the kid.

So my message is this:

If you want your kid to develop into a happy, healthy, competitive, and successful athlete, focus on developing their underlying athletic skills that they need to have success in sports and life during their formative years, and THEN focus on mastering sport-specific technical skills.

If you do this, your kids will not only have more success in their sports, they will also be happier, healthier, and set up to live an amazing life.

If you want help developing these skills, consider our Little Athlete Academy as your one-stop solution. We help kids develop these foundational athletic skills, and do so in a way they absolutely adore. Learn more or inquire by clicking here!

Soccer Playing Tip: Check Your Shoulder

A fundamental skill in sports is the ability to analyze situations and make decisions quickly. In soccer, we must be constantly aware of what’s going on around us so that we can make the right decision when we receive the ball and positively impact the game. You can develop this habit by checking your shoulder every time you receive the ball, as demonstrated below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1A-X_4WXTM

When you check your shoulder, you are looking to see where the pressure is coming from and quickly calculating how long it will take for it to arrive. Your goal then becomes to take your first touch away from pressure, as Mihailo does in this video, and either maintain possession or progress the ball forward.

Building this habit will allow you to become a much smarter player who makes good decisions under pressure. Start implementing this in practice. Anytime you receive the ball, check your shoulder while it’s on it’s way to you. Over time, this will become habitual and will make you into a much better player.

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level, we have a few spots left in our summer soccer academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you prepare for your fall season, stand out at practice, and contribute on gameday.

Soccer Playing Tip: How to Score More Goals

Are you an attacker who’s struggling to put the ball in the back of the net? Do you feel like you are letting your team down because you just can’t seem to finish when you have your chances? Do you simply wish to score more goals or not squander your opportunity with the ball in front of net when it comes? If the answer to any of these questions are, “yes,” then I’m going to let you in on a secret that is going to dramatically increase your chances of scoring a goal and dramatically reduce your chances of missing in front of net.

ALWAYS FINISH TO THE FAR POCKET, ON THE GROUND, WITH THE INSIDE OF YOUR FOOT

That’s it.

Now when I say finishing, I mean any chance you have inside the 18-yard box. As we creep outside the 18-yard box, we start shooting rather than finishing and our form changes.

Habitually finishing to the far pocket, on the ground, with the inside of your foot does a couple of things. First and foremost, it takes the decision making out of the finish, reducing the risk, anxiety, or panic that you may feel in front of net; you do not even have to think about where you are going to put the ball, because you know you are aiming for the far pocket. Next, it’s where you have the greatest likelihood of having success. Goalkeepers are taught to cover their front post, meaning they leave a pretty large hole towards the back pocket. You may not score every time, but it’s where your odds are highest to do so, and the goalkeepers odds are the lowest to save it. Lastly, keeping the ball on the ground, and using the inside of your foot reducing the likelihood of missing the net.

You may not score every time, but your chances go up dramatically if you follow this principle.

To see for yourself, take a peek at a few of my guys goals from this season and notice where they’re aiming and how they’re finishing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_azildwla7Q

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level, we have a few spots left in our summer soccer academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you prepare for your fall season, stand out at practice, and contribute on gameday.

Soccer Playing Tip: Off the Ball Movement

In all team sports, movement is a precursor to receiving the ball. It’s no coincidence that the players who move the most are the ones who find themselves with the ball on their feet most often, and teams that move the most are the ones who are the hardest to play against.

It’s not enough though to just move hard, you also have to move smart so you can receive the ball with time and space to make a positive play for your team. For my attackers, that means moving into dangerous positions where you have the ability to advance the play forward. You want to receive the ball in a position where you have the time and space to put the opposition under pressure, either by driving at them with the ball, or playing a penetrating pass that causes chaos of the defenders. In his prime, Kevin De Bruyne did this better than anyone I’ve ever seen. Every time he receives the ball, it’s in a position that the defense has to react to, but it’s because he’s proactively moving to put himself in these dangerous positions.   

For my defenders, you must move to become an easy passing option for your teammate with the ball. This means making yourself the easiest possible passing option for your teammate so your team can maintain possession. Often this means getting underneath the player on the ball, but it also might mean leaving your comfort zone and stepping into unfamiliar areas on the field when necessary to become an outlet option.

Because soccer isn’t black and white, this is certainly an oversimplification, but the fundamental principles hold true: You must move if you want the ball, and you must move smartly in order to help your team.

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level and the coaching to accelerate the process, we have a few spots left in our summer soccer academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you maximize your potential and become an impactful player this fall.

What Do Kids Gain From (good) Youth Athletic Development Programs?

Successful youth athletic development accomplishes a few things. First, it prepares children for the physical demands of life. Kids should be able to play like kids where they can play outside without worrying about a lower body injury, have the balance to ride a bike, the strength to go swimming with friends, and the confidence to try new physical endeavors.

Now, as a bonus, these skills just so happen to be the same skills kids will need to succeed in sports. The kid who always wins king of the hill is the same teenager bulldozing people on the football field. The kid who can throw and catch gator-skin dodgeballs becomes the star baseball player. The kid who is untouchable in capture the flag becomes the athlete who succeeds in any invasion sport they try; the physical tools they develop as kids become the foundation for future athletic success.

Lastly, and far more importantly, active kids who participate in an organized youth athletic development program get hurt less, get sick less, behave better, and perform better in the classroom. Beyond that, those who participate in a good youth athletic development program develop the confidence they need to become leaders amongst their peers. Many youth athletic development programs are simply little leadership academies masked as athletic development programs.

If you want access to this kind of program that yields these kinds of results, our Little Athlete Academy is only a few clicks away. To make sure we are the right fit for your child, we are giving all first-time participants the opportunity to try us completely FREE for one week, eliminating the risk associated with signing up for a long-term program. Simply click here to start your child on their athletic development journey!

P.S. The sooner your child embarks on their Little Athlete Academy journey, the sooner they'll see enhancements in strength, agility, and overall athletic performance. But it's not just about the physical advantages; they'll also experience increased confidence and a newfound passion for fitness. Enroll your child today and watch them soar, thrive, and lead the pack!

Spatial Awareness

In the sporting context, spatial awareness refers to the ability to feel the position of the body in space. Any athletic movement requires a baseline level of spatial awareness. Everything from standing up and walking, across the spectrum to flipping, diving, and tackling all require varying levels of spatial awareness. Elite athletes have a very high level of spatial awareness (think NFL receivers making leaping catches), while toddlers who are just learning how to walk have very little.

As we explore movement, our spatial awareness develops and improves. The more movement challenges we are exposed to, the more it will do so. Unfortunately, as kids continue to get exposed to fewer and fewer movement stimuli, their spatial awareness is not naturally developing as it once did. As such, we see it as our responsibility to develop this fundamental physical skill.

All of our sessions challenge our athlete’s current movement skills and gives them the foundational skills they need to be successful in sports and life. Pop your head into any session, and you’ll see our athletes running, jumping, sprinting, cutting, dodging, crawling, rolling, catching, throwing, laughing, and playing. All of these skills that kids used to develop by playing multiple sports, we develop through play. If you want to start developing these skills in your kids, check out our current programs.

Athletic Development Before Sport Skill Development

One of the biggest problems facing youth sports today is early specialization. Not only does early specialization lead to burnout and overuse injuries, it also deemphasizes the importance of athletic development in kids. Sport specific development is extremely important, but it has to be preceded by athletic development in order for it to translate to the field. In today’s youth sport landscape, this rarely happens.

If you want your child to have success on the field, court, or ice, help them become a good athlete before they try to become a great player. Doing this helps your child to build an athletic foundation that will translate from sport to sport, keep them healthy, and master one of the three key components to success on the field. The earlier this starts, the more they are able to maximize their athletic development.

If you want to jumpstart that process, and do so in a fun way designed specifically for kids, take a look at our current services.