38 Strategies

The purpose of this article is to directthe attention of parents, teachers and coaches to a free 15-hour Coursera course titled

Th e Science of Training Young Athletes (coursera.org, 2016). Th e University of Florida’s (UF) Depart-ment of Sport Management sponsored the course, and it was produced by UF Continuing Education specifi cally for the Coursera universal-access educa-tion platform. Coursera was founded in 2012 with the goal of providing the opportunity for anyone to take free courses from the world’s top universities. For a small fee, students can select to achieve a cer-tifi cate by completing specifi c course requirements. In this article, the term “young athlete” refers to sport participants younger than 18 years of age who fall within one of the following four long-term athlete development stages: 1) active start, 2) FUNdamen-tals, 3) learning to train, and 4) training to compete (Ford et al., 2011).

By Christine M. Brooks

Improving Improving Improving Sports Sports Sports

Science Science Science Access for Access for Access for Parents, Parents, Parents, Teachers Teachers Teachers

and Youth and Youth and Youth CoachesCoachesCoaches

THEORY INTO PRACTICEColumn Editor: Anthony Parish

Stimulus for Course DevelopmentA 2008 survey of youth sport participation (Sarbo & Veliz,

2008) and the 2014 ESPN/Aspen Institute Project Play Survey of Parents about youth sport issues (Farrey, 2014) stimulated the conception and subsequent development of this course. Th e data indicated that the participant dropout rate before high school graduation was as high as 70%, and around 60% of par-ents were deeply concerned about the behavior and knowledge of youth sport coaches. Upon reading the Aspen Project Play Survey report, Matthew Geschke, director of the U.S. chapter of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, stated: “Parents need to demand better training of coaches, and they need to demand it of themselves. If they’re going to sign up to be vol-unteer coaches, they need to know what that word (coaching) means” (quoted in Farrey, 2014).

Th e Science of Training Young Athletes addresses Geschke’s concerns. Th e content is designed to improve the knowledge of youth sport stakeholders by introducing them to the sci-ence behind safely and appropriately enhancing the founda-tional and sport-specifi c motor performance abilities of speed, power, endurance, fl exibility and coordination (Figure 1). Th e course explains how the young body can positively adjust to

Volume 30 ∙ March/April 39

training and how the wrong training can cause it to function ineffi ciently. Four implicit fundamental philosophical prin-ciples underlie the content design: 1) enjoyment, 2) striving for improvement, 3) developmentally appropriate training, and 4) doing no harm to young athletes. Th e end goal is to ensure that the physical potential of all young people is successfully de-veloped while concurrently providing them with a lifetime of positive memories and an eternal love of the movement chal-lenges that sports provide.

Background of Sports Participation and Dropout Rates

Although the exact number of children ages six to 18 years old who join sport teams is uncertain, survey results of the six- to 17-year-old pediatric population in the United States have suggested that the fi gure ranges from 54% to 59%, or approxi-mately 21.5 million participants (Th e Aspen Institute, 2014; “Children May Be Vulnerable,” 2010; Sarbo & Veliz, 2008). An estimated 70% of these participants dropped out of organized sport programs before graduating from high school. Around 30% claimed injuries were a factor in their decision to drop out of organized sports. Around 4 million children younger than the age of 17 years are injured each year while playing sports (Monroe, Th rash, Sorrentino, & King, 2011). Th e Aspen Insti-tute data also highlight how a lack of fun and dislike of a coach contribute to dropout rates. Th irty to 40 percent of survey par-ticipants cited these reasons for dropping out — possibly indi-cating that coaches have insuffi cient knowledge about how to successfully teach and train pediatric populations.

Of equal concern is that young athletes are training and competing at higher intensities than ever before. Little is cur-rently known about the type of physical stress a young body

can tolerate. To provide these insights, the International Olym-pic Committee Medical Commission collaborated with the International Federation of Sports Medicine to examine cur-rent research about how youth respond to intensive training (Bergeron et al., 2015; Hebestreit & Bar-Or, 2008). Th is focus on pediatric sports science is intended to accomplish four goals:

• Provide insight into how growth, maturation and devel-opment of motor skills interact, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively (Nettle & Sprogis, 2011).

• Guide methods for training children of varying abilities so the physical stress is appropriate for their phase of growth and maturation. In this way, injury and burnout are avoided.

• Provide insight into how sports might help combat child-hood obesity, thereby contributing to reducing a nation’s future health care costs. Sports organizations have a vested interest in reducing childhood obesity because a high percentage of overweight children shrinks the pool of talented young athletes who can be nurtured into elite performers.

• Identify appropriate retention strategies for children en-tering into the sports system (Barnett, Smoll, & Smith, 1992).

Interaction between Sports Science Knowledge and Best Coaching Practices

Brooks (2016) used the analogy of a building composed of a foundation and roof that is supported by a central pillar to ex-plain the interaction between sports science and coaching best practices (Figure  2). Th e goals, rules and philosophy govern-ing the sport’s competition are the foundation upon which all

Motor performance abilities

Endurance Strength Speed Coordination Flexibility

Aerobic

Anaerobic

Muscular

Explosive Explosive power

Skill specific Skill specific speed

Speed of Speed of response

Under time Under time pressure

Under Under precision

Static

Dynamic

Energy system Energy system based

Information processing Information processing based

FountationalSp

ort

Spor

t-Sp

ort-s

peci

fic

Figure 1. Foundational and sport-specifi c motor performance abilities

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Trained as a body builder

Trained as an endurance runner

Figure 3. Individuals with identical genotypes will havediff erent trained phenotypes

From Rennie, M. J. (2005). Used with permission

relevant sports science is built. Th e roof symbolizes the sport-specifi c phenotype the athlete must develop for high perfor-mance in a sport. Th e sport-specifi c phenotype encompasses a unique mix of motor performance abilities in conjunction with learned skills, tactics and techniques. Each sport has a distinc-tive sport-specifi c phenotype that is formed based on genotype,

training and environmental infl uences such as diet, health and accessibility to facilities. Even identical twins who have the same genotype will develop diff erent phenotypes depending on their training and environmental exposure. One twin in Figure 3, for example, trained as a body builder, and the other trained as an en-durance runner (Rennie, 2005). Th e ath-lete’s phenotype is interrelated with their performance.

Th e supporting pillar is constructed from three types of beliefs:

• beliefs about the type of training that best enhances the athlete’s physical work capacity for the sport;

• beliefs about the appropriate teaching pedagogy so optimal learning can oc-cur; and

• beliefs about the most profi cient strat-egies for performing the skills, tactics and techniques of the sport.

Insights into how to build the central pillar from these struc-tural beliefs come from two sources:

1. experimental input from coaches, athletes and scientists; and

2. insights provided by several sports science disciplines.

Coaches and athletes constantly experiment with the best techniques for optimal performance of a skill and the type of training that eff ectively develops endurance, speed, strength, coordination and fl exibility in exactly the right proportions. Sports scientists weigh in with their research fi ndings, agreeing or disagreeing with current coaching practices, and off er ad-ditional insights. Out of these two “research and development”

arms, a set of theories is developed about 1) an age-appropriate training program design, 2) the best way to teach skills, 3) how to modify training according to the athlete’s biological age, and 4) the relevant technical and tactical knowledge the athlete needs to compete successfully.

Th e science disciplines of physiol-ogy, training theory, growth and mat-uration, motor learning, biomechanics and psychology, among other sciences, provide insights into the athlete’s biological and mental functioning throughout growth and maturation. Th is knowledge provides the under-standing needed to design age-appro-priate training.

Training physical work capacity

Teaching pedagogy

Skill, tactics & technique

CoachesAthletes

Scientists

Research input

Physiology Training theory

Growth &Maturation

Motor learningBiomechanics

Psyc

holo

gy

Insights from science disciplines

Goals ,rules and philosophy of the competition

Skill, tactics & techniqueSkill, tactics & technique

Sport-specific phenotype= Athlete’s performance

Figure 2. Structural model of the interaction betweensports science and coaching best practices

Volume 30 ∙ March/April 41

Submissions Welcome!Readers are encouraged to send “Theory into Prac-tice” submissions to column editor Anthony Parish at anthony.parish@armstrong.edu.

The purpose of the Strategies column “Theory into Practice” is to distill high quality research into under-standable and succinct information and to identify key resources to help teachers and coaches im-prove professional practice and provide high qual-ity programs. Each column (1,000 –1,300 words or roughly four typed, double-spaced pages) summa-rizes research findings about a timely topic of inter-est to the readership to enable practitioners to apply research, knowledge and evidence-based practice in physical education and sports.

Student Learning Outcomes after Completing the Course

There are five learning outcomes for students who complete The Science of Training Young Athletes course.

• Knowledge: After viewing the video lectures, the student will be able to describe and explain important sports sci-ence concepts relevant to training young athletes.

• Comprehension: The student will be able to explain the positive and negative influence that growth and matura-tion have on a young athlete’s performance.

• Application: The student will be able to immediately con-struct appropriate training programs for young athletes.

• Analysis: The student will be able to identify why an ath-lete may not be enjoying their sports training experience or may be making below-average progress, and can make the appropriate coaching adjustments.

• Evaluation: The student will be able to evaluate the sig-nificance of relevant insights from pediatric research that will enhance positive sport experiences for young athletes.

These five outcomes are designed to impact the way a coach views his or her role in the development of young athletes. The following statement made by a student who completed the course is an example of how the knowledge provided can contribute to improving a coach’s understanding about how to work with pediatric populations:

I have just completed the course of The Science of Training Young Athletes. I found this course to be very interesting and detailed. I am an athlete and wanted to gain some up-to-date knowledge with regards to training techniques and physiology. Initially the interest was purely for myself, but once I started it I realized that it would also benefit my two very young children (three and five years old). I now have a much better understanding of how a child develops and the fact that different types of training are appropriate at different stages of their growth. I also realized the importance of early sampling. Thank you for the wonderful course. It has truly been an eye opener.

Although the Coursera class is used at the university where the author of this article works, it can be easily adapted to fit any university program. It is believed that the basic tenets of The Science of Training Young Athletes course should help enhance any physical education teacher education curriculum.

ReferencesThe Aspen Institute. (2014). espnW/ASPEN Institute Project Play

Survey of Parents on youth sports issues. Retrieved from http://aspen projectplay.org/sites/default/files/espnw-Aspen%20Institute%20Project%20Play%20Survey%20of%20Parents%20on%20youth%20sports%20issues.pdf

The Aspen Institute. (2015). Sport for all, play for life: A playbook to get every kid in the game. Retrieved from http://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/sport-all-play-life-playbook-get-every-kid-game

Barnett, N. P., Smoll, F. L., & Smith, R. E. (1992). Effects of enhanc-ing coach–athlete relationships on youth sport attrition. The Sport Psychologist, 6, 111–127.

Bergeron, M. F., Mountjoy, M., Armstrong, N., Chia, M., Côté, J., Emery, C. A., . . . Engebretsen, L. (2015). International Olympic Committee consensus statement on youth athletic development. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49, 843–851.

Brooks, C. M. (2016). The science of training young athletes manual: Part 1. Retrieved from http://www.learnitez.com/HighPerformance Science/manual-for-physiological-development-through-the-lifes-pan

Children may be vulnerable in $5 billion youth-sports industry. (2010, August 29). Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved from http://www.dispatch. com/content/stories/local/2010/08/29/children-may-be-vulner able-in-5-billion-youth-sports-industry.html

Farrey, T. (2014, October 13). ESPN poll: Most parents have concerns about state of youth sports. espnW.com. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/espnw/w-in-action/article/11675649/parents-concern-grows-kids-participation-sports

Ford, P., De Ste Croix, M., Lloyd, R., Meyers, R., Moosavi, M., Oli-ver, J., . . . Williams, C. (2011). The long-term athlete development model: Physiological evidence and application. Journal of Sports Sci-ences, 29, 389–402.

Hebestreit, H., & Bar-Or, O. (Eds.). (2008). The young athlete. Interna-tional Olympic Committee. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Monroe, K. W., Thrash, C., Sorrentino, A., & King, W. D. (2011). Most common sports-related injuries in a pediatric emergency de-partment. Clinical Pediatrics, 50, 17–20.

Nettle, H., & Sprogis, E. (2011). Pediatric exercise: Truth and/or con-sequences. Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review, 19, 75–80.

Rennie, M. J. (2005). Body maintenance and repair: How food and ex-ercise keep the musculoskeletal system in good shape. Experimental Physiology, 90, 427–436.

Sarbo, D., & Veliz, P. (2008). Go out and play: Youth sport in America. East Meadow, NY: Women’s Sport Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org S

Christine M. Brooks (cmbrooks@ufl.edu) is an instructor of High Perfor-mance Training in the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida in Cocoa Beach, FL and Coaching science educa-tion coordinator for USA Track and Field that is the National Governing Body for track and field in the US.