The objective of this course is to ensure coaches working with juvenile athletes, players or teams understands and appreciates:
This course examines the important issue of theory and practice of speed and agility training as it relates to coaching juvenile athletes and players. After skill, speed must be seen as the most important component of physical fitness especially for adults. With the conditioning of children it is not so much speed that is important but rather the physical development that is necessary to lay the significant and critical foundation for speed development later when those young people begin to function and compete as teenage or as adult performers.
Speed is defined as the rate at which someone or something moves or travels or the rate at which something happens or is done. It involves the quality of being quick and fast. For children the central elements in coaching and training speed are strength and flexibility in the area of physical fitness development. However in terms of general development there is a massive requirement to maintain progress in the area of motor skill and functional skill enhancement.
The following topics will be covered in this course
Introduction to the course
This topic introduces the course and the importance of speed and agility for juveniles
The Basis of Speed Training for Children
This topic discusses how we need to understand how speed is coached and why this foundation must be developed to ensure athletes/players can become faster at a later stage.
Understanding the Windows of Opportunity for Speed
This topic introduces the coaches to the windows as outlined in the LTAPD pathway and in particular it looks at the training relating to the First Window of Opportunity for Rapid Development in Speed.
Approach to Speed Training (6 to 9 Year Olds)
Looks at the importance of Fundamental Motor Skills for children in the age group and sets about trying to develop Key Performance Indicators for the work of the coach.
Approach to Speed Training (10 to 12 Year Olds)
The children in this age are between the First and Second Window of Opportunity for Speed and at this stage we actually can begin sprinting. However we look at continuing the development of function and strength while also suggesting some Key Performance Indicators for this age-group too.
The Principles of Speed Training
This topic examines the Principles or Guidelines for Training speed and agility with a special emphasis on how they apply to children on juvenile teams.
Coaching Speed to the Young Athlete/Player
This topic examines the definition of speed and looks at how exercises can be used to develop force production by the young athlete/player and improve his or her fast ground contacts times.
Understanding the Juvenile Athlete/Player
This topic examines the importance of physical and skeletal growth and their effect on the physical and motor development of the young athlete/player.
Importance of Strength in Speed training
This topic examines and discusses that during the first Window of Speed that it might be wise for coaches to avoid speed training per se and ensure that they develop the function and physical strength of the young child.
Four Basic Speed Development Exercises for Juveniles
Brian Grasso, one of the world’s leading experts on juvenile coaching has suggested that all children need to become proficient in 4 basic motor/muscular skills. This topic examines the four exercises and presents a series of progressive development exercises to use with the young athletes/players.
To fully complete one’s education in speed and agility there are two additional courses which are more practical and more specific to the work of the coach:
Speed and Agility Training Exercises (6 to 9 year olds) €39.95
Speed and Agility Training Exercises (10 to 12 year olds) €39.95)
These course are list other Optional Additional courses
The fee for this course is €49.95.
Before purchasing any course check the top right hand corner of the home page and make sure that you indicate your location correctly. This ensures you have no currency exchange fees to pay. Use the drop-down menu to select location.
The location possibilities are 3: Ireland/Europe (€) / USA ($) / UK (£)