At some point, high school athletes commit mistakes in their training and development.
Here are the 3 major mistakes high school athletes should avoid according to our coaches.
David’s Perspective
- Fractured Training – The biggest mistake he sees in high school athlete development is fractured training. Fractured training occurs when athletes play multiple sports without any underlying program that focuses on the big picture of their overall development. Athletes should be playing multiple sports in middle school and high school to develop different movements, skills, and capacities. But if each sports coach is solely focused on the athlete’s development of that specific sport and not the overall development of the athlete, the athlete’s overall development is going to be limited.
Matt’s Perspective
- Lack of Sleep – Athletes and their parents need to understand that more is not always better. We overload our children with activities and distractions and don’t create an environment that promotes recovery. Middle and high school athletes don’t get enough sleep to fully recover from all the training they do. They need to be getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night..
David’s Perspective
- Not developmentally varied – There is a huge difference between a mature senior and an immature freshman. Putting them on the same workout plan can lead to underdevelopment at the best and injury at the worst. Athletes need training plans specific to their individual developmental levels…
Matt’s Perspective
2. Ego Lifting –Competition is good but a lot of athletes let their ego get in the way. Using the poor technique, doing things solely for social media, and trying to mimic others can lead to injuries. Even if those injuries aren’t immediate, they can show up later on in life.
David’s Perspective
- Poor Nutrition – How many of your friends follow a good nutrition program? This is the question often posed to high school athletes and the usual answer to this question is: “none”. Kids are playing sports, a lot of them are doing specialized training for their sports, and a lot of them are doing specialized weight training with professionals. All are trying to be more competitive but the one thing that no one is doing is eating well. Much like sleep, if you are not properly fueling your training and recovery with nutrition, you are limiting your overall development.
Matt’s Perspective
3. Failing to Plan, Planning to Fail – Doing something is always better than doing nothing, but having a structured plan is the best way to succeed. You also need a coach to guide you through that plan. Randomly choosing exercises, sets/reps, and any other training variables is not a strategy for success. Instead, let an expert create a plan for you and show you how to have the most success possible.
If you are an athlete or an aspiring one, take this into consideration, share this with your friends, sons and daughters, your coaches and help come up with a developmental plan that is going to help you/them achieve athletic success.