Or in the case of my daughter Emily, 1st day at school. She took it all in her stride, as did all her friends at the gate. It’s us parents who get all worked up about it.
As far as young athletes are concerned, this is massive for them. It’s their New Year. A time for a clean slate and new beginnings.
Whatever their goal, making the school or representative team, last season is forgotten. Some kids come back from the summer holidays looking, sounding and moving completely differently. Like some one stuck them in a grow bag and fed them steroids for 6 weeks. With some, the transformation is huge. Others may appear to have been left behind.
In a time of new beginnings, there can be a tendency for coaches to introduce the new stuff they learned over the summer. Big mistake. That’s basing training on what THEY want rather than what their athletes need.
This is the perfect opportunity to strip things right back to basics.
Ensure the foundations are solid so that when you introduce the sexy new drills in later, it’s easier to coach.
Let’s step into the kid’s shoes for a minute, you’ve been given a new body that’s bigger, stronger and more powerful than the previous one. Chances are it’ll take a while to get the hang of it. Going back to basics is a chance for the coach to see where everyone is at and for the athletes to get to grips with their longer limbs. [Read more…]