The Youth Sports Experience: Recent Episodes
Mark Thomas
Curiosity Kills. Exploring The Youth Sports Experience from as many angles as we can find. A resource for parents, coaches, etc., as we talk to all sorts of interesting people on the youth sports scene.
What should you expect at a basketball tryout? What advice would a veteran coach give to parents and kids considering trying out for a travel team? Diallo Nelson coached in Division One basketball and was the head coach at Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, MD for 22 years. He left that spot he had invested so much of himself in, so he could work with his own son and other kids. He now coaches the Maryland Sting http://www.mdsting.com
Speed, strength, power, agility, quickness, jumping higher...we want our kids to get bigger, faster stronger. But what's the best way to train kids? They aren't little adults and their bodies respond differently. I caught up with one of the most experienced sources on the subject who was kind enough to share his insight. Dr. Rick Howard (@rihoward41) is the Director of Fitness at Wilmington (DE) Country Club and an Assistant Professor in Applied Sport Science at West Chester University (PA). He presents nationally and internationally on youth training, LTAD, and strongman, and has contributed several articles to peer-reviewed journals and blogs on the topics. He is a founding member and Past Chair of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Youth Special Interest Group and the Chair of the NSCA State Provincial Director Committee, where he is the Mid-Atlantic Region Coordinator. He is certified with distinction by the NSCA. E-mail: rihoward41@gmail.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/rihoward41 (https://twitter.com/rihoward41) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rihoward41/ (https://www.instagram.com/rihoward41/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rihoward41 (https://www.facebook.com/Rihoward41)
To Be a Better Coach- A Guide for the Youth Sport Coach and Coach Developer is an excellent book for coaches to read and keep on their shelves as a reference. The authors- Dr. Lori Gano-Overway and Dr. Pete Van Mullem- are professors at universities and have worked with coaches at various levels. We had a conversation about the book and coaching youth sports.
Tennis is fantastic for total athlete development. Coach David Mast runs the Mast Tennis Academy Summer Camp where our boys spent a week of mornings learning how to play the game. Coach Mast and I hit it back and forth, talking about learning tennis, the benefits of tennis, what makes a good summer camp and more. I also told him about the secret weapon I use to measure camps.
Nature vs. Nurture. Our intentions as parents and coaches of child athletes are usually good. Even if we only have average DNA to pass down, we want our kids to be better than us. Some even dream of them being stars. Is that realistic? And is there a training recipe for getting them there? Dr. Chris Brooks teaches "The Science of Training Young Athletes", a course I'm taking for free thru the University of Florida and Coursera. Dr. Brooks is also the coaching science coordinator for USA Track and Field, so she's seen the top of the food chain.
Crossing the Atlantic to pursue his own American Dream, Paul Easton has become one of the most sought after basketball teachers in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia hoops hotbed. We went baseline to baseline with him to learn more about how he got to this point and what he’s teaching. You can find him online at http://pauleastonbasketball.com/ (PaulEastonBasketball.com) and on social media at drillsandskillsbball