We could try to work some magic.
But we wouldn’t recommend it. When to start sports performance training is a key driver to long term results, and results come with time and consistency.
If someone tells you they can change your athlete in three sessions or even two weeks, they probably don’t have your best interests in mind.
Often, we get calls from parents at the beginning of August before their child’s fall sports season starts in two weeks. They are looking to improve their speed, endurance, and maybe even strength before daily practices start. While we can show your athlete a little on the technical side, it won’t make a sustainable difference. You won’t get your money’s worth.
But it’s not easy to know how to properly train as an athlete, especially if you haven’t been through the process before, either with yourself or an older child. A consistent program that balances sports seasons with preparing the body to handle those seasons and improve athleticism is the key. Managing that program over years is what gets results.
What’s the first step?
When To Call
Call as your child’s previous sports season comes to an end. If you call right before the next season starts, there is simply no time to make an appreciable difference in athleticism.
You should account for three months of training when you first get started. If your athlete trains for three months and shows up consistently, they will be faster, stronger, quicker, and less injury prone. It is important to compound results over time, and so two weeks will make very little noticeable difference. Call early to gather information on training, be comfortable with the plan, and start as soon as your athlete has the time.
What To Expect
With time, we can properly evaluate your athlete’s current ability level and goals. We can understand what they want to accomplish, where they are starting, and how they will improve.
We measure all new athlete’s speed, agility, strength, power, endurance, and mechanics. Over at least three consistent months, all of those things will improve. Some athletes move from the end of the bench to the starting lineup. Some up their speed a little bit. Some gain confidence that comes along with strength. But all get better. All improve with the right plan.
Where To Invest Your Time
If you’ve read our stuff before, you know the dangers of playing one sport year round and never preparing your child’s body to handle that workload. They nearly all break down physically and mentally when they are married to one club team.
The best investment outside of the season is with sports performance training. When was the last time you saw the best player on the team that was slow and weak? It is never the case.
The best athletes, whether in high school or on the professional stage, spend time learning and improving their speed and strength. They learn how to move and how to be explosive. They don’t randomly start working on these things right before the season starts. That’s reserved for the less effective players who “play themselves into shape.”
If you think your child should learn concepts over time in school and not simply cram the night before a test, you understand why the same would be true in athletics. Take the time to start improving long before your child’s coach tells them they need to improve.
How To Maintain Your Results
The truth is, training should probably never stop. You learn to walk, then run, then run faster, then get more agile, then get stronger, then become more powerful. Your athlete can apply these habits to their long term health.
Training shouldn’t be a three month project, but a lifelong quest to be more fit, more athletic, and healthy.
How do you do it?
You start the process when your athlete has the time. You train and learn and physically improve.
Then, you maintain it with training DURING the season. Fit in a speed day here and there to become faster at the end of the season instead of slower. You’ll be amazed at the results. Your child will look like they are playing a different game than everyone else.
It’s Time To Start The Process
If you can’t tell by now, we don’t want you to call for the first time in August if your athlete is starting soccer or football as the summer comes to an end. It’s irresponsible on our part to accept them.
Be ready to call in November as their season comes to an end. Expect to spend 3-4 months of the winter training multiple days per week. That’s what all the top athletes know they have to do if they want to level up.
And if your child is a three sport athlete and they never have the time during the school year? Get a flexible training plan and learn either to get faster OR get stronger once per week. Then, be ready to call once June hits for a full summer of improvement!
We know how to build athletes and we’ll shout it from the rooftops. When to start sports performance training will make a massive difference. If you want to learn more about a proper performance plan for your son or daughter, contact us here!
