Training Info for Young Wrestlers
I sometimes have parents ask me when is the appropriate time for kids to start lifting weights. I am not an expert at this, but I can say that kids can strength train at an early age. A good example of this is farm kids; they were lifting it just wasn’t in a typical fashion with weights. I can remember wrestling farm kids and all of them were strong, some were strong as bulls. So to answer the question, kids can start strength training when they want to start strength training (notice I did not say weight lifting). Don’t make kids trains it they don’t want to; I think you are inviting disaster if you do this. Later in life when they really need to strength train they won’t want to.
The next question is what type of training. You can stay off the weights and still improve strength just by doing body weight exercises, dumbbells, plyometrics. One area that all kids need to improve strength wise is in their core. That is the midsection; they have to be strong there before they can be strong anywhere else. I think that was why farm kids were so strong; they had to do movements (carrying, shoveling, etc) that improve core strength.
I am not a spokesman for this product but one exercise regimen that I think would be great for young kids is the P90X program. You have probably seen the infomercials on this product. The reason for its popularity is that it requires a small number of exercise pieces and it concentrates on improving athleticism, not just looking big. I would not suggest that kids do the whole routine, but just bits and pieces till they develop their endurance. We use sections of the program with our wrestling team and have seen significant improvements in their flexibility and core strength.
If you are not in the financial position to buy this product I would recommend a website that I have used for the past 8 years, HYPERLINK “http://www.crossfit.com” www.crossfit.com . This website has some great workouts; the site also has demonstrations of various exercises. There is also a website connected to crossfit, HYPERLINK “http://www.crossfitkids.com” www.crossfitkids.com. This site has some good workouts and exercises that are appropriate for younger kids.
I think the important thing to try to remember is to make strength training fun. The key here is to be creative; as long as the activity is fun kids won’t consider it work. I can think back when I was young and how I enjoyed chopping wood. It was a great workout, but I always enjoyed the activity so it never seemed like I was working out. Anything you can do that involves working the core area, such as carrying, shoveling, etc is going to be great for a kids overall athleticism.
Steve Hamilton – Perry High School Wrestling Coach
Tom Wilson Youth Football Training Video Out in Time for Christmas!!
Andy Pollock – Perspective on Coaching and Parenting Youth Athletes
Who I am
Talking about football and coaching, can it get any better than that? I guess I should probably introduce myself so you can decide for yourself if you want to read on-
My name is Andy Pollock, the proud father of 2 little girls, and husband to my wife (and high school sweetheart) of over 6 years. I am a Financial Advisor in Des Moines, IA, sing in my church choir, and for the purposes of this blog, coach sophomore football at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.
My coaching style has literally been impacted by about every coach I’ve had since I started playing sports in second grade. I’ll never forget in 4th grade when the late Bill Dohrn (who coached every level of baseball in Aplington, IA from 2nd grade T-ball through Varsity, also jr high volleyball and 2x state champ Boys basketball) sent me home from third base while the pitcher had the ball in his hands because with 2 outs, I waited at 2nd on a fly ball to the outfield. Better to learn that lesson in 4th grade than in a substate playoff game 8 years later, and he knew that. A few of the guys I’ve learned from- Randy Merhl (Southeast Polk HS), Scott Heitland (Dallas Center-Grimes, HS), Luke Meadows (South Dakota St), Mike Tressel (Michigan St.), Eric Koehler (Grand Valley St.) Tim Morrison (Wartburg), Rick Willis (Wartburg), Jim Williams (ex Iowa St and Simpson, current Dowling). I’ve even picked up a thing or two from my younger brothers, Alex, who coaches college football, Grant, who has coached HS soccer, and Tim, an 8th grade 4-sporter/musician.
2 guys that have impacted me more as a coach than anyone, the late Ed Thomas (Aplington-Parkersburg) and my own father, Dr Tom Pollock. Dad spent countless hours playing catch, kicking, tackling, shooting hoops, hitting… pretty much anything but playing golf (and he is horrible at that). Dad will be 50 in a couple weeks and still thinks he can play in the “Greenbean Casserole Bowl,” Our family’s annual Thanksgiving football game. Come to think of it, it’s probably me who should think about giving that up. Last year’s game found me quitting early with a cracked rib after getting lit up by dad when going up for a pass across the middle. For the record, I held onto the ball, and it was a first down. But I digress.
Unlike a lot of youth nowadays, I didn’t start playing football until 6th grade when our 2 small towns, Aplington and Parkersburg joined together. Even then, it was only flag football, the pads didn’t go on until 7th grade. The wing-T quick huddle system that the Varsity used and had been so successful with was the system we were taught from the get go. Football was a huge part of my life throughout high school, but it was far from the only thing. I played 4 sports, sang in the choir, played in the band, competed in speech—the whole shebang. At a small school if we didn’t get involved, those activities wouldn’t exist. Coaches encouraged us to participate in all we could and I took that to heart.
The love of getting involved in a lot of activities took me to college at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. It is a small NCAA D3 liberal arts school. Played football and sang in the choir there and spent my Friday nights as the football play-by-play voice of a local radio station.
I really didn’t have much intention of coaching football. I always figured I would be the radio voice of the Cyclones, but the opportunity came up a couple years after college when Tom Wilson, the coach of our rivals in high school(Dike New-Hartford, still don’t like’em), took the head coaching job at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines. I got an email from him gauging my interest, and ever since I have been hooked. I coach the sophomore offensive line at Dowling and our job as a sophomore staff is to prepare the kids for what they will face at the Varsity level. We take great pride in the preparation that we provide for them and do our best to give them the confidence that will ideally lead to success at the next level of football, and life. We have been blessed to have some great kids in my time coaching, and at the time of this writing have a 26-game sophomore win streak, and an undefeated Varsity team ranked second in the largest class of high schools in Iowa.
Questions? Comments? Willing to talk about pretty much anything. Nothing’s a secret unless we are playing you this Friday.
Next Time- Setting your kids (and yourself) up for success.
