Brian this is some of the best advice/comments you’ve made as of late:
“These limitations often remain from previous injuries or from disrupted coordination, especially with taller players or players in the midst of or just finishing large growth spurts.”
No one and I mean no one at the U14 level and below looks at this. In the US either you can play or you can’t and when you can play again lace up and go. I’m at the U12 level. Massive growth spurts also impact children’s ability to literally stand upright. Yet parents drive is constantly to get them on a better team!
More repetitions may not affect these limitations, and instead may reinforce these suboptimal patterns.” We to often look at this as a strength or metabolic issue, rarely a neurological one. Neuro plasticity: the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections, is often where the issue lies.
“Some players learn to compensate and overcome suboptimal patterns, but the limitations cause a premature plateau or lowered ceiling for most.”
Patterning beings and is retained at 8 repetitions so training with compensatory movement patterns only reenforces these movements.
Coming into my program in January is a child coming off a broken arm, another a concussion another with a broken leg (2 years ago) with a pronounced limp and that’s only what I’m aware of. 85 children trying for 30 spots and no info on previous athletic participation or injuries.
I feel most of what you speak to only starts to occur at the later stages of the game and we “weed”/“release” many players not for lack of desire or ability but because of an unfortunate accident or just plain puberty.
I know it is not ideal or always possible, but a true development system would not weed out or eliminate players before at least 16 years of age, and ideally 18/19. I constantly read coaches complaining about "watered down" AAU and too many teams, and my argument is always, "Why is having more teams bad?" The more players at the bottom of the pyramid, the better the players at the top.
As for injuries, I accepted a transfer from our rivals when I was at a J.C. I truthfully had her confused with a different girl, as the girl who we got never played against us in three games the previous season, and I barely scouted. She shows up and I find out she had an ACL injury. Okay, makes sense. Then I find out she had the ACL injury at the beginning of her senior high-school season, so like 18 months before she arrived to work out with me, and she worked out alongside a player who was four months out from ACL surgery and her movements, strength, compensations were worse. 18 months and if you told me she was 2 months out I would have believed you. She did not rehab after she reported to her previous college, and they barely even lifted weights! She's one of the players who I'd like a do-over because she loved to play as much as almost anyone I've coached, but she was so far behind by that point the best we could do in 8 months only team was get her an NAIA scholarship.
I walked into my first practice in Ireland and asked a 22 year old when he hurt his ankle. He's like it's not hurt. I'm like when did you sprain it. He's like 2 years ago but it's fine. I'm like it may not hurt, but it's the reason you can't make free throws.
When I have a player struggling to shoot, my first thought is injury or compensations from a previous injury. At least two of three above have had major injuries, one to start this season and one previous, and the third one has jumper's knee, at minimum; he doesn't speak much English, and he played soccer until last year, so I'm less sure of his history.
Brian this is some of the best advice/comments you’ve made as of late:
“These limitations often remain from previous injuries or from disrupted coordination, especially with taller players or players in the midst of or just finishing large growth spurts.”
No one and I mean no one at the U14 level and below looks at this. In the US either you can play or you can’t and when you can play again lace up and go. I’m at the U12 level. Massive growth spurts also impact children’s ability to literally stand upright. Yet parents drive is constantly to get them on a better team!
More repetitions may not affect these limitations, and instead may reinforce these suboptimal patterns.” We to often look at this as a strength or metabolic issue, rarely a neurological one. Neuro plasticity: the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections, is often where the issue lies.
“Some players learn to compensate and overcome suboptimal patterns, but the limitations cause a premature plateau or lowered ceiling for most.”
Patterning beings and is retained at 8 repetitions so training with compensatory movement patterns only reenforces these movements.
Coming into my program in January is a child coming off a broken arm, another a concussion another with a broken leg (2 years ago) with a pronounced limp and that’s only what I’m aware of. 85 children trying for 30 spots and no info on previous athletic participation or injuries.
I feel most of what you speak to only starts to occur at the later stages of the game and we “weed”/“release” many players not for lack of desire or ability but because of an unfortunate accident or just plain puberty.
Thank you.
I know it is not ideal or always possible, but a true development system would not weed out or eliminate players before at least 16 years of age, and ideally 18/19. I constantly read coaches complaining about "watered down" AAU and too many teams, and my argument is always, "Why is having more teams bad?" The more players at the bottom of the pyramid, the better the players at the top.
As for injuries, I accepted a transfer from our rivals when I was at a J.C. I truthfully had her confused with a different girl, as the girl who we got never played against us in three games the previous season, and I barely scouted. She shows up and I find out she had an ACL injury. Okay, makes sense. Then I find out she had the ACL injury at the beginning of her senior high-school season, so like 18 months before she arrived to work out with me, and she worked out alongside a player who was four months out from ACL surgery and her movements, strength, compensations were worse. 18 months and if you told me she was 2 months out I would have believed you. She did not rehab after she reported to her previous college, and they barely even lifted weights! She's one of the players who I'd like a do-over because she loved to play as much as almost anyone I've coached, but she was so far behind by that point the best we could do in 8 months only team was get her an NAIA scholarship.
I walked into my first practice in Ireland and asked a 22 year old when he hurt his ankle. He's like it's not hurt. I'm like when did you sprain it. He's like 2 years ago but it's fine. I'm like it may not hurt, but it's the reason you can't make free throws.
When I have a player struggling to shoot, my first thought is injury or compensations from a previous injury. At least two of three above have had major injuries, one to start this season and one previous, and the third one has jumper's knee, at minimum; he doesn't speak much English, and he played soccer until last year, so I'm less sure of his history.