Your child should absolutely embrace an offseason. Consistent and repetitive movements from sports can cause unnecessary wear and tear on young bodies. According to Healthline.com, athletes who play multiple sports with breaks in between sports see less injuries, less mental burden, and less burnout on sports all together. Instead of racing from one season to the next, taking time off and engaging in new and different training can be extremely beneficial for young athletes. Here are five ways to stay active and train during the offseason:
Set a Goal
Creating a goal to work towards when your child is not actively playing a sport can help keep them motivated. A goal may be to run faster, make a certain number of shots in a row, or even just to be active every day. It can be specific or broad, as long as it’s keeping them moving every day.
Have Fun
Training for young atheletes sholdn’t be a grind! Have some fun with it by creating an obstacle course. If an offseason goal is to improve the height of a vertical jump, create a course that requires jumping up, over, an around objects.
Create quick and efficient workouts using the Tabata method. Have your child choose 10 exercises. Using a stopwatch or Tabata app, do each exercise for 1 minute with a 10 second break in between each. Run through the exercises at least one time, or more if they like!
Try Something New
The offseason is the perfect time to try something new. Find a local gym or field that will let your child try out a sport for an afternoon. Or pick up some used equipment to enjoy in the backyard. Even new workout techniques like jumping rope or parkour is a great way to stay active and flex those mental muscles too.
Think About Opposing Muscles
Using the same muscle groups over and over can cause injury and or fatigue. The off season is the perfect time to work on strengthening opposing muscle groups. If your child plays baseball, have them work on movements that are the opposite of swinging and running, such as jumping and shooting a basketball instead. While it may seem counterintuitive, having strength overall is more beneficial for a young athlete.
AYB Academy
If your athlete is in need of some fun during their off season, AYB Academy is a great option. The AYB Academy has been developed to meet the needs of middle school and high school athletes, across teams, schools, and leagues. This revolutionary program, coached by former NBA and college coaches, will help players develop and learn outside of their team, giving them focused and personalized instruction. Small group, individual, and team programs are available and are in 5 session packages. Click below for more information and to register.
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