This youth sports training program is teaching young athletes to become the very best.
Every LUXYMOM® wants the best for her child(ren), and every small business owner wants the best for his or her clients. What I’m going to tell you about in the next few paragraphs is the secret to your child’s advancing athletic career!
Whether you have a child that boasts natural talent and can effortlessly & miraculously perform a cartwheel on a bicycle while shooting hoops – or your child can barely contain their excitement, but seems to have trouble keeping his or her brain in tune and body aligned… this article will not fail you!
The advancement of athletics in youth is precisely why I, Coach Sophia, and my Co-Founder, Coach Justin, started TUF Athletics® – a Youth Sports Training organization that specializes in youth athletic development in Soccer, Basketball, and Football. TUF stands for Teamwork, Unity, and FUN! Our mission is to bring personalized training to athletes who are serious about sports and wish to develop their bodies and minds at a young age.
In order to build training programs that enhance athleticism in children and teens, we combine our knowledge from degrees received in Health Science and Business with our experience training adults and youth, and multiply that by our experiences with our own lively and competitive amateur athletic careers focusing on Basketball, Golf, and Football.
We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about athletics and considering its impact on ourselves, our peers, and the athletes we train!
Athletics can be about many things: health, happiness, friends, discipline, education, and more. The purpose behind it almost certainly differs for every family and every athlete.
On a broad spectrum, it can be boiled down to the desire for children to live happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives, and starting young will give your child the biggest lifetime advantage.
On a more narrow spectrum, there are families who are determined to see their children play in college or advance to the major leagues.
Regardless of your reason for training, this is what we’ve found: In order for your child to acquire the long-lasting benefits of athletics, he or she must be immersed in it and dedicated to overcoming its challenges. That’s where the development begins!
It’s only at these levels of immersion that families begin to report to us that their children have seen a change in behavior. Changes like an increase in self-confidence, social skills, self-expression, or self-care (drinking more water, or eating more vegetables!) – and those are just the short-term ones!
Now, how do you immerse your child in athletics, and how do they become dedicated to overcoming challenges? Here’s the secret… the child must have more opportunities to challenge themselves within a particular sport!
Regular league play won’t cut it. No matter what level your child plays at, it is absolutely imperative that they get additional practice outside of the standard team practices.
This is the only way to stand out from the crowd and the only way to learn about the resilience it takes to become great at any particular thing in sports – as in life!
Your child probably plays on a sports team in which they practice once a week and play one game on Saturday. This is great and they will learn how to play the game. But, they will not learn how to compete, discover their own playing style, or their secret talents unless pushed to do so.
Here are some things your child can do right now to get better at any sport:
Balance & Coordination: Have your athlete balance on one leg while holding a tennis ball. Have them toss that tennis ball to you as they keep balance. Attempt to catch 10 passes without resting his or her foot on the ground. This will give your child balance like a squirrel running at top speed through tree limbs! Now, imagine them effortlessly weaving through defenders this way.
Footwork & Agility: Set out two parallel obstacles, like hurdles, two feet apart from each other. Have your athlete stand on the outside of one obstacle, lift his or her closest leg and place it in between the obstacles, followed immediately by the other foot so they are standing in the middle of the 2 foot space.
Next have your child perform the same action one more time until situated on the other side of the obstacles. From there, your child will return to the original position starting again with the closest foot to the inside. The natural tendency will be to cross his or her feet, and this will need to be corrected. Have your child do this for 30 seconds, speeding up gradually and staying within rhythm. This will help children make split-second foot placement decisions! Similar to a kitten bouncing around a house in excitement!
Core Strength: This is a critical factor of sports performance. Have your child perform a three exercise circuit, three times in a row. The three exercises are 20 mountain climbers, a 45-second plank, and 20 flutter kicks. Rest for one minute, and repeat. Need to kick it up a notch? Do this three times a day for one week! I guarantee your child’s strength will surprise you both.
Want more exercises like these? Download your ultimate home guide to creating great athletes!
Are you in Orlando, Florida? Come out and try any training session for just $7 – just let us know you heard about us through LUXYMOM®!