EVERYTHING
FOR YOUR FAMILY
KID
QUIPS
“One night, my 3-year-old asked me if she could sleep in my bed. I told her no. She said, “That’s not fair! Why does Daddy get to sleep in your bed?” READ MORE
Get in the Game
|
||||
|
Is it worth grabbing a personal coach for your youth? As your athlete gets older and begins to show specific skills, you might consider the value of a professional coach, and whether he has the tools to elevate your child’s game. It might seem extravagant to some, but hiring a personal coach or trainer is a great way to take your skilled athlete’s game to the next level. Southern California is known in sports circles as the birthplace of the personal coach for youth athletes, and local success stories abound. The parents of Taylor King, the 6-foot-7-inch Mater Dei junior who was the OC Register’s Basketball Player of the Year in 2006, employed personal coaches and trainers for years. And Grant Schwartz, the Dana Hills High quarterback who accounted for 17 touchdowns last year, works with a trainer who his dad says is expensive – but worth it, if a college scholarship is the end result. Still, even here in the hotbed of youth coaching, most parents have questions: How much time is required? Do kids train one-on-one with a coach? Is a personal coach or trainer ever an impediment to a youth athlete’s success? Based on my conversations with coaches, parents, and players, I’ve tried to answer these and other questions below. What’s the difference between a personal coach and a personal trainer? A coach works less on physical conditioning and more on mechanics. A catching coach might show a baseball catcher how to step toward second base more quickly when throwing out baserunners; a batting coach will analyze a swing and show your player why he or she is not meeting the ball better. A personal trainer, on the other hand, works on the physical conditioning of an athlete. Go with a personal coach if you’re looking for a specific technical improvement in a player’s game such as an improved golf swing or swimming stroke. Go with a trainer if you’re looking for improvement in conditioning and stamina. How often would my youth athlete meet with a personal coach or trainer? For 10- to 14-year-olds, personal coaching/training sessions are usually 30 to 60 minutes, one to three times a week. For high school and older athletes, personal coaching sessions can last from 90 to 120 minutes, up to three times a week. Does my child work with a coach or trainer one-on-one, or as part of a group of young athletes? One-on-one is best, because the coach can focus exclusively on the needs of an individual rather than trying to balance the needs of the group. As a less expensive alternative, some private coaches and trainers work with small groups (up to four or five athletes at a time). The key for group training is having members of the group be approximately the same age and ability. Group training is OK for tight-knit team members, but can be a distraction otherwise. Can a personal coach or trainer be counterproductive? Yes, especially with older players during an already busy season, when a personal coach might have strategies or be using drills that are at odds with the team coach’s strategies or drills. One high school football coach told me, “I’m not a fan of personal trainers during the season. It creates a problem between what your child does with the trainer, and whatever lifting, conditioning or training your child does with the team coach.” On the other hand, during the offseason, “Trainers can be a great help with motivation and provide one-on-one work that you may not get with the team’s coach.” And there is the ever-present threat of burnout. You might be dreaming of a tennis scholarship for your daughter, but if her heart’s not in it, all that time spent in coaching sessions will just remind her how much she would like to dump the sport. How much do they cost? The weekly expenses depend on the number of sessions per week and the duration of each session, but $30-$50 per half-hour training session is typical. Group training or coaching is more affordable. If you get a quoted price from a personal coach that seems exorbitant, ask what other less expensive options are available. ABCS OF PICKING A COACH It’s the luck of the draw to get a coach for a youth team where your only expense is the cost of the season. It’s a whole different ballgame when you choose a private coach who charges $30 and up per half-hour. In that case, you want to make the very best investment choice. Some tips: Choose a coach who relates to your child. Ask around. Friends know who is best and who is not. Experience. They need to be experts at their particular field, not an ex-athlete unschooled in teaching youngsters. Scheduling. Does the private coach take into consideration the workload already in the young athlete’s life? You don’t want a 60-pitch private lesson the day after an 80-pitch game. More scheduling. Don’t use a coach who can only fit in your child at 8:30 p.m., when bedtime is typically 9 p.m. Results. At these price points, if your athlete isn’t seeing instant improvement, make a change. Communication. You as a parent need to find a coach who will follow YOUR direction in terms of needs and wants. Most coaches don’t see the athlete in action, so they ought to be willing to accept what you’ve seen on the playing field. How quickly will I notice results? A personal coach should respond to your concerns about your child’s particular sports skills and seek to make immediate enhancements. So you should start seeing improvements in a particular skill or area of the game almost right away. After my daughter’s first visit to a batting coach, she came home and said, “Look, I hit the ball better now.” And sure enough, she did. Even so, it’s hard to get guarantees from personal coaches about the amount of improvement. Coaches, rightly so, will stress that they can’t create natural ability where there is none, and they can’t motivate a player who really doesn’t want to be there. But if you see to your child’s nutrition and general health, and if your athlete is self-motivated to improve his or her skills, you should discover some advancement after almost every coaching session. More frequent coaching sessions of longer duration will tend to amplify any successful results and bring out even greater ability. If, however, you start to see stagnation or decline in your child’s skills after several months with a particular coach, it’s time to re-evaluate your child’s relationship with the coach and the usefulness of the lessons. How do I find a personal coach? In my experience, the best way is to do the following. Look around the sports league your child is playing in. Find a player whose skills and stamina you admire. Ask his or her parents if their child has ever had advanced coaching in the sport. Most if not all parents will take this as a compliment of the highest order and gladly share the name of a private coach with you if they have one. Or ask the coach of your child’s team if he or she knows of any additional training resources to help your child improve. References are the key to finding a local coach that your child will enjoy seeing. Is it worth the expense? If a child loves a particular sport and is willing to work hard to master it, he or she will see improvements, with or without an expensive personal coach. (Shaun White comes to mind as a famous athlete who’s never had any professional coaching.) A professional coach can’t create drive and talent, but can certainly add new dimensions to your player’s game. One Orange County coach I talked to wanted to caution parents: “For every (scholarship athlete), or any kid that spent time with personal coaches and trainers, there are 100 that did the same, but did not make it.” You can’t expect miracles from a personal coach or trainer, but you can expect results: “Anyone and everyone can improve. A trainer or personal coach can and will do that for you.” The true value of a personal coach is in teaching your child the joy of improving his or her game. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
Digg This ArticleSEARCH THE SITE
