Practice drills and running plays are critical preparation for teen athletes, but they also need speed, agility, strength and flexibility to be in top shape for game day, say trainers who offer teen-focused, sports-specific athletic training. Here’s how some facilities are nurturing peak performance regardless of the sport.
1. BlueStreak Sports Training
“Think of us as sports tutors for athletes,” says Matt Cole, president of BlueStreak Sports Training, with Stamford locations in Springdale and at Chelsea Piers. Known for developing training programs for the football teams at rival New Canaan and Darien high schools, BlueStreak specializes in customized private and semi-private sessions for athletes in any sport. “Our main goal is to get you faster, quicker and stronger,” says Cole. Here, special attention is paid to establishing benchmarks and setting goals for improving performance.
HIS TIPS FOR ALL TEENS
Know Your Numbers
Getting tested and keeping track of baseline performance measurements—how fast you run or how high you jump—is an important way to gauge improvement.
Get Some Zzzzzz’s
Shoot for eight to nine hours of shut-eye a night. That can be challenging when you’re juggling sports and homework, “but it’s also the way the muscles rest
and recover.”
2. Darien YMCA
In its facility, the Darien Y offers team training (sports-specific for groups of up to twenty team athletes) and sports classes that focus on improving performance and conditioning, says the Y’s health and fitness director Jessica Van Sciver. The classes, under trainers Drew Accomando and Jermaine Morgan, help athletes hone mental toughness and core strength while developing agility, balance, explosiveness and cardiovascular endurance.
The Y also offers a Teen Lean Machine class for students who may not be in-season with a sport but want to stay in shape.
HIS TIPS FOR ALL TEENS
Eat Healthy
Even if you’re famished, try to skip the snacks after games or practices and refuel instead with nuts, seeds, healthy fats (think avocado) and lean protein. Remember to hydrate, too.
3. Upper Deck Fitness
Under the direction of coach Carl Battinelli, teens and children as young as nine work through a curriculum that focuses on building strength, quickness and flexibility. Programs are fine-tuned to individual athletes, integrating the specifics of the sport with their strengths and weaknesses, explains Upper Deck’s co-owner Suzanne Palazzo. “We are all about getting you in tune with how your body moves and how to move it better,” she says. For example, a baseball player might be coached to work on developing firepower in their hips and core while a track and field athlete might focus on leg strength for “explosive power out of the gate.” Upper Deck also offers training to multiseason, multisport athletes.
HIS TIPS FOR ALL TEENS
Add Variety
“Most athletes tend to do the same set of movements in their sport. Doing something different is beneficial to improving performance.”