What and WhyShelley Ganske

December 2013 Parent Session

Decrease possibility of injury By providing the best possible support to joints

involved in synchro Improve overall body awareness Improve strength Improve endurance (cardiovascular and

muscular) Improve posture Improve flexibility Improve motor skills (ABCs); agility, balance,

coordination At advanced stages, improves power

It is important for young athletes to develop a variety of fundamental skills to help them become good general athletes before they start training in a specific sport.

Fundamental skills such as running, jumping, throwing, catching, tumbling and balance are fundamental to success in a variety of sports.

In synchro, since all training takes place in the water, its important that we introduce a land portion to improve the fundamentals.

3 activities provide the base fro all other sports:◦ Athletics: run, wheel, jump or throw◦ Gymnastics: ABCs and speed◦ Swimming: for water safety, balance in a buoyant

environment and as foundation for all water sports FUNdamental movements skills and

FUNdamental sports skills = physical literacy Physical literacy refers to competency in

movement and sports skills Ideally, physical literacy should be developed

before the onset of the adolescent growth spurt.

Young athletes who develop a variety of skills and motor abilities are more likely to adapt to demanding training loads, without experiencing stresses associated with excess specialization.

Throughout the long process of developing successful athletes, athletes experience thousands of hours of training and complete exercises and drills many thousands of times to develop their abilities. If programs are not closely monitored and varied, athletes may have difficulty coping with the physical and psychological stresses.

Including diverse exercises and developing a range of skills in the training program at every stage of the developmental process not only helps athletes develop new abilities, but also prevents injury and avoids boredom and burnout.

Certain changes occur as children grow and develop. These ‘stages of development’ affect every aspect of life and sport.

Stages of physical development influence the ability to perform skills, and stages of emotional development affect the kind of cooperation or competition participants are capable of and are directly linked to the long term development of synchro athletes.

There are windows of trainability; suggested times for accelerated adaptation to training. It is the genetic endowment of athletes as they respond individually to specific stimuli and adapt to it accordingly.

Type of training

10+U 11+12 13 P 13-15 N 16-18 Jrs

Aerobic Endurance( 10 min)

Some

Aerobic Power(intense 2-10 min)

Speed-Endurance(8-60 sec)

Some Some

Speed Strength(POWER 1-2 sec)

Speed-General(2-8 sec)Strength-Endurance(15-30 reps)

Some

Strength-General(8-15 reps)Strength-Max(1-2 reps to failure)Agility/Balance/CoordinationCore

Flex

=Window of trainability

Sports can be classified as either early or late specialization. In early specialization sports, the very complex skills are learned before maturation since they may not be learned after (or more difficult to learn). E.g. Gymnastics, diving and figure skating. Synchro is a late specialization sport.

Children and youth need to do the right things at the right time to develop in their sport or activity – whether they want to be hockey players, dancers, figure skaters or gymnasts. Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) describes the things kids need to be doing at specific ages and stages in their development.

There are seven stages within LTAD: Stage 1: Active Start (0-6 years)

Stage 2: FUNdamentals (girls 6-8, boys 6-9)Stage 3: Learn to Train (girls 8-11, boys 9-12)Stage 4: Train to Train (girls 11-15, boys 12-16)Stage 5: Train to Compete (girls 15-21, boys 16-23)Stage 6: Train to Win (girls 18+, boys 19+)Stage 7: Active for Life (any age participant)

Stages 1, 2 and 3 develop physical literacy in a fun, stimulating environment before puberty. Physical literacy includes fundamental movement and sport skills that give children the confidence to participate in a variety of sports and physical activities throughout their lifetimes.

Stages 4, 5 and 6 provide specialized training after age 11 for those who want to compete at the highest level. To enter this high performance path, physical literacy is essential. 

Aerobic stamina◦ The ability to sustain a dynamic effort over an extended

period of time (over 10 min) Bouts 2-10 min require a subset called max aerobic power

SYNCHRO EXAMLE: ROUTINE RUN THRU Muscular strength

◦ The ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert force to overcome the most resistance in one effort. Max strength: the highest level of tension generated by a

muscle or grp SYNCHRO EXAMLE: body/leg boost

Muscular endurance◦ The ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert force to

overcome a resistance many times. SYNCHRO EXAMPLE: eggbeater section of a routine

Speed◦ The highest rate at which a movement or a series

of movements can be executed, or the ability to cover a given distance in the shortest possible time during an all out effort of short duration SYNCRHO EXAMPLE: figure in a routine that has

multiple fast movements performed at a quick rate Motor abilities Flexibility