"The best ability of athletes is availability" - Bill Parcels
Why should all athletes have this mentality?
Whilst this might be an overused quote and applied in many settings, it's over used for good reasons.
What does this even mean for youth athletes?
For youth athletes, it's very important to know if they want to train and compete at the highest level, being available to be selected is key. This enables you to be noticed and recognised.
Niggling injuries, lack of fitness, and illness are areas that seem to hold many young athletes back from being selected.
So how do we work around this?
There are 4 main areas that all youth athletes should be doing consistently well:
- Sleep: getting 8 hours a night should be the minimum.
- Nutrition: eating at least 3 meals + snacks each day from mainly whole foods and a protein source at each meal.
- Training: sports training 2-4x / weeks, strength training 2-3x / week.
- Recovery: focusing on nutrition and sleep (as already mentioned) and having time to relax the body and mind.
Last point is being available to take on criticism from coaches and mentors. This is how you'll develop.
These make up the bulk of what enables athletes to be ready to compete when their name is called up.
Get in touch with Inner Athlete today to discuss how we can support your young athlete.
Trent Pirihi
Founder and Head Strength Coach
Inner Athlete (AUS)
