My high school football coach had a consistent piece of advice: “Protect your low back because you've only got one.” Sadly, he had to quit football in college because of a low back injury.
Now that I am a coach, I would like to add, “Protect your knees and hips, because they're pretty hard to replace, too. ” The most traumatic injury to my knee was easily the ACL and MCL tears I suffered four years ago, but I also broke my right leg in a car accident, tore ligaments in football, and had severe IT band syndrome while in the Army. Through it all, I learned a remarkable amount about how to prevent and rehabilitate leg injuries.
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I'm going to share four of the most effective practices I learned so fewer youth athletes end up losing their best years to injury, or end up old before their time, limping like old men before they turn forty.
Fix Their Squat Patterns
Numerous studies have shown that heavy squats can do more to naturally boost blood testosterone, HGH levels, and other markers of growth than almost anything else. But poor squats can hurt the knees, and forcing someone into a squat pattern that doesn't suit him or her is foolhardy.
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With certain knee troubles and bone structure, ass-to-grass squats might not be a reasonable expectation. Instead, a slightly more than shoulder width, hip-dominant back squat can get the best results. Each child will be different, but kids will generally find deeper squats easier than adults do.
"Make sure the pattern is solid before adding significant weight. Look to add heavier weights somewhere around the age of twelve to fourteen, after puberty has set in for a good six months to a year."
To get kids on the right track, have them spend time doing bodyweight and broomstick squats, taking it nice and slow. For prepubescent children, this could mean spending years doing this movement unloaded or with hand weights only. Make sure the pattern is solid before adding significant weight. Look to add heavier weights somewhere around the age of twelve to fourteen, after puberty has set in for a good six months to a year.
When doing squats with kids, the more warm up and ramp up sets you do, the better.Once they get to heavier weights, then the volume needs to come down to low-repetition sets. The squat is an exercise with both a high return on effort as well as a high chance of injury if done incorrectly, so keep your children focused on proper form. Keep the sets short, to keep their minds focused.
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And don't forget about single-leg variations. These are a great way to get enough muscular stress on a child's legs while still using hand weights or other safer options.
Switch to Romanian Deadlifts
More than the traditional deadlift, the Romanian deadlift (RDL) is great for preventing knee and back pain. For many people, pain can be attributed to muscular imbalances, as the quads and hip flexors become overly dominant while the hamstrings and glutes fade away. This can lead to pain and increased chance of injury.
A properly executed RDL teaches the athlete much about good posture. For youth athletes, proper posture can create the foundation for projecting power and ability on the field, as well as facilitate better balance, reducing their chance of injury.
"I would make the RDL the first “real” lift done by trainees because it teaches so many other important ideas about barbell lifting (bracing, core stabilization, etc.) and strengthens much of the important musculature to be used later."
To do a good RDL, don't go too deep. Descending to between the knees and the mid-shins is just fine. When your child reaches the top of the motion, have him or her squeeze the glutes and low back, while keeping the arms straight and pushing the hips into the bar. Holding this static contraction for a second at the top will do two things: teach the child how to brace and lower the amount of weight needed for effective training.
I would make the RDL the first “real” lift done by trainees because it teaches so many other important ideas about barbell lifting (bracing, core stabilization, etc.) and strengthens much of the important musculature to be used later.
Integrate Yoga
But kids are normally naturally stretchy and flexible, right? So why should they do yoga? It helps them not only with maintaining flexibility, but with developing body control and balance. These qualities will help them learn to generate force on the playing field. If you are unsure about the inclusion of Eastern philosophy in your child’s learning, there are a lot of secular yoga programs out there.
RELATED: Top 3 Benefits of Yoga for Toddlers
The IT band is a common source of knee and back pain, even in young athletes. My favorite poses for dealing with this are variations of ardha matsyendrasana. This low-back twist combined with gently pulling the knee into the chest results in a great IT band stretch.
Crawl Around
I love crawling. Bear crawls, bunny crawls, Spiderman crawls. Almost any crawl that keeps you on your hands and toes is a great overall body conditioner and strengthener. If you use crawling as a part of your youth athlete's normal training, you're going to stretch and strengthen much of the key areas around their knees and lower back. Best of all, crawling can be done almost anywhere. All you need is enough open space to get your kids moving.
READ: Regain and Build Your Original Strength Through Crawling
Train for the Future
If you look at what causes young athletes to stop participating in their sport, more often than not you will find knee or low back pain as one of the primary causes. With multi-sport athlete training year round and competitive environments starting with younger and younger children, youth athletes are pushing themselves harder than ever.
It is your role as a coach or parent to keep your children safe, no matter their long-term aspirations. Incorporating these four movements and practices now will allow them to be healthier and fitter later on. In fact, it may help them get closer to those athletic aspirations.