An Interview With Dr. Eric Small

Dr. Eric Small is the author of Kids & Sports: A Doctor's Guide for Parents and Coaches (Newmarket Press, 2002) This is an excellent resource for all parents and coaches. It includes chapters on injuries, training, sports nutrition, and even management of childhood obesity. It is available at amazon.com, Borders, Barnes & Nobles.

BG: What's your background in youth sports and athletics? Have you worked with a lot of young athletes?

ES: My specialty is Pediatric/Adolescent Sports Medicine. I take care of young athletes who suffer from sports injuries, want advice for training and nutrition, and those who want to lose or gain weight safely to improve performance. 75% of my patients are athletes. 25% are national level athletes in multiple sports (basketball, tennis, gymnastics, baseball, soccer, figure skating).

BG: There are a lot of coaches, parents and even trainers who treat young athletes as if they were 'little adults'. What I mean by that is they will take the training routine of a superstar athlete and use it as a guide when working with youngsters. Why, if at all, should we warn against that kind of training?

ES: Children are not miniature adults. When a child trains year round who is trained like an adult a number of medical and psychological problems can occur. Medical problems include overuse injuries (stress fractures, tendonitis). Psychological problems include burn-out, frustration, anger, and even depression.

BG: The age old debate is 'How old should an athlete be before they begin lifting weights'. What's your view on that controversial topic?

ES: It is safe to "weight train" as young as age 8. It will not stunt growth. However, from age 8-12 doing push-ups, sit-ups, and resistance bands are safest. The strength gains that are made before age 12 are mostly from improved neurological control. Once puberty starts, testosterone levels rise and there is muscle hypertrophy. Children should never do maximal lifts. They should always start at 3 sets of 10.

ES: Functional conditioning means many things. To me it means strengthening the core muscles (low back, buttocks, and abdomen). These muscle groups are important in all sports. It may also mean sports specific training. That is for "cutting sports (soccer, basketball, tennis)" we would incorporate agility and plyometric drills which will help sports performance.

BG: If you were prescribing a training program for a healthy ten- year-old athlete, what would the session ? Length? Exercises?

ES: Most 10 year olds do not like to train. They prefer game like situations and competition ( I have 4 sons myself and the oldest is 10!!!). If you were to design a session it would be as follows:

5-10 minutes of aerobic warm-up--biking, jogging, etc
5 minutes of stretching upper and lower body (stretches should be held for 15-20 seconds)
20-30 minutes Sports specific drills (whether it is for soccer or baseball, etc.)
End with 5-10 minute cool-down

The session should last 45-60 minutes. This is long enough to get a good work-out but short enough to keep their interest.

BG: Is there a particular criteria or path that you follow when developing young athletes over a long period of time? For example, at what age is it best to develop flexibility? Power? Coordination?

ES: Flexibility should be specifically addressed during the peak growth spurt (age 9-12 for girls and 12-15 for boys). At this age the muscles tighten up and range of motion diminishes. At this juncture stretching should be done 4-5 times per day. Coordination should begin when the child is an infant but you must have realistic expectations. A 2 or 3 year old typically cannot throw a ball like an 8 year old. Power should not specifically be addressed until puberty starts, generally age 12 and above.

BG: Should athletes specialize in a particular sport at a young age or participate in a number of different sports? Why?

ES: Children should be encourage to play a variety of sports. The different sports complement each other and enable the young athlete to develop a variety of skills. When kids specialize too early they often suffer from overuse injuries (stress fractures, tendonitis) or significant acute injuries (growth plate fractures and ACL tears).

ES: Growth plate injuries tend to occur from age 8-12. Overuse injuries occur during the peak growth spurt (9-12 for girls and 12- 15 for boys. An ankle sprain is the most common injury for any age group.

BG: Can you give any blanket advice to the athletes, coaches and parents out their in terms of basic injury prevention?

Never play through pain.
If pain or soreness persists for more than one week, training should be cut down in half and a consult with a physician is recommended.
In a peak growth spurt training and competition should be decreased by 20-50%.

BG: How much more important is PREVENTING and injury rather than providing REHAB once a young athletes is hurt? I think a ton of people still don't understand this point.

ES: With flexibility and strength training we can not only prevent injury but improve an athlete's performance. Young athletes enjoy participating. If they are injured they cannot participate to their fullest or may not be able to compete at all.

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How much could your young athletes benefit from a proven system that gives you a complete roadmap for developing speed, strength and athletic ability no matter what sport, age or level of athlete?