Warming up
By Brian Grasso

One of the most common questions that parents and coaches ask me is this –

How do I warm up my young athlete or team prior to a practice or game?

The answer is actually more complex than you may think.

A solid warm-up that both prepares your young athlete and drastically reduces their risk of injury is a process that involves progressively adding and altering exercises over a several minute system.

It takes the young athlete from passive (non-movement) stabilization to active (movement) force production.

Following this extremely easy template will not only allow your young athletes to hit the ground running once the game starts, significantly help them guard against common sports injuries, but also dramatically increase their athletic ability and performance capacity.

Procedure: Pre-practice or game warm-up
Length: 9 – 12 minutes
Template:

1. Non-Locomotor/Non-Manipulative (3 – 4 minutes)

The key in this timeframe is to get the young athlete to learn how to stabilize and produce force – without engaging in any movement.
Exercises here may include:

• Single Leg Balance

• 4-Point Arm/Leg

• 1-Knee Kneeling

The benefits incurred by doing these exercises are tremendously important for both the game or practice preparation, but also for the long-term health and performance potential of the young athlete.

Pick one or two exercises in this category and perform each of them for 2 – 4 sets and 8 – 10 reps.

2. Locomotor/Non-Manipulative (3 – 4 minutes)

Within this segment of the progression, your young athletes should be performing some basic movement-based exercise in which the focus is on range of motion.
Exercises here may include:

• Leg Raises

• Hip Circuit

• Bear Crawl

This type of range of motion activity will prepare joints and muscles for the stress of the game or practice and will dramatically increase both the strength and flexibility of the young athlete over time.
Again, choose one or two exercise and perform each for 2 – 4 sets of 8 – 10 reps.

3. Dynamic/Non-Manipulative (3-4 minutes)

This section should be comprised of exercises that integrate full, multi-directional movement. 
Exercises here may include:

• High Skips

• Monster Walks

• Stop/Go

This is the portion of the warm-up in which the young athletes should be running, jumping, skipping and hopping.  Tremendous force, power and speed development will occur during this phase, and this will conclude the young athlete’s preparation for the game or practice.

This warm-up sequence is completely different from the one’s that involve just taking a lap and then ‘stretching out’.  It is also widely different from the standard of having the young athletes pick up the baseball bats, soccer balls or tennis racquets and just start playing around.

What you will find is that your young athletes are more game ready, more durable (less injured) and much more athletic (strong and fast) than ever before.

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