Written By Lucas Nomore
Athletes are under extreme physiological stress while training and competing in their sport or sports. This stress is actually a good thing since it is the driving force that causes adaptations within the body that allow for a greater ability to handle the demands of their sport. However, just as with all forms of stress, continually being placed under such intense loads can be damaging physically, mentally, and emotionally. This can eventually lead to overtraining syndrome, injuries, or burnout if not corrected. Those who coach youth athletes need to pay particular attention to the amount of load that is undertaken by their players and manage their training schedule in order to provide safe and effective results.
There are five phases of periodization that are important for youth athletes to transition through:
Preparation: This initial phase focuses on building a foundation of general physical preparedness. For youth athletes, this could involve developing fundamental movement skills, coordination, and basic strength, generally, through body weight or very lightly weighted movements. This phase is essential to ensure that athletes have the motor skills and correct form before moving forward.
Base/Hypertrophy: As athletes progress, the emphasis shifts towards increasing muscle mass, strength, and endurance, depending on the individual and sport specific movement requirements. This phase is crucial for developing a solid physiological base that supports more intense training later on. For youth athletes, the focus remains on proper technique and gradually increasing training loads to avoid overstressing developing muscles and joints.
Strength/Power: In this phase, training intensity increases as athletes work on maximizing their strength and power output. This phase may involve more specialized or complicated exercises tailored to the specific demands of their sport and their individual needs. For youth athletes, it becomes critical to balance increasing demands with adequate recovery to avoid overtraining and potential injuries.
Peak/Competition: During this phase, athletes seek to peak their performance for competitions or important events utilizing a combination of the above phases. This will allow for maximal power, strength, or endurance capabilities. Time and focus for this phase will depend on the demands of the chosen sport. For youth athletes, it’s crucial to manage workload carefully and incorporate recovery exercises during this phase to prevent burnout and ensure they peak at the right time.
Deload/Active Rest: This phase follows more intense phases to allow for physical and mental recovery by limiting weight lifting and replacing it with more general physical activity. For youth athletes, these periods are vital for growth and adaptation, as well as preventing overuse injuries associated with repetitive motions.
For many athletes, especially in a culture where many children and adolescents compete in multiple sports, progression through these phases will not be linear. Instead, coaches should employ an undulating method of training. Let’s use the example of an adolescent who plays football in the fall and baseball in the spring. Over the summer, before football season begins, this athlete should complete 3-4 weeks of the preparation phase. Once correct form and motor control is established he may progress to the base/hypertrophy phase for another 3-4 weeks in order to increase muscle mass and strength that is specifically important for the upcoming football season. The combination of these phases may be considered the off-season.
As the pre-season approaches the next 3-4 weeks should be spent in the strength/power phase under heavier loads to develop maximal strength and/or power. Once the competitive season begins the athlete should transition into the peak/competition phase for the duration of the season. The training program during this time should take into consideration the competition schedule in order to allow for maximal performance, recovery, and maintenance of adaptations from the off- and pre-seasons. Immediately following the conclusion of football season, the athlete should enter the deload/active rest phase. During this period of 2-3 weeks activity should be performed, but not specific to lifting, football, or baseball. Instead, other sports or general play should be implemented.
Following this, pre-season training for baseball should commence. Rather than returning to the beginning of the phases, the athlete should re-enter the strength/power phase to prepare for the baseball season. As the baseball season begins the athlete will return to the peak/competition phase for the duration of the baseball season. At the conclusion of that season, another period of deload/active rest will be required before beginning the cycle again in the summer. As this athlete would then have at least 1 year of training experience, the preparation phase may not be necessary. Instead, the athlete could spend a longer time in the base/hypertrophy or strength/power phases depending on individual needs.
Periodization is a vital tool in sports performance training for youth athletes, ensuring balanced development, injury prevention, and long-term success. By structuring training into distinct phases that align with their individual needs and sports seasons, coaches can optimize performance while ensuring their health. With careful planning, individualization, and attention to their unique needs, periodization fosters not only athletic excellence but also a lifelong enjoyment and commitment to sport without overtraining or burnout.