A Program Designed for Young Athletes

Kora showing good height in her box jumps.

Necessity Breeds Innovation

In the summer of 2020, we introduced a new specialty class at Sanctify, the Youth Athlete Strength Program. Created and coached by Associate Coach Alex Burgy this program seeks to build strength, power, and agility in young athletes. 

As a Strength and Conditioning Coach at Monona Grove High School, Coach Alex is familiar with what it takes to prepare pre-teen and teenage athletes for the demands of their respective sports. This year, however, many young athletes were left without the opportunity to participate in sports or any formal athletic training because of the pandemic.

Considering the impact that the cancelation of organized sports would have on young athletes, Alex created a program designed to restore and improve the strength and conditioning of teen athletes in the absence of school or league-led sports. Participants in the program ranged in age from 12 to 17, and they met twice weekly throughout the summer and fall/winter months for a little over an hour each session. 

Leaning the Six Fundamental Movements 

The training program begin by teaching the athletes the correct way to squat, hinge, lunge, pull, push, and carry. These six fundamental movements constitute the basis for strength and conditioning exercises used in the curriculum, and each athlete must demonstrate competence in these movements before performing them with added weight. At the start of the program, athletes are given a document to log their workouts, and in each training session, they record the weight they use during resistance training. Journaling reinforces best practices for training and ensures the athletes safely progress the loading each week. 

Nutrition as Fuel for Performance 

In addition to learning the movements foundational to strength training, Alex discusses the importance of proper nutrition for gaining strength and improving athletic performance. Athletes are encouraged to eat meals with a balance of fat, protein, and carbohydrates and to time their meals around their training sessions. For some young athletes, this is the first exposure they’ve had to the concept of using food to fuel their workouts and make gains in their sports performance. 

Before each training session, Alex asks the athletes about their nutrition and sleep patterns. In these chats, he emphasizes the importance of eating and sleeping well for better recovery, and when his athletes show signs of fatigue, he helps them identify areas for improvement in their sleep and eating routines. While young athletes are more resilient and generally able to recover quickly after training sessions, Alex emphasizes they too are susceptible to the deleterious effects of junk food and limited sleep. 

Identifying Progress through Competition 

Coach Alex implements several means for tracking the athletes’ progress. As mentioned earlier, each athlete is responsible for journaling their workouts and recording the weight they use. Another way athletes observe their progress is through friendly competition with their peers; Coach Alex incorporates opportunities for competition throughout the program. Each week, athletes are paired up in teams to compete for prizes. These team challenges simulate the competitive environment they will face when they return to their sport.

This winter several athletes participated in a  local online functional fitness competition, the Bullet Point Open (BPO). Sanctify Youth Athlete, Auggie Meudt, finished in 10th place in his age category--he participated in both the summer and fall/winter SSC sessions--and Abrahm Fosdick placed 15th in his division. Another Sanctify alumni, Braiden Hale, finished in 2nd place in the BPO and is a promising up-and-coming Olympic Weightlifter.

While Alex expects his athletes to show up and work hard each day, play is a cornerstone of the youth program, too. Alex explains, “Once the  hard work is done for the day, we try to play some games to keep things interesting. This also doubles as another competitive opportunity for  the athletes. Training can be both challenging and monotonous, so when the dust settles for the day and our work is done, we bring out the pool noodles and play tag.” As their coach, Alex understands his job is not only to help the athletes make strength and muscular gains but also to keep them motivated and excited about training.  

Improving in strength, cardiovascular endurance, and explosiveness

At the conclusion of the program, these young athletes gained confidence in the six fundamental movements as well as in their broader physical ability. Ideally, once they return to their respective sports, they will perform above their current age/grade level. Indeed, by the end of the summer program, the Sanctify youth athletes had improved their 2k rowing times by over 5% and increased their vertical jump by over 11%, evidencing improvements in strength, cardiovascular endurance, and explosiveness. More importantly, the program helped these athletes avoid performance regression and enabled them to continue developing their strength and conditioning despite disruptions to their training due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

This week Alex begins a new 12-week cycle with the athletes. If you’re interested in enrolling your youth athlete in the program, there are still a few spaces left. For more information, email alex@crossfitsanctify.com. The new program begins this Wednesday, February 17th, and classes are biweekly on Wednesdays from 12:15 to 1:30 and on Saturdays from 10:30 to 12:00.