Athlete Development

Athlete Development

Sacrifice vs. Choice

To sacrifice is to give something up for the sake of something else. However, the word comes with negative connotations. “That pizza all my friends...

What You Need to Know About Playing Up in Youth Sport

On Friday night, after a presentation I gave in front of a room full of sporting parents, I was asked a question about optimising...

Youth Sport: How Much Is Too Much?

How do you know how much sport is too much? How do you know that all the training you’re doing isn’t doing more harm than...

EP 39 – Ty Hollett, Ph.D. – Skateboarding Culture and Developing...

“One thing I love about skate culture is the desire to constantly progress. There’s a cataloguing of tricks, and therefore a recognition of growth...

Why every young athlete should train less and play more

When I reflect on my fondest sporting memories of my childhood, not one involved organised trainings or games I participated in. Instead, my best times...

More On The Gap: Navigating Puberty in Sport

The years of puberty are rough. A young athlete goes through an accelerated growth while transitioning from child to young adult that makes navigating sport...

How to Stop Your Emotions Affecting Your Game

Does your game crumble under high pressure? Are you hard on yourself when you make a mistake? Are you quick to blame others when...

EP5 – David Cooper: Street Games, Physiotherapy and Preventing Injury

My guest on the show today is David Cooper. Dave is an experienced physiotherapist and spends his days treating weekend warriors to athletes at...

Introducing the modern-day Youth Sports Coach

To an untrained eye the understated work of today’s youth sports coach belies the calibre of the person required to do a successful job....

Barriers to your athlete’s A game

Every sport has unique movement demands. Take basketball, for example. Here is a list of the physical skills required to play the game: Jump Sprint ...

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Debunking a common myth: Youth weight training

There are these common generational myths that have been passed down to us and it would be fair to say that we really don’t...

AD Alumni: Anna Steven

We're shining the spotlight on some of Athlete Development's alumni who are doing great things in their chosen sport. Meet sprinter Anna Steven, who...

Preparing for school and club sport

Now that school and club sports teams trainings and games are gearing up again, what can your young athletes do to better prepare for...

Pat Chat: Sleep enhancement for youth athletes

In the second of our three-part series,  AD Academy Programme Manager and Lead Coach Patrick Davenport focuses on the importance of sleep for the...

How can you build psychological safety?

When it comes to pursuing excellence, moving from where we are now to a place that is more effective, how we behave is what...