Strength and Conditioning for Young Athletes: Science and Application

Strength and Conditioning for Young Athletes offers an evidence-based introduction to the theory and practice of strength and conditioning for children and young athletes. Drawing upon leading up-to-date research in all aspects of fitness and movement skill development, the book adopts a holistic approach to training centred on the concept of long-term athletic development and the welfare of the young athlete.

While other textbooks focus on a single aspect of youth trainability, this book explores every key topic in strength and conditioning as applied to young people, including:

• talent identification
• motor skill development
• strength, power and plyometrics
• speed and agility
• metabolic conditioning
• mobility and flexibility
• periodization
• weightlifting myths
• overtraining and injury prevention
• nutrition.

Written by a team of leading international strength and conditioning experts and paediatric sport scientists, every chapter includes programming guidelines for youths throughout childhood and adolescence to show how the latest scientific research can be applied by coaches to optimize young athletic potential. This is an essential resource for all students of strength and conditioning or paediatric exercise science, as well as any coach or athletic trainer working with children and young people.

Rhodri S. Lloyd is Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Physiology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. He serves on the Board of Directors for the UKSCA and is the inaugural convener of the UKSCA Youth Training Special Interest Group. He is also an Executive Council Board Member for the NSCA Youth Training Special Interest Group. He has previously consulted with elite level youth sports such as tennis, football and rugby. His main research interests surround strength and power development in young athletes and long-term athletic development modelling.

Jon L. Oliver is Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. He previously served as convenor of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science Paediatric Exercise Science Interest Group. He has conducted extensive research on childhood and long-term athlete development and translated much of this knowledge to aid practitioners. His work in youth sport has included collaborations in elite youth soccer, rugby union and athletics. He is primarily interested in the development of speed and explosive activities during childhood, together with the long-term monitoring of development, training and performance.