Fun Speed, Agility and Conditioning Games for Youth Female Athletes

14 Sep Fun Speed, Agility and Conditioning Games for Youth Female Athletes

Posted at 18:08h in Blog, Youth Training by erica 0 Comments

If you coach kids, I would hope they are leaving your practices and training sessions with a beaming smile on their faces.

Surprisingly enough, fun is the most overlooked component of youth training.

Nowadays, people want the intense Instagram post with the rap music sounding in the background, the kid running through agility poles, and sprinting full field suicides to make the parents “oooh” and “ahh” and utter, “they’re working my child HARD!”

Stop. Just stop.

Also, put the phones away, get creative with your drills, and ensure your players are having a blast. Give high fives. Bring the energy. Design a fun drill that is competitive. Don’t be lazy in your planning approach.

I’d argue it’s absolutely possible to elicit a “work hard” training effect in your drills, all while having fun.

HERE is an article I wrote for the International Youth Conditioning Association on Fun Games for Athletes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Erica Mulholland is a former college 3x All-American soccer player and now Hall of Famer from Johns Hopkins University. She holds a Master of Science in Exercise Science and has been helping female athletes of all sports with speed, agility, strength, power, and conditioning for over 13 years. She has worked with soccer, lacrosse, track, volleyball, softball, and basketball girls, and has inspired her athletes to strength train not just for sport, but for life.

Her athletes have gone on to play college sports at University of North Carolina, University of Maryland, Pittsburgh, University of Southern California, University of Detroit, Mercy, Northwestern, Eastern Carolina University, Georgetown, West Point, University of South Florida, University of Charleston, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers, Towson University, and have gone on to play for professional various clubs in Europe.

Of course, she is proud of her athletes who made it to the college and pro levels, but she is most proud of her girls who stick with being strong and healthy for a lifetime. The training she does is about getting into good habits young, so girls can take these tools with them even after sports end.

Need more personalized help from Erica? BOOK A CONSULT HERE