Newsletter 10 Testing

==========Table of Contents==========

1) Testing -To test or not to test.

2) Release date of new nutrition book

3) Questions, feedback, what information do you need?

=============== 1. Testing=================

Testing -To Test or not to Test...

In today's world of athletics and organized youth soccer there is an unrelenting desire to test young male and female athletes for speed, strength, agility and power.

There are several facilities popping up every offering four to six week training programs to make your son or daughter the next Ronaldo or Mia Hamm.

Is it really necessary?

Before we answer this question let us put ourselves into the shoes of a young soccer athlete. It is my thought that this player chose soccer as sport to "play" because it is fun playing with his or her friends.

Young players go to school every day and bring homework to do at night or after school. They also have tests and assignments. This to me is this is fairly typical now of most young soccer players.

I have witnessed rep teams test 11 year old girls on the 40 yard dash as a weeding out process.

To me, that is just stupid and serves no purpose. Obviously these coaches have no clue on physical development.

At this age if anything, I would test them on a 10m sprint with the focus on running mechanics.

There are a few sides to this question.

There are people who are totally against testing. These people feel that children tweens and teenagers get enough of it at school with assignments, tests and exams.

There are others who are number and stats motivated and want to test anything and everything.

We need to put testing into perspective. Before you decide to do any testing, keep these things in mind:

1) What are the age of the players?
2) What is the level of play house league, rep, provincial/state or national)?
3) What purpose does testing serve?
4) Do you have the equipment to do the testing?
5) Do you have experienced testers?
6) Are the tests you perform relevant to the game?
7) Are the test you perform relevant to "Athletic Development"?
8) Do you have the time to do the testing properly?

Once you are able to answer these questions truthfully you will be able to move forward with or with out your testing.

All this testing is great if you like numbers; however are your athletes moving efficiently?

This seems to be overlooked by many coaches and parents. There seems to be a need to find out how fast a player runs as compared to how well a player moves.

We must remember soccer is a multi-directional game. There are a lot of stops and starts and change of direction. Simply testing a player on a 40 yard run does not give you information about the way a soccer athlete carries him/herself on the pitch.

Here are more questionsyou might ask yourself before testing your players:

Do your players know how to stop and change direction properly?

Do your players move well going backwards?

Do your players move well laterally- this is very important for keepers!

Do your players have enough active range of motion at the ankle, knee, hip and shoulder to function optimally on the field with out getting injured?

So do you do any type of total body movement analysis or joint by joint range of motion analysis.
My guess is probably not.

Ok, I know I am starting to stretch it a bit; however here is my point - just testing for numerical results is not enough if you want to go the route of testing. You need to have some form of a movement analysis to compliment the numbers.

Here are some general ideas you may want to incorporate into your training or send to a professional who specializes in youth athletic development.

Does your athlete have the ability to perform a proper squat?
Does your athlete have the ability to perform a single leg lunge?
Does your athlete have the ability to perform a split squat?

These are basic movements that a young athlete should be able to perform with out major difficulty. If there is difficulty then guide them to move with proper form.

Here is a list of some the test I like to do and why I choose them.
10 metre sprint - running mechanics
20 metre sprint - running mechanics
For younger players I like to watch running mechanics. For older players these tests this gives me an indication about their leg strength.

Shuttle - movement skills- the ability to stop and change directions.
Many young players lack the ability run ability to run backwards with confidence.

Bleep test - over all conditioning

Standing Broad Jump - power

I also want to see if they have the ability to complete a squat and a forward lunge.
These are just a few things I like to do. There are several other tests that may be completed by your athletes; however keep it simple.

================== 2. New Product Info ==================

On either February 14th or 15th Youth Soccer Nutrition will be released on www.soccer-nutrition.com

I will send out an e-mail blast regarding its debut.

=========== 3. Questions, Feedback, What do you want? ========

Thank you for subscribing to the Youth Soccer Fitness Results Newsletter. Please give me feedback. I need to know what you want so that I can deliver. Obviously I will be sending information to you on a regular basis; however if you have ideas or issues you want resolved or a different perspective let me know.

Thank you for subscribing.

Cheers!
Yours in youth soccer fitness

Mike Grafstein
B.Ph.Ed, CAT(C),CSCS, YCS,RMT
www.youth-soccer-fitness.com
www.youthsoccer-power.com
www.soccer-nutrition.com