What to do with Young Athletes in the Postseason?

The season has come to an end in many sports: soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball... Young athletes have endured a long season that started back in September last year. Immense efforts, sweat, ups and downs. All of that is now behind them. Some coaches are probably wondering - what should be done with young athletes in the off-season?

When I played basketball many years ago at Lake Oswego High School, the basketball season started in November. Before the official start of the season, it was forbidden to hold training sessions. The season ended in March, and for some even earlier - if they didn't qualify for the state finals.

But times have changed. The season in many sports now lasts much longer. Young athletes train the same sport from September all the way to the end of June. Considering that their pre-season training starts in early or mid-August, the off-season lasts only one month - July.

Recently, I heard about a coach who started intense conditioning training for the next season right after the current season ended. With young athletes. Aged 13-14. The only good thing about this is that it inspired me to write this short article.

Given that the off-season for young athletes has become very short, it should be used for rest and mental refreshment. If a young athlete's body is not given enough time for regeneration and refreshment, there is a risk of burnout, which leads to numerous changes resulting in decreased athletic performance.

After the final whistle, if you still plan to hold training sessions for a few weeks, the training program must be based on fun and injury prevention.

Forget about formal conditioning training or running. In this case, it is better to give young athletes time off, with the task of maintaining active rest. Let them socialize with their friends in informal play, swim, ride bikes, or skate. Let them try another sport if they can't do without sports. For many years, after the basketball season, I allowed my sons 1-2 weeks of individual tennis training. Not only was it excellent training for quick footwork, but they also got acquainted with working in an individual sport and learned skills they could enjoy recreationally for a long time.

The off-season has become too short. Therefore, it is essential that the off-season is used for the recovery of all muscle-tendon structures that were stressed during the season, and especially for refreshing the mind. Only then will a fully recovered and refreshed young athlete be physically and mentally ready for the start of the new season.

In this article, I used terms like season, off-season, pre-season... This does not mean I believe in the periodization of training for young athletes. The mission of Mozaiq Sports is the progressive, optimal, and long-term development (especially of motor skills) of young athletes. And this is not achieved through conditioning young athletes over 1 or 2 summer months...