U13 - Fitness session #1 (with U10/U11/U12/U17)

Acting on an idea from a senior member of our club, Al Edwards, I organized a group fitness session with our U13 boys, our other u13 team along with our U10, U11, U12, U17 teams.  Between all the boys and less the ones who were missing because of hockey and basketball , we had 70 players out.

Our session took place at the track of a local high school.  The set up was:

• 12 minute run
• 5 40m sprints
• training circuit of 15 stations, done twice.

The evening took a little longer than expected because we demonstrated each exercise and organization of players took a little bit.  But over all I was VERY pleased with how it went.  The boys all came out to work and were very co-operative.

The station exercises involved hurdles, agility ladders, some dribbling drills, pushups with and without a ball, 2 planking stations, situps/crunches, jumping on and off a bench, skipping and lunges.  Each station was 1 minute with 30 seconds to move between stations.

I was happy afterwards because I was able to get there a bit early to setup, the time of my day was such that I wasn't rushing and the boys all came in a great mood.  It was such a positive night and the parents and players were the reason.  The setup and organization might have set the stage, but the participants made the evening enjoyable.

A great positive to the night was being able to include parents into the session.  I want to include them more this season so they can be there as good examples for their kids.  Coaches have too much influence on a child and today I think kids need their parents (and vice-versa) as much as they ever did.

There were things that we could fix:

• More parents on stations so coaches can roam and watch their players.
• Assign a parent to do the stop watch and whistle
• Clearly marked out stations for those exercises that did not have equipment (pushups/situps)
• A first-aid kid on site (I forgot)
• Ensure everybody had a lot of water handy before we started
• Check for injuries

We had some experienced parents involved and hopefully they contribute by bringing ideas to the table.  One is a high school football coach and the other is a former fitness instructor.

Next up is Saturday morning, outdoor.  We are training on a playground as our fields are still closed and the weather is too nice to be indoor.  We're planning on lots of individual ball work and 1v1 .  it will be both teams together.