Strength & Conditioning for Young Athletes – Book Review

By Athletic EvolutionApplied coaching, Book Reviews, Long term athlete development, Youth strength and conditioning

As part of my regular monthly book review, for April I decided to read another book relating specifically to the physical preparation of youth athletes…
Youth strength conditioning

 Title: Strength and Conditioning for Young Athletes

Authors: Dr Rhodri Lloyd, Dr Jon Oliver

Topic: Strength and Conditioning/Sports Science

Appropriate for: S&C Coaches, Technical Coaches Parents, Teachers,

Overall rating: 5/5 (if you haven’t already – get reading!)

Overview: This is currently considered the “go to” book on the topic of the physical preparation of youth athletes. It is edited by Dr Rhodri Lloyd and Dr Jon Oliver, who are amongst the leading researchers in the field of youth strength and conditioning. Each chapter is written by leaders in the topics such as Jeremy Moody, Duncan French, John Cronin, Ian Jeffreys and Mike Stone.  In this book they review and collate the relevant research to produce training recommendations on the differing issues surrounding the development of youth athletes.
Key areas addressed include:

  • Growth and maturation (both impacts and monitoring strategies)
  • Long Term Athlete Development vs the Youth Physical Development Model
  • Talent ID and development
  • Motor skill development
  • Development of speed, strength, plyometric ability, agility , conditioning and mobility
  • Periodization strategies
  • Addressing myths
  • Nutrition
  • Injury prevention
  • General wellbeing

As you would expect with a book collating research, it uses a lot of science terminology, which may make it harder to access if you don’t have the foundations of a sports science background. However, if you do struggle, the editors conclude each chapter with some key points that highlight the major aspects in layman’s speech. Realistically this should become some key reading for any coaches working at the youth sport level.
You can find the book on amazon here: Strength and Conditioning for Young Athletes
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