Coaching & Teaching

  Like everyone else in the 1990’s, I saw the movie Forrest Gump in the theaters and loved it.   One of the scenes that stuck with me was when Forrest and his fellow army recruits were getting dressed down by their military drill instructor.   “Gump!...

Very few athletic traits are valued as much as speed. That’s why the youth “speed training” niche is a near billion-dollar industry in the United States and beyond. Individual coaches and companies have branded themselves as youth speed gurus, supposedly holding the...

As youth strength and conditioning professionals, we’re always looking for ways to expand our programs so we can help more kids. For the last few years, SPIDERfit Kids has been working with individuals and organizations to assess and determine the most effective...

As a coach or fitness professional who works with young athletes, you’ll encounter the question, “When is it safe for my child to lift weights?” multiple times in your career. Clear and relevant answers to this question often get lost in industry semantics, providing...

I don’t know Simone Biles and I can’t speak to her personal character or what she may do or say in the days, months or years to come.   I only know the facts that are available. I’m not going to waste my time volleying arguments with anyone on social media....

If you work with kids, you know that their attention spans are about as long as mosquito’s hiccup. This can be the cause of a lot of the frustration that stands in the way of great coaches wanting to work with kids during their most impressionable years of physical...

I was talking with a coach of 7- and 8-year-olds the other day.  She wanted to know what daily exercises I would recommend helping her young athletes improve their coordination and athleticism if they only had 10 minutes.   It’s important to note that any...

As many countries, states, and counties start to loosen restrictions and life gets back to “normal,” coaches and fitness professionals are going to see a huge influx of parents looking for programs to get their kids moving. If you currently operate a youth fitness or...

Never forget.   When you’re working with kids, you are working with the most important thing in a parent’s life. An unfortunate experience placing my wife and I in an unnecessarily terrifying situation recently reminded me of this recently.   Skiing is one...