Today’s episode features sports performance coach Jeremy Frisch.  Jeremy is a leader in training young athletes, and has developed a training style revolving around play in favor of robotic or overly specific work for this population.

Jeremy is the owner of Achieve Performance Training in Clinton, Massachusetts.  Prior to that he served as a strength coach for Holy Cross, working with basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, softball, field hockey, tennis and track and field.  He was part of the panel of coaches on episode #100 of the podcast, talking about the injury and burnout crisis in youth sports today related to a lack of play in tandem with early sport specialization and over-coaching.

For today’s podcast, Jeremy gets into the nuts and bolts of his own system with his youth athletic populations. We get into the roots of the skill acquisition and diversity that allows young athletes to become elite performers later in life, as well as concepts that can help adult athletes have more rewarding and effective training.  

It’s very easy to have tunnel vision with older athletes, not considering where they have been at points in their development.  As Jeremy talks about his program, it’s easy to see that athletic development is absolutely a long-term process, and there is a lot of fun to be had along the way.  Many times, play and fun is the answer to breaking out of a rut while staying healthy.

Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.  

View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage.

Key Points

Child development and the role of observation of older athletes and modeling

What are the key skills that young athletes should be able to perform and how Jeremy creates an environment for kids to attain them

How to train athletes to play in a “deep” position

Dan Pfaff’s “Alternative methods for developing strength power and mobility” article and how Jeremy has incorporated it into his work with athletes

How sports played early on can give athletes skills in their bank to use later

How “strength” gained from sports such as wrestling (grappling) can show up in the weightroom

The importance of play in total athletic development

“My youngest child learned by watching the other ones; he has done everything earlier than the other two boys.  He has watched them more, so he mimicks them”

“Beng able to take what the athlete learns when they are younger, and putting it towards one specific thing in the end will yield a higher result”

“The first things we are going to attack are those fundamental movement skills: simple stuff like skipping and hopping, shuffling, backpedaling, sprinting and leaping and those type of movements, we are going to figure out ways for those kids to practice it”

“If you play enough sports or play with your friends enough, you’ll develop those other skills, like catching, throwing, being able to stop a ball, dodge a ball, things like that”

“That’s something I look at; what drill can we do where kids can do these movements (such as squatting) and not even know they are doing it”

“Those (movement quality drills) have always been there in PE, it’s sort of lost but it’s funny to see it in strength and conditioning now”

“I just love the connection between PE and strength and conditioning, it’s there you just have to dig it up”

“We played a game of tag, but you had to run in a lunge… really low to the ground.  I did it with them, it felt like an ISO extreme lunge… it was a great way for young children to develop strength in their legs, they are doing it without even realizing it”

“Dan talks about doing duck walks and low lunge walks and things like that; and when athletes get really good at those things, it really cleans their (running form) up without practicing running”

“I’d say in the last 2 years,