PEACE COUNTRY STUDENT-ATHLETES

An NCAA-quality Experience Tailored to Our Local Students-Athletes

MY STUDENT-ATHLETE EXPERIENCE

I grew up in Spirit River and was fortunate to participate in various sports beginning with golf, hockey, and then any sport that was provided in school. I started minor hockey as a Spirit River Ranger, playing my last 2 years as a Rycroft Shark. After high school, I played hockey for the Sexsmith Vipers before playing golf at the University of La Verne. In 2017, I would discover my passion as a strength & conditioning coach for all 18 of our athletic programs.

Up to this point in my life, I would begin to realize the impact that my parents, coaches, mentors, and teachers had on me. Altogether, they gave my friends and I so many opportunities to succeed in life, the greatest sport of all. It is partially because of them that I am back home: to give to others as they all did for us. My intention is to give my all to our local student-athletes, parents, and our community members because better health & performance is for the athlete within all of us.

2021 SUMMER SCHEDULE

STUDENT-ATHLETE AGE GROUPS

U-12

The main goal of our U-12 program is to make training fun to encourage young kids to continue to be physically active as they grow older, whether their goal is to play competitive sports or not.

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We start by introducing basic skills such as landing, jumping, sprinting and body weight exercises before incorporating variations of each into fun games and competitions. We also discuss topics like hydration, nutrition, and teamwork among other core values, concluding the year with an act of community service. Below is a general outline of a 1-hour session:

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Obstacle Course Dynamic Warm Up: 10-min

Water Break & Discussion of 3 R's (Respect): 5-min

Sonic Landing, Skips & Hops: 10-min

Game: 10-min

Water Break & Core Value Discussion: 5 min

Body Weight Workout w/ Partner: 10 min

Game: 5-min

Cool Down: 5-min

U-18

Once kids become teenagers, we maintain the fun aspects of training while introducing more advanced components of strength, speed, agility and power. They will also learn how to use equipment such as Ultimate sandbags and kettlebells to promote well-rounded athleticism.

We always start with the basics to ensure safe mechanics, but because they are more mature, we will likely be able to progress at a faster rate than U-12 student-athletes. A general outline of a 1-hour session:

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General Dynamic Warm Up & Core: 10-min

Power, Speed & Agility Warm Up: 5-min

Water Break & Discussion of 3 R's: 5-min

Jump Training / KB Swings: 10-min

Linear/Lateral Speed & Agility Races: 10-min

Water Break

Upper/Lower Strength Emphasis: 10-min

Team Competition: 5-min

Cool Down: 5-min

18+

As teenagers develop into young adults preparing for sports after high school, strength & conditioning plays a crucial role in building strong & resilient athletes because they are likely committing a lot of time to practicing and playing just one sport. Injury prevention via building strength while maintaining overall athleticism is the #1 priority so that they can stay healthy and perform at their greatest potential. We still play competitive games ;). Here is an outline of an advanced 1-hour session:

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General Dynamic Warm Up & Core: 10-min

Power, Speed & Agility Warm Up: 5-min

Water Break & Discussion of Life: 5-min

KB Power / Olympic Lifts: 10-min

Multi-directional Speed & Agility Races: 10-min

Water Break

Multi-directional Strength Emphasis: 10-min

Team Competition: 5-min

Cool Down: 5-min

PRICE & DETAILS TO KNOW

The U-12 Development Program is offered year round, 2x/week. Sessions are sold as "Punch Card Passes" of 12 sessions for $180 ($15/session). The first purchased punch card includes a short sleeve J4 Performance athletic shirt and the 3rd purchased punch card includes a personalized J4 water bottle. Our current capacity is 10 student-athletes between Grade 1-6. The U-18 & 18+ Summer Programs are 2x/week for 10 consecutive weeks. The program is $300 ($15/session x 20 sessions) and includes a long sleeve J4 Performance athletic shirt. Payment plan options are available for all programs.

In the case that we are rained out, we will reschedule for a future date because wet ground conditions are not safe for what we have planned to do. Once the Ross Room at Centennial Hall becomes accessible again (potentially June 15th, 2021), we will use the Ross Room on rainy days.

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Our programs do involve some degree of touch (i.e., when U-12 group plays variations of tag, and when U-18 groups have competitive races).. The kids are usually in close proximity with one another as well. I leave it up to the parents whether or not they want their kid to wear a mask during the sessions. Some of what we do is high-intensity, so a mask could cause them to heat up faster. I will always be asking kids how they are feeling and suggesting that they grab water whenever they feel they need.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Transparent Answers To Ensure Your Safety And Confidence

What is Sport-Specific Training?

Sport-specific training is designed to improve physical qualities such as mobility, strength, speed, agility, and power that are aimed to meet the demands of a specific sport. Using hockey as an example, the sport-specific demands of a real game requires athletes to stop, rapidly re-start and change directions in response to the puck, teammates and/or opposing players. They must also be strong and resilient due to the high volume of physical contact. Power is required in order to explode onto the ice and take hard shots. Volleyball, basketball, and baseball players also must be able to stop, start and re-accelerate, as well as have great strength and power to jump and swing. The greatest difference between these sports is the amount of physical contact they will experience in practice/game situations. The main takeaway I'm trying to emphasize is that most athletes need the same things. They need to be flexible so they can move well and strong so they are resilient to potential injury. There is no magic number, but based on my experience working with 18 different collegiate athletic teams, 80% of our programs were quite similar across all sports, from football to swim & dive. The remaining 20% includes training that is unique to an individual athlete and sport, such as an offensive lineman in football.

At what age is it safe to begin training?

The earlier the better. At a young age, the main goal is to keep kids active in various ways, whether its through extra-curricular sports/activities, school sports, or general physical activity from playing outside with their friends. Body awareness, balance and coordination are key focus points.

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Once kids reach the age of 11/12, it is a great time to teach them the basics of weight lifting. The research of kids growth being stunted by weight lifting is very limited and does not apply to youth as it was once believed. The amount of weight lifted is relative to the physical needs of each individual child. For example, we have taught the basics of weight lifting AND olympic lifting to children as early as 7 years of age, beginning with a broomstick or wooden dowel. Over time, we gradually introduce additional load, and it isn't a lot. Bone strength can be improved by light loads of weights, which is going to benefit them in the short- and long-term for preventing potential injury during play and sport.

When Should My Child Choose a Sport to Specialize in?

No earlier than college, and even then, it is beneficial for all student-athletes to stay active by playing various sports and games. Tying it back to the answer of the previous question about sport-specific training, most sports overlap in some way. If your child goes on to play as high as Division 1 sports, it is important that they have an off-season so that they can get their mind and body away from their sport and come back refreshed for the next season. Playing the same sport all year can lead to burn out, and worst of all, potential injury, which is usually due to repeating the same motions over and over and over again with little time off.

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Most professional athletes even have some sort of outlet, with golf being a common hobby. Playing soccer and other games with their kids is another common example. Staying active and improving athleticism in various ways will almost always be a great thing.

What is the Difference Between "Training Age" and "Biological Age"?

An individual's "Training Age" refers to how many years of experience they have doing things like weight lifting, speed training, etc. Training age is independent of biological age, which simply refers to how old someone is.

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A 14-year old teenager who has never lifted weights or participated in a training program would therefore have a training age of zero. In this case, we would start them at square 1, teaching the basics of training. Because they are older, more mature, etc., they will likely progress at a faster rate compared to an 8-year old with a training age of zero because they are better able to listen, focus and understand more complex ideas. When it comes to training and weight lifting, training age is always considered as more important because injury prevention is, and always will be, the #1 goal for all student-athletes.