Does “Junior” Need a Personal Trainer?
Does “Junior” Need a Personal Trainer?
Hey parents, before you go and spent that hard earned cash on an expensive personal trainer, here are some things to think about.
A personal trainer will NOT guarantee that Junior will get a scholarship
A personal trainer will NOT guarantee that Junior will get better
An effective personal trainer is not always easy to find
If your kid is not motivated to excel in BB you are probably wasting time and money
Let me say right out of the box, I am not against personal trainers. As a matter of fact, I believe that in most cases, Junior WILL become a better player if he has one. The benefits will actually be greater if the trainer is skilled at detecting physical and skill weaknesses such as tight muscles or a weak off hand and prescribes drills and exercises to address them. Trainers provide motivation, structure and oversight during workouts that Junior may not be currently getting. This helps establish good patterns for future development. A good trainer can also provide additional motivation to practice between training sessions. Typically, a good trainer will focus on areas not being addressed at school or by AAU coaches.
If you are reasonably certain that Junior is headed to college and one of your goals is to maximize Junior’s skill set and athleticism before he graduates high school, you should definitely consider a personal trainer (if you can afford it – they do this for a living!). If money is an issue, consider locating someone in the BB community that has enough knowledge to help. There are some ex-players that really want to be helpful – ask around! As the old but true saying goes, “you have not because you ask not”.
What is that you say? Junior is a self-starter, he reads nutritional, bodybuilding and basketball development resources and works out like a mad man. Wow! Too bad more kids are not like Junior. Can I bring my kid over so that he can rub shoulders with him? Junior may not need as much help as others, but I imagine that there are some blind spots that someone else can see. At any rate, you have to decide what is best for Junior and proceed accordingly.
If you decide to utilize a trainer, I believe that it is important to maximize your investment. Collaborate with Junior’s coaches and develop a plan. Ensure that the trainer chart’s Junior’s progress and provides reports. Ensure that “outside” workouts complement the training plan. Use the feedback from the trainer to help you assess where Junior fits on the college level (D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JC, etc.). This will help when you are marketing Junior. Also, if possible ask your trainer to help you market Junior (he may have some college contacts that value his opinion).
My Personal Experience
My son Mike, spent several months with a personal trainer between his Jr, and Sr. high school seasons. Mike’s trainer, Richard Ashton, identified his major areas of need and designed a program to strengthen these areas. Mike added about 12 pounds of muscle, worked on flexibility, running technique, free throw mechanics, pos moves and more in this short time frame. The improvement in his game was obvious to most observers. We considered the time and money invested to be very much worthwhile. Here is a look at this work from Mike’s perspective.
Does Junior need a personal trainer? You have to be the judge of this. However, a good trainer combined with a good plan will most likely pay dividends and will generally make Junior a better player,
More Good Information
Here is a perspective on personal training from coach and personal trainer Brian McCormick.
Here is a general article on “Why You May Need a Personal Trainer” from About.com.
THE DAD
:52 AM, Brian said…
The irony of the situation is typically the kids who benefit the most from personal trainers are also the ones who could succeed without a personal trainer because of their level of commitment, focus, effort and concentration. The problem is few are able to tell from a web site or one look at a guy if the trainer is good or not and most of the successful money-makers are better talkers and salesmen than they are trainers.
At 10:12 AM, THE DAD said…
As parents, we MUST investigate and learn as much as possible. We must also get recommendations from others if possible and not jump on the firstthing that sounds good.We can ask the potential trainer for referencesand talk to prior clients. I actually had the unique opportunity to watch our trainer in action before we selected him.
I also gota opportunity to spend time with him at an out of town tournament. I was privy to the impact of his work on another player.I believe that in most cases, we will get benefits if we put in the work upfront. The sad thing is that many parents cannot or will not do this.
Hey parents, before you go and spent that hard earned cash on an expensive personal trainer, here are some things to think about.
A personal trainer will NOT guarantee that Junior will get a scholarship
A personal trainer will NOT guarantee that Junior will get better
An effective personal trainer is not always easy to find
If your kid is not motivated to excel in BB you are probably wasting time and money
Let me say right out of the box, I am not against personal trainers. As a matter of fact, I believe that in most cases, Junior WILL become a better player if he has one. The benefits will actually be greater if the trainer is skilled at detecting physical and skill weaknesses such as tight muscles or a weak off hand and prescribes drills and exercises to address them. Trainers provide motivation, structure and oversight during workouts that Junior may not be currently getting. This helps establish good patterns for future development. A good trainer can also provide additional motivation to practice between training sessions. Typically, a good trainer will focus on areas not being addressed at school or by AAU coaches.
If you are reasonably certain that Junior is headed to college and one of your goals is to maximize Junior’s skill set and athleticism before he graduates high school, you should definitely consider a personal trainer (if you can afford it – they do this for a living!). If money is an issue, consider locating someone in the BB community that has enough knowledge to help. There are some ex-players that really want to be helpful – ask around! As the old but true saying goes, “you have not because you ask not”.
What is that you say? Junior is a self-starter, he reads nutritional, bodybuilding and basketball development resources and works out like a mad man. Wow! Too bad more kids are not like Junior. Can I bring my kid over so that he can rub shoulders with him? Junior may not need as much help as others, but I imagine that there are some blind spots that someone else can see. At any rate, you have to decide what is best for Junior and proceed accordingly.
If you decide to utilize a trainer, I believe that it is important to maximize your investment. Collaborate with Junior’s coaches and develop a plan. Ensure that the trainer chart’s Junior’s progress and provides reports. Ensure that “outside” workouts complement the training plan. Use the feedback from the trainer to help you assess where Junior fits on the college level (D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JC, etc.). This will help when you are marketing Junior. Also, if possible ask your trainer to help you market Junior (he may have some college contacts that value his opinion).
My Personal Experience
My son Mike, spent several months with a personal trainer between his Jr, and Sr. high school seasons. Mike’s trainer, Richard Ashton, identified his major areas of need and designed a program to strengthen these areas. Mike added about 12 pounds of muscle, worked on flexibility, running technique, free throw mechanics, pos moves and more in this short time frame. The improvement in his game was obvious to most observers. We considered the time and money invested to be very much worthwhile. Here is a look at this work from Mike’s perspective.
Does Junior need a personal trainer? You have to be the judge of this. However, a good trainer combined with a good plan will most likely pay dividends and will generally make Junior a better player,
More Good Information
Here is a perspective on personal training from coach and personal trainer Brian McCormick.
Here is a general article on “Why You May Need a Personal Trainer” from About.com.
THE DAD
:52 AM, Brian said…
The irony of the situation is typically the kids who benefit the most from personal trainers are also the ones who could succeed without a personal trainer because of their level of commitment, focus, effort and concentration. The problem is few are able to tell from a web site or one look at a guy if the trainer is good or not and most of the successful money-makers are better talkers and salesmen than they are trainers.
At 10:12 AM, THE DAD said…
As parents, we MUST investigate and learn as much as possible. We must also get recommendations from others if possible and not jump on the firstthing that sounds good.We can ask the potential trainer for referencesand talk to prior clients. I actually had the unique opportunity to watch our trainer in action before we selected him.
I also gota opportunity to spend time with him at an out of town tournament. I was privy to the impact of his work on another player.I believe that in most cases, we will get benefits if we put in the work upfront. The sad thing is that many parents cannot or will not do this.
posted by Larry Shepard @ 9:07 PM
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