Young Athletes and Athletics

I once heard a coach say that it would be handy if children were in different colours: eg up to nine they could be yellow, from nine to thirteen they could be blue, from thirteen to seventeen they could maybe be green. I wouldn't go that far but I agree with her that it is a big mistake to see the Juniors in all their age groups as mini adults. Their physiology is different and their mind set is different. No one knows how they will grow up and what event or even sport will be their destination. My own daughter was a good cross country runner until she was about twelve and a half when she developed a bosom and a bum overnight and became totally inefficent in any endurance event. BUT athletics being what it is she just took up javelin throwing! We have something for everybody.
First there are two injuries that young athletes can get that never ever appear for adults. There is Sever's Disease (which isn't a disease!): the heel spur is made up of two bones that gradually fuse together over the years to become one. Before they fuse, there is a danger of constant or even frequent pounding on tar can cause them to separate slightly. The only cure is rest. Then there is Osgood-Schlatter's Disease (again not a disease!) which affects the knee. The knee cap is one that is made of two bones gradually coming together. Too much road running or running on a hard surface can cause this to happen as in the Sever's condition. Today's lesson, brethren and sistern, is not to let the young'uns do too much running on hard surfaces and hard downhill running is a definite no-no on a regular basis - it is clearly impossible and undesirable to be a distance runner and not do downhills!
Second, the heart of the growing child is smaller than the adult's and normally works nearer capacity than the adult's. So don't do very short recovery work with children under about 16 because it will probably only cause distress and turn the child away from the sport.
That's a bit, I'll be back at some point with more.