Ok based on my knowledge and experience as a strength and conditioning coach here are my thoughts.
Have started coaching some riders aged 13-14. In New Zealand there are National road and track events for U15 riders and all are keen to do well.
If they are keen to do well then they are going to need to train specifically for their goals. You may also need to spend some time assessing which riders have the right genetics to compete at different events.
Do people think that this is too early to get serious training? The goals are based around learning, base aerobic fitness (no planned anaerobic training) having fun and socialising.
13-14 is a good age to start on specific sports training, you can start working younger atheltes on general skills from the age of 5. Your goals are mostly on track but there is no reason to avoid anaerobic training, kids will go play soccer with their mates for an hour and trust me that anaerobic! In fact if you avoid it you'll be doing them a disservice.
A second point i'd add is that even though these athletes have specific goals they MUST play other sports and develop into good all round athletes BEFORE becoming true specialists. This means you should encourage them all to play ball sports, do martial arts or gymnastics etc etc.
One thing I would like to stress is that I don't intend to push them at all. I am working on their motivation.
This is a nice idea but the job of the coach sometimes involves giving your athletes a shove so they get over a low patch. Kids can be tricky but you'll need to lay down the law sometimes if they want to win.
I prefer they learn by trying and doing rather than me trying to tell them it all before they start. One is on a programme because she asked for one but the other do their own thing. I think when they want to take it up a step they will come to me.
If they want to race and they have told you that then you need to show them the way! Young athletes just don't know what they should and shouldn't be doing, that knowledge comes from the experience of their coaches based on the mistakes the coaches have made.
You need to show them what they can achieve with coaching and dedication but you also need to keep things fun.
Weight training - a contentious enough issue in cycling already without adding kids to the mix but here are my thoughts for young athletes. At this stage your kids need to play a variety if sports and learn general athletic skills. Leave heavy weight training for a little later (15-17) and even then only for your trackies.
If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me on the email address below, i'd be more than happy to help.
