Youth Athletic Group

Details

Youth Athletic is where an athlete learns to move before they specialize. Ages 10 to 13, outdoors, on tracks and open ground across North Austin.

Most kids this age have never actually been taught how to sprint, how to slow down, how to cut, or how to land. They just do it, and whatever they picked up along the way is what they carry into high school.

The window is the point. Before a growth spurt, kids pick up movement patterns quickly and hold onto them. Once they’re growing hard, limbs change length faster than coordination keeps up, and teaching a clean pattern turns into re-teaching a messy one. The work still pays off later, it just takes longer. Right now it’s the easiest it will ever be.

Sessions cover:

• Sprint mechanics: how to accelerate, and how to run once they’re up to speed
• Jump mechanics: getting off the ground, and absorbing the landing
• Changing direction: cutting, decelerating, and controlling the stop
• Athletic coordination: rhythm, timing, and body control that carries into any sport
• Position under load: bracing, squatting, hinging and carrying with good shape
• Conditioning built into the work, not bolted on as punishment

Everything is scaled to the athlete in front of us. There’s no minimum ability to start and no sport you need to already play, kids who play everything, kids who play one thing, and kids who don’t play anything yet all need the same foundation. Thirteen sits in both this group and Teen Athletic on purpose; we place athletes by where they are, not by their birthday.

How it works. Your first session is free, and you can claim it straight from the schedule before you buy anything. After that, buy a pack of 4, 8 or 12 credits and pay what you can at or above the minimum. One credit books one session, and credits are good for 60 days. The same pack works at any of our outdoor groups, so if your athlete also wants a Speed Session, there’s nothing separate to buy.

Bring water, a mat, regular athletic shoes, and clothes for the weather.