What typically comes to mind when you think of programming warm-ups for youth?
- The time of day?
- General movement prep?
- What exercises are in the session?
- What purpose does the session have?
Most of the things above are general thoughts that can run through your mind when planning a warm-up. As you can see, a lot of these things only address the physical prep for the activity.
There's a different side of the warm-up that tends to get neglected—creating buy-in with the individuals that walk through your door. Now I'm not talking about those in a competitive team setting where you may have a long period of time to build trust and buy-in. I'm talking about those who coach recreational youth athletes. These children may come to a single-week-long camp or sign up for a six- to 12-week package of classes to dip their toe into the sport you teach.
MORE: Preparedness of Youth Athletes - Jim Wendler
Just thinking about the physical prep may not be enough for these athletes to make a warm-up successful for the short time you have to impact their lives. Through countless hours of coaching this sector of youth, I developed a three-check system that I like to call: Engage-Inform-Get Warm.
Engage
Imagine walking into a class for the first time as a kid that has never done sports. You feel shy, intimidated, and outright unsure about the whole situation. As you join the rest of your peers in the warm-up area with your heart pounding, you're not quite sure what to do. Then everything becomes apparent when you see the instructor stand with a presence that creates a sense of comfortability. They speak with clear directions on what should be happening in the present moment. Fear turns into excitement!
Athlete engagement starts before you even begin to talk. In a sense, your presence speaks volumes before your mouth even opens. It's how they see you and the situation they just got themselves into. If you can't make an athlete feel welcome in the first few minutes, you're not allowing them to take the whole experience of the class you are trying to provide.
Proper engagement creates a space that will foster:
- Trust and buy-in between you and the athlete
- Participation throughout the warm-up, class, or camp
- Excitement that makes them want to come back
How we create this depends on a few factors but the two big ones that I want to focus on are the ages of your audience and their experience level in the sport. These two things will control the language and strategies to keep them engaged while feeling comfortable.
Let's take a beginner-level group of four- to seven-year-olds. Using songs and creating a story that goes along with your warm-up will go a very long way with this age group. An example I use is the swimming in the ocean story.
We all start in a superman/tight arch position using our arms to swim in the "water." From there, we continue to make our way in the ocean till we spot different animals. The first thing that we see is a jellyfish, so we turn to our backs in a dead bug position and then wave our arms and legs like tentacles.
After the first encounter, we swim until we hear... "DUN DUN…DUN DUN...OH NO! THERE'S A SHARK! Everyone, swim hard with your arms and legs to get away."
We continue to swim and see other animals along the way, which all have a set movement associated with the story. This story structure helps gain their attention while prepping their body for the activity ahead.
At this age and skill level, just saying "let's go to our belly and hold an arch" may leave them looking around while trying to find something more stimulating, especially when in an environment like a gymnastics facility or a gym setting. It becomes your job as a coach to get them to participate and be captivated by what they're doing along with the group.
Other strategies that can be used to keep them engaged are:
- Testing listening skills/reactions with verbal or visual cues
- Utilizing the environment to your advantage
- Creating challenges in the warm-up
A basic example of playing with reactions for a slightly older audience is going on even or odd numbers. "When you hear an even number, I want you to jump as high as possible and land in a strong stance. When you hear an odd number, you're going to drop to your belly under control and stand back up quickly."
Another take for a verbal reaction that creates a space where you can learn more information about your audience is to use reaction answers. Such as "when I say your favorite color sit down with straight legs together as fast as possible," or "if you have a dog, get into a support position." These examples keep them engaged while gathering information on things you can create connections with later.
Utilizing the environment is using tools or items that may or may not be already there to guide the actions of the class. Telling a person to stay in the same place and pogo up and down becomes a lot easier with something as simple as a dot. It creates another tool because everyone has slightly different things that help keep them focused on the task.
Inform
The next most important thing we give the children is information that will set them up for success during the class—terms, the rules of the gym, or even where the bathroom is. For the most part, the warm-up is the only time that you'll have the whole group in one place listening and able to capture everyone's attention. We need to utilize this opportunity to its fullest.
Let's look at something easy—a squat vs. a hinge. The goal of this segment would be to have the group understand the difference between the two, not necessarily to be able to perform it perfectly yet. We have the different group breakouts where that would happen. "A squat is where the knees and hips bend roughly the same amount. In our next movement, our hips will bend way more than our knees. This movement is called a hinge. Now I'm going to do a squat or a hinge, and you guys have to tell me which one I did."
Even if they don't know how to do a squat or hinge yet, they at least know what they look like and how to tell the difference.
This is also a perfect place to go over the rules of the gym, especially on the first days or with new individuals. I always like to use the three respects: Respect the gym, respect your coaches, and respect your team (or classmates). The magic happens when you break down what respect means to you and at your facility.
You can't get mad if they don't follow the rules if the rules and standards are never spelled out in the first place. I failed at this many times in my earlier years of coaching, so I like to throw this in as a reminder. This is also a great time to encourage the students to share that if they don't feel comfortable with any movement today, talk to one of the coaches to get help and scale appropriately. They will only feel comfortable with this if we set the standard from the start that everyone might not be able to do the exact things asked, but there is always a progression or regression to build on.
Get Warm
The last checkpoint of the warm-up is to make sure that the athlete's body is ready for the demands that we're about to ask of them. If we're doing handstand work and didn't warm up the wrist and shoulders, we just set them up for non-optimal work. This portion comes with experience and changes with every group. Be aware of things that each group may have issues with and warm them up accordingly.
The warm-up needs to set the tone for the day, especially in a recreational setting. Creating small challenges that the kids can excel at sets them up for trying new things. "Now that everyone is almost warmed up and ready to go, let's have some fun! Who here can stand on one leg? Show of hands. Who can stand on that leg for 30 seconds straight?"
By this time, the group will be roaring to tackle any task. "On the count of three, hold up your left leg and squeeze tight like a statue."
See how it can become a story as well?
Bonus Tip
When done right, the warm-up creates value for the client and coach. The warm-up allows us to see our current athletes' level and skill, the terms they are familiar with, and some of their language. The warm-up is the most valuable time for a coach to understand the group as a whole, each athlete, and the overall tone of the group. So, make sure to pay attention and stay engaged.
Conclusion
The engagement increases participation, the information sets them up for success later, and getting warmed up makes sure they stay as safe as possible. Remember, this only works if you scale to your audience—a competitive team is an entirely different audience compared to a rec class.
Header image credit: fotokostic © 123rf.com
For the past eight years (and counting), Tanner Hodge works with gymnastic youth and teen athletes in competitive and recreational settings. He holds PPSC, ACE, and Barbell Rehab certifications.
