About this Course

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Seventy percent of kids drop out of sports before their high school graduation. Only 15% leave because they feel they are not good enough. Almost 70% leave because they were not having fun, or due to problems with the coach. Injuries cause 30% to give up sports. This course is packed full of practical sports science information that provide youth coaches and parents with the practical pediatric sports science insights to successfully retain young athletes and develop their sport potential while avoiding injury and overtraining. We begin by examining the multidimensional nature of coaching, the relevant sport motor performance abilities, the impact of growth and development on motor skills, the gene versus practice controversy, and briefly overview the body structures strengthened through training. Then we explore the athlete's energy supply, where this energy comes from, and how it matures along with the athlete. Finally, we examine the development of strength, power, anaerobic capacity, coordination and flexibility through the life span.
The optional text manual for this course is available at: http://www.learnitez.com/HighPerformanceScience/manuals/

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

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Beginner Level

Approx. 18 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Training
Coaching
Planning
Training Programs

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Beginner Level

Approx. 18 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.82/5 (236 Ratings)

Dr. Chris Brooks

Instructor

Coaching Science Coordinator for USA Track and Field

31,021 Learners

2 Courses

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(4,968 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

4 hours to complete

Week 1: Introduction to the young athlete

Youth coaches who have a sound understanding of pediatric sports science are essential to the successful development of a young athlete’s sport potential. In this section you are introduced to the multidimensional nature of coaching, and how an athlete’s motor abilities of endurance, strength, speed, coordination and flexibility are affected by growth and maturation. The manual is available in the Resource Section.

4 hours to complete

23 videos (Total 105 min)

23 videos

Course Introduction3mPart 1 - Introduction to high performance coaching3mPart 2 - How many kids play sports?6mPart 3 - Why do kids play sports?4mPart 4 - How we gain knowledge3mPart 5 - The performance components5mPart 6 - The competitive performance4mPart 7- Key points of high performance coaching2mPart 1 - Introduction to motor performance abilities5mPart 2 - Designing physical work capacity5mPart 3 - Five components of motor performance5mPart 4a - Sport-specific motor abilities2mPart 4b - Sport-specific motor abilities2mPart 4c - Sport-specific motor abilities4mPart 5 - Key points of motor performance abilities3mPart 1 - Introduction to growth and maturation5mPart 2 - Growth vs. maturation6mPart 3 - Gender and puberty4mNeurological Development5mThermoregulation and Cardiovascular4mVentilation2mPart 5- Key points of growth and maturation2mAdditional Insights: Educational Opportunities of Sport Organizations (Terry Crawford)9m

3 practice exercises

Quiz 130mQuiz 230mQuiz 330m

Week2

Week 2

4 hours to complete

Week 2: Strategies for maximizing the athlete’s potential

4 hours to complete

20 videos (Total 113 min)

20 videos

Part 1 - Introduction to critical training periods1mPart 2 - Ontogeny7mPart 3 - Development and environment6mPart 4 - Motor circuitry development5mPart 5 - Periods of accelerated growth6mPart 6 - Key points of critical training periods3mPart 1 - Introduction to long term athlete development2mPart 2 - Four implicit principles7mPart 3 - Physical literacy10mPart 4 - Training approaches6mPart 5 - Key points of long term athlete development2mDr. Mike Sagas Introduction3mSampling7mBenefits of early sampling5mWhat is deliberate play?5mPart 1 - Introduction to factors affecting potential6mPart 2 - Genotype vs. phenotype6mPart 3 - Genetic ceiling effect5mPart 4 - Why the body's systems adapt7mPart 5 - Key points of factors affecting potential3m

3 practice exercises

Quiz 430mQuiz 530mQuiz 630m

Week3

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Week 3: How the body works

3 hours to complete

18 videos (Total 81 min)

18 videos

Part 1 - Introduction to important body structures4mPart 2 - Skeletal and muscular system6mPart 3 - Nervous system5mPart 4 - Respiratory system4mPart 5 - Cardiovascular system2mPart 6 - Key points of important body structures2mPart 1 - Introduction to energy supply3mPart 2 - ATP structure and recharging6mPart 3 - Creatine phosphate (CP) mechanism3mPart 4 - Fast glycolysis4mPart 5 - Aerobic energy system3mPart 6 - How mitochondria work7mPart 7 - Key points of energy supply3mPart 1 - Introduction to energy system fuels and diet4mPart 2 - Nutrient processing5mPart 3 - Role of vitamins and minerals7mPart 4 - Nutritional concerns2mPart 5 - Key points of energy system fuels and diet2m

3 practice exercises

Quiz 730mQuiz 830mQuiz 930m

Week4

Week 4

5 hours to complete

Week 4: Enhancing the athlete’s physical work capacity

5 hours to complete

23 videos (Total 113 min)

23 videos

Part 1 - Introduction to aerobic capacity4mPart 2 - The VO2max test5mPart 3 - Comparing the VO2max of athletes6mPart 4 - Aerobic capacity of young athletes5mPart 5 - Relative VO2max of trained vs untrained children5mPart 6 - The child's economy3mPart 7 - Key points of aerobic capacity2mPart 1- Introduction to strength2mPart 2 - Gender strength differences7mPart 3 - Trainability of strength3mPart 4 - Strength adaptation and training safety6mPart 5 - Key points of strength1mPart 1 - Introduction to the physiology of strength and power6mPart 2 - Muscle components affecting strength and power4mPart 3 - Intrinsic sensors8mPart 4 - Stretch-shortening cycle6mPart 5 - Strength and muscle fiber type4mPart 6 - Key points of the physiology of strength2mPart 1 - Introduction to anaerobic capacity3mPart 2 - Effect of gender and age7mPart 3 - Explaining development of anaerobic performance7mPart 4 - Sport performance insights3mPart 5 - Key points of anaerobic capacity1m

4 practice exercises

Quiz 1030mQuiz 1130mQuiz 1230mQuiz 1330m

Reviews

4.8

248 reviews

5 stars
87.43%
4 stars
10.76%
3 stars
1.02%
2 stars
0.25%
1 star
0.51%

TOP REVIEWS FROM THE SCIENCE OF TRAINING YOUNG ATHLETES

by LZApr 22, 2020

It is helpful, not only for coaches but also for athletes, or in my case sports therapists. It helps you understand how the body of an athlete works from an early age.

by BBMay 27, 2016

Excellent course!

Will use information to help my general health & wellness.

Also highly recommend to any athlete, coach or anyone engaged in fitness.

by RDec 7, 2020

This course was very helpful in how we can train our athletes and the factors that may hinder their performances especially when they transition from pre-teenage years to post-teenage years.

by NLSep 2, 2020

I found the teachings here very useful for my career path. It helped me understand how to treat kids better when teaching them sport and how to take care of them

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

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What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
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Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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The Science of Training Young Athletes