The Basis of the Athletic Academy programs can be summed up in two words, Athletic Development.  The aim is to develop skills that will aid a young athlete in any athletic endeavor they would like to participate in.  This will also help to build up a solid foundation for athletes who have aspirations of continuing their athletic careers into the future. Using several different methods our programs build the complete athlete by focusing on numerous crucial areas.

The footwork ladder is a basic yet often overlooked tool in developing coordination in young athletes. At the Athletic Academy we start every training session with a protocol that becomes increasingly difficult as we progress through the program.  On top of the benefits to coordination, balance and technique it is a fantastic way to warm up before the more difficult aspects of the workout sessions.

A dynamic warm up is the cornerstone to the continued progress of any athlete at any level.  A flexible and mobile athlete is prepared to take on any challenge thrown at them and has the ability to bounce back to continue competing at their highest level.  At Athletic Academy we strive to enforce the importance of a complete dynamic stretching and mobility regime with our athletes

When training young athletes it is important to address the basics, we strive to build athletes from the ground up.  Working on teaching proper running technique through a variety of drills and exercises is a cornerstone of the Athletic Academy program.  We devote a significant portion of our weekly schedule to proper technique, as well as continuously enforcing it in all of our drills.  The aim is to work on eliminating wasted movements and teach our athletes how to move more efficiently.

 

Agilities:

The ability to change direction at the drop of a dime, to react faster then your opponent is an asset to any competitive athlete.  Good hip mobility, body position and technique are of utmost importance for anyone looking to strive for excellence in their sport.   In addition to this, we ensure our athletes are exposed to competitive drills on a consistent basis to force them to push each further than they thought was possible. 

Reactive training is the pursuit to build more explosive athletes.  Recruiting the maximum number of motor units will enable an athlete to outperform the competition on a consistent basis.  This involves a combination of training the muscles themselves, working to create a higher concentration of fast twitch muscle fibers, as well as training the nervous system to recruit more of these at a faster rate.  This is accomplished through a combination of different drills, utilizing different training tools, involving jumping, sprinting, bounding, and so on …

 

Conditioning:

Conditioning may be the least liked component of training for most athletes, this being said it is also the most important.  In almost any competition it is the better conditioned athlete, or team, that will end up victorious.  Skill only matters if it can be sustained, and while many of the exercises we utilize have a secondary effect of conditioning our athletes we also put an emphasis on pushing our athletes to the limit.  We accomplish this through more classic approaches to conditioning as well as more advanced techniques such as metabolic interval training. 

Core strengthening and conditioning is another often overlooked aspect of training for athletes, especially young athletes.  And to be completely clear, we are not talking about sit-ups and crunches. The core is the link between your upper and lower body, it is what transfers force in any athletic movement.  An athlete with a strong core is faster, stronger and more agile than their opponent who has not taken their training to the next level.  The core is a complex group of muscles and requires a variety of training stimulus to maximize results and at the Athletic Academy we do our best to challenge our athletes with a range of different exercises.

 

 Metabolic Interval Training (Circuit): 

If one thing is certain, this is not for the faint of heart.  Using intervals of fast paced hard work coupled with short rest periods this training protocol aims to produce fat loss as well as to work on the cardio vascular conditioning of our athletes.  Completing a metabolic interval circuit, you continue to burn calories for hours after the workout has finished; and you do not have to take our word for it, it is backed up by science.  On top of these benefits, we construct our metabolic interval circuits using as many complex exercises as we are able to provide the greatest benefit possible, ensuring our athletes always get the most bang for their buck. What does all this mean? Rest assured, you will not find any bicep curls in one of our circuits.  Among all these benefits the greatest may be more intangible.  Completing a circuit like this requires a certain degree of mental toughness and dedication, and will undoubtedly aid our athletes in any endeavor they may face.

 

 Strength and Conditioning for Athletes:

 A base of strength and power training is essential for any athlete looking to move to the next level.  The ability to produce force, and do so as fast as possible, is the ultimate tool for athletes of all types.  Agility and conditioning are cornerstones to becoming a great athlete, but so are strength and power.  You could have the agility to stop on a dime to change direction, but if you do not have the power to accelerate in this new direction you will be left standing still on the field, court, rink, or on any playing field.  Strength and power training come in many forms and there are countless methods that are proven to work.  At the Athletic Academy, we try to incorporate this form of training into all our groups in a functional way.  There are many misconceptions about what athletes need to do to become stronger, more powerful, more explosive; we try to accomplish these goals by relying on proven strength training principles.