As both a Coach and a parent, I well understand the importance of growing and building healthy/ happy relationships with our children.
This page will focus on how you as a parent can help support and encourage your young athletes to: Eat Better – Move More – Rest Well.
Do you ever wonder:
- How much training should my child be doing?
- How much rest/ recovery do they need?
- How much food and what sort of foods should they be eating?
- What to do if my child wants to quit?
- What about injuries and long layoffs?
- What to do to help calm nerves of race days?
And much more….
Well – this page will be a great place to find answers to questions like these and hopefully reassure you that this exciting journey in being a sporting parent is in fact survivable!😁
Q Why use an accredited coach?
A. http://athletics.com.au/accreditedcoach
Q. What if I already have a coach for my children, but want another one?
A. Parents/ athlete’s may wish to change coaches for numerous reasons. Whilst I will not go into that too much – the general protocol is to advise the current coach of your intent to seek coaching elsewhere and to advise the new coach of the situation also.
A quality coach will always ask a new athlete/ parent if they are currently being coached elsewhere.
If it is possible, an amicable transition of athletes between coaches should be the aim.
It is generally not advisable to have multiple coaches for the one particular athletic event.
It would be like having 2 seperate Personal Trainers at different gyms at the same time – the approach of both may differ slightly and the program constructed ( including active recovery) is set out to achieve a particular goal.
More is not always better!
The exception here is for those athletes who compete in Multiple events ( sprints, hurdles, distance and throws) it may well be necessary to have specific coaches to assist.
If possible, these coaches should have communication with each other – which places the athletes health and wellbeing first.
If you have specific questions regarding this topic, please feel free to contact me.
Rules re Little Athletics Competition
http://littleathletics.com.au/Competition/Standard-Rules-of-Competition/
Opportunities For Running Competition.
There are many pathways that young athletes can use for competition purposes.
Click on here for the download.competitionopportunities
Click on this link to see NSW LA
Click on this link to see ACT LA
Click on Athletics NSW to search out a club, find out more info about combined club competition etc.
Click on Athletics ACT to do the same.
How often should my child train?
Click on this link for the download.
Tips for Parents of Pre-elite athletes by Dr Juanita Weissensteiner.
Nutrition tips for young athletes.
I am a huge believer in basing what we eat on predominantly whole foods.
Minimising processed foods where possible and eating what your body tolerates and processes well ( without causing inflammation and gastro intestinal upset) is key.
A healthy digestive tract that is not inflamed will better absorb the nutrients you eat.
Every body’s gut microbiome differs and the foods we can eat/tolerate also can differ – even within a family.
There is no ” 1 diet is best” approach….we need to consider a more indivualised approach to what we eat.
So getting to know your own body is really important.
A happy, healthy digestive system impacts our overall health – including our mental health and our bodies ability to repair, heal and grow stronger as the result of training loads.
It also assists in regulating hormonal function – so for all of those parents with pre-teens and teens – encouraging healthy eating habits can greatly assist in better mental/ emotional stability!😉
Stay tuned for more informative articles, downloads and links.
LimbActive Australia 