Preparing an effective plan for school practices during the preseason should be approached especially carefully. Almost any injury to an athlete means that he is eliminated from playing training until the end of the first round. Therefore, when preparing a plan, it is necessary to pay particular attention to preventing injuries. Considering some features of the physical development of schoolchildren, a program with optimal loads for athletes can be made.
The main principle in training for middle school and high school students is a gradual increase in loads and an increase in intensity. It will be necessary to maximize the number of repetitions, time for cardio exercises and reduce the pauses between sets in both cases. However, in each age period, physical education has its differences; age-related features largely determine the content and methodology of training schoolchildren. There is a significant increase in muscle mass and improvement of the neuromuscular apparatus in middle school students, creating prerequisites for strength development (Kerr et al., 2019). Therefore, students of this age should refrain from strength exercises with extreme loads. With high school students, the training aimed at actively working on developing strength can be conducted.
When determining the permissible load and regulatory requirements, it is necessary to consider the age of athletes. In addition, it is worth paying attention to such variables as the athlete’s weight. Based on the weight and age variables, the optimal load and intensity of training are calculated. The physiological capabilities of middle school students within the same groups of athletes may differ significantly. Therefore, in developing an effective training plan in the preseason, an individual approach is essential. As high school education coincides with puberty, it is necessary to consider that they have instability of the nervous system when creating a plan for this group of athletes.
When creating an effective preseason training plan for middle school and high school students, different loads and a different set of exercises are selected. The entire volume of work for the upcoming period is planned, taking into account the peculiarities of the physiological development of schoolchildren. If training according to the plan developed considering these factors, athletes have every chance to achieve excellent shape by the beginning of the season.
Reference
Kerr, Z., Nigel, E., Register-Mihalik, J., Pryor, R. A., Hosokawa, Y., Scarneo-Miller, S., & Douglas, C. (2019). Compliance with the national athletic trainers’ association inter-association task force preseason heat-acclimatization guidelines in high school football. Journal of Athletic Training, 54(7), 749-757.