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adolescence. Positive youth development has been shown to lead
to positive adult development, with physical activity tracking into
adulthood, psychosocial adjustment, and positive contributions
to society, and setting a positive example for the next generation
of youth.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP ALL YOUTH
DEVELOP ATHLETICISM
This article focused on athleticism as a key physical asset
with strong influence on the psychosocial assets, such as selfefficacy, self-determined motivation toward sport and physical
activity, and support from significant adults and peers. Since
sport is multifactorial and includes access to and opportunity
for participation in a wide variety of sports and activities, it is
incumbent on coaches to recognize the impact they have in not
only the physical domain but also in the psychological and social
domains. Designing and implementing evidence-based strength
and conditioning programs specific to the youth population
ensures that all youth will develop athleticism at their given level
of endowment and be able to continue to participate in sports and
physical activity throughout their life course. That is the C.O.R.E. of
positive youth development and our primary mission as coaches
of youth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rick Howard helped start the National Strength and Conditioning
Association (NSCA) Youth Special Interest Group (SIG) and served
this year as Immediate Past Chair. In addition, Howard serves on
the NSCA Membership Committee and is the NSCA State/Provincial
Program Regional Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Howard
is involved in many pursuits that advance knowledge, skills, and
coaching education to help all children enjoy lifelong physical
activity and sports participation.
REFERENCES
1. ESPN: The Magazine. Hey, data data—swing. The hidden
demographics of youth sports. Accessed January 2014
from, http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9469252/hiddendemographics-youth-sports-espn-magazine. 2013.
2. Faigenbaum, A. Youth strength training: Facts and fallacies.
American College of Sports Medicine – Access Public Information
Articles. Accessed from http://www.acsm.org/access-publicinformation/articles/2012/01/13/youth-strength-training-factsand-fallacies. 2012.
3. Faigenbaum, A, Kraemer, W, Blimkie, C, Jeffreys, I, Micheli,
L, Nitka, M, and Rowland, T. Youth resistance training: Updated
position paper from the National Strength and Conditioning
Association. J Strength Cond Res 23: S60-S79, 2009.
4. Lloyd, R, and Oliver, J. The youth physical development
model: A new approach to long-term athletic development.
Strength and Conditioning Journal 34(3): 61-72, 2013.
5. Meadors, L. Practical application for long-term athletic
development. Accessed March 2014 from, http://www.nsca.com/
Education/Articles/Practical-Application-for-Long-Term-AthleticDevelopment/. 2013.
6. Seefeldt, VD, and Ewing, ME. Patterns of participation in
American agency-sponsored youth sports. In Smoll, FL, and
Smith, RE (Eds). Children and youth in sport: A biopsychosocial
perspective. (2nd ed.) Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt; 39-56, 2002.
7. Whitehead, M. The concept of physical literacy. European
Journal of Physical Education 6: 127-138, 2001.
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