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09/09/2026

Jumping isn’t just about helping young athletes become more explosive. It can actually change the developing skeleton.

In this study, prepubertal boys completed a pretty simple jumping intervention for 7 months. Just 10 minutes, 3x per week.

And they saw greater improvements in bone mineral measures at several sites compared with the control group.

This is important because childhood and adolescence give us a huge opportunity to develop stronger, more resilient bones. Jumping, landing, sprinting and strength training all expose the skeleton to the types of forces that can drive these adaptations.

There was one interesting caveat in this study though.

The boys above the 75th percentile for BMI didn’t see the same changes. One possible explanation is simply that their greater body mass made it harder to perform the jumping exercises as effectively and therefore get the same stimulus. But that’s a potential explanation, rather than something this study actually proved.

For the majority of the children though, the jumping intervention had a positive effect on bone development, and this isn’t the only study to show it.

It’s another reason why I think we need to look beyond just making young athletes faster or stronger right now.

What we expose them to during these years can help build the physical foundations they’ll carry with them into adulthood.

08/09/2026

What age can your child start strength training?

Well, we need to reframe that question a little bit to get full clarity.

But, it’s probably earlier than you anticipated 🙌

26/08/2026

A skater squat is just a squat variation.

But what a young athlete can demonstrate through an exercise like this can tell us a lot about their physical capabilities.

Strength, stability, balance, co-ordination and mobility/ good range of motion.

These are all qualities we want to develop in young athletes, not simply so they can perform an impressive exercise, but because they underpin how effectively they can produce, control, and tolerate forces during sport.

And we don’t start with the end result.

We can begin with double-leg squat variations to develop basic strength, control and movement competency.

From there, we can progressively introduce single-leg exercises, challenging athletes in different positions and directions to develop greater unilateral strength and stability.

Balance challenges can add another layer.

Then jumping, landing and “sticking” landings can teach young athletes to control the braking forces effectively — taking those physical qualities into faster, more dynamic movements.

The important part is that there is a progression.

Your young athlete can start at an appropriate level and gradually work towards more challenging movements as their strength and competency improve.

And these are improvements they can actually see.

Better balance, stability, strength and co-ordination which l is only going to have knock on effects for their confidence in how they move.

All of these qualities can contribute to improved athletic performance and help build the physical capacity required to tolerate the demands of sport.

But none of this happens from doing a few exercises occasionally.

Your young athlete need progressive, consistent training that is appropriate for their ability and, importantly, something they actually enjoy.

Because when your young athlete wants to train rather than feeling like they have to train, consistency becomes much easier.

And consistent training over time is where your young athlete will make real meaningful improvements in their sport and confidence.

12/08/2026

Does your child look like they’re running “flat-footed” or sinking into every stride?

It might not have anything to do with having flat feet.

One potential reason is a lack of lower-limb stiffness, a physical quality that has been identified as one of the determinants of sprint performance in young athletes.

Think of lower-limb stiffness as the body’s ability to behave like a spring.

When we run, the muscles and tendons of the lower body need to absorb force, store elastic energy and rapidly return that energy to help propel us into the next stride. This is part of what we call the stretch-shortening cycle.

When a young athlete lacks this quality, they may spend longer on the ground with each step. Rather than looking quick and reactive, they can appear to “sink” into the ground before pushing themselves into their next stride.

Visually, this can look a lot like flat-footed running.

The important thing for parents to understand is that lower-limb stiffness is trainable.

Age-appropriate plyometrics, strength training, games and jumping challenges can all help develop the physical qualities that underpin this spring-like action.

Plyometric activities can help young athletes become more reactive, improving qualities such as pre-tension and the effective use of the stretch-shortening cycle, while also developing the muscle-tendon system involved in storing and returning energy.

Strength training complements this by building the capacity of the muscles and wider musculoskeletal system to produce, absorb and transmit force.

So, if your child looks heavy-footed or appears to sink into every stride, simply telling them to “run on their toes” might not address the problem.

Sometimes, we need to develop the physical qualities that allow them to run differently in the first place.

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