I happened upon this the other day and I wanted to get this post out. Plyometrics—l saw a video of a proud coach putting some teenagers through depth jumps of four feet up to and down from boxes. Plyometrics (depth jumps) are a great way of training but……….not for kids.
In puberty and Pre-puberty aged athletes we are running the serious risk of damage to growth plates. Puberty and beyond we also run the risk of over-use injuries and stress to knees and hips (and shoulders with upper body plyos). Here is the safe way to administer stressful conditioning.
First, ask for and receive an okay from the pediatrician for the kids. Do not go against a doctor’s advice. He knows the kids and their bodies and has the medical authority to make that call; as coaches, we do not.
Second, if you are using plyometrics stick with the similar requirements they use in many college football programs. You must squat twice your body weight before you even begin using plyometrics. Without the muscular base to support depth jumps and high impact plyometrics you are risking injury and in some cases permanent injury.
Then, start small and build. For most all of racquetball you only need plyo-quickness, not plyometrics. In other words, ladder drills with quick feet would take the place of jumping three feet or more. Too much of the depth jumps and the jumping stuff–leads to injuries.
Racquetball is stressful enough without adding more impact to young joints and risking permanent injury!