As a parent, finding the right coach for your child can be a daunting task. With so many options to choose from, it’s important to make sure that the coach you select is the right fit for your child and their specific needs.
As a parent, finding the right coach for your child can be a daunting task. With so many options to choose from, it’s important to make sure that the coach you select is the right fit for your child and their specific needs. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some key factors that parents should consider when selecting a coach for their young athlete.
Physical development: Young athletes are still in the process of growing and developing, and it’s important for coaches to be aware of each individual’s physical capabilities and limitations. Look for a coach who can design training programs that are appropriate for your child’s age and skill level and take into account factors such as strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Skill development: Teaching proper technique and skills is crucial for young athletes, as they are still learning the fundamentals of their sport. Look for a coach who can provide clear instruction and opportunities for your child to practice and improve their skills.
Sport Specific Training: Look for a coach who has experience and knowledge in the specific sport your child is interested in. Sport specific training can help your child to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding of the game.
Safety: Safety should be the top priority for any coach working with young athletes. Look for a coach who is trained in injury prevention and has a solid plan in place to keep your child safe during training.
Mental and emotional development: Coaching young athletes also includes helping them develop mental and emotional skills. Look for a coach who can help your child learn how to handle pressure, set goals, and work well in a team.
Communication: Clear and effective communication between the coach and your child is crucial for building trust and fostering a positive learning environment. Look for a coach who can communicate effectively and is willing to work with you and your child.
Age-specific training: Different age groups have different physical and cognitive development; coaches should tailor their training accordingly. Look for a coach who understands the specific needs and development of your child’s age group.
By keeping these key factors in mind, parents can make an informed decision when selecting a coach for their young athlete. Remember that the coach should be someone your child is comfortable with and who can help your child reach their full potential.
Yoga is really starting to get more recognition in the world of sports. There is a growing number of professional teams, athletes, and coaches that recognize yoga as a fundamental part of their training.
Don’t dismiss the importance when you hear the word ‘yoga’ and relate it to the requirement of flexibility. If you’re a good athlete, your body should be tight in the right areas. That tightness is a result of your training and is what helps you generate the right amount of power and strength.
Yoga isn’t only ‘yoga’ if you can contort yourself into some magnificent expression of a pose, in fact, as an athlete, going too deep into a pose can be counterproductive. Regardless if you can touch your toes or not, the benefits of yoga for athletes still exist. As you will see below, the benefits are vast, and hopefully, they bring a greater understanding of why yoga is quickly becoming an integral part of the sports world.
Flexibility
The repetitive movements involved in performing a sport concentrates tension in specific areas of your body, which reduces your range of motion and your ability to move and perform with the greatest efficiency. Yoga can help to reduce the impact of that repetition by focusing on those overused muscles and releasing excessive tension. Maintaining flexibility in areas that are prone to holding tension improves ease of movement, meaning you can maneuver your body in ways that are most effective for generating strength and power.
Strength
Sport-specific repetitive movements also have the consequence of continuing to strengthen certain muscles while others remain underdeveloped. This creates muscular imbalances, which in time can be a precursor for aches and pains, poor range of motion, and even injury. So, while your sport can indeed make you strong, it develops strength only in areas that are required by your particular sport. On the other hand, yoga addresses your undeveloped muscles can restore balance back in your body by promoting full-body strength.
Power
Yoga helps improve performance by promoting efficiency of movement and thus the ability to generate more power. The combination of strength, flexibility and proper body mechanics allows your body to move, recruit muscles, and transmit force in the most efficient way.
Endurance
Breathing and maneuvering your body around into several different poses that demand balance and strength improves your body’s respiratory capacity, improves your circulation, and teaches you how to conserve energy by becoming more efficient with your movements. This will help you pace yourself appropriately for the long haul.
Balance
Many athletes come into the gym and make the comment that they “have bad balance” as a reason why they can’t complete and exercise. Incorporating balancing poses in yoga helps to strengthen the many stabilizing muscles that serve to protect your body. Improving your overall balance can also bring confidence to your movements, improve recovery from stumbles and, prevent injuries and develop greater control of the way you move your body.
Injury prevention
Injury prevention not only allows you to keep performing your sport now, but it also extends the amount of time that you’re able to participate in it. The strength, flexibility, and improved body mechanics that you gain from a consistent yoga practice help maintain healthy joints, which are common injury sites from repetitive sports movements. Nothing derails performance like an injury can. So, doing what you can to stay injury-free puts you in a place where you can continue progressing in your sport without any unnecessary diversions.
Exciting News!
Yoga classes starting at SST Burlington
For more details either CLICK HERE and we’ll keep you updated OR
Email – bskinner@sstcanada.com
Mental Resilience
Having a strong, focused, and resilient mind is invaluable to an athlete and can make the difference between success and failure. With athletes constantly training to push their physical limits to the max, it’s often the one with the greatest mental strength that perseveres. Learning to stay focused and composed as you step outside your comfort zone is a valuable skill as an athlete, especially when the pressure is high. New poses, uncomfortable sensations, and resolving to be still are all aspects of a yoga practice that help build mental toughness and sets you up to excel when faced with a challenge.
Recovery
As an athlete, it can be easy to focus all your efforts on ‘pushing’ to reach that new level of performance, and therefore struggle to allow time for rest and recovery. Taking time to rest can be almost unbearable for those who just always want to be on the go. Yoga is an excellent tool for both passive and active recovery. It can relieve physical and mental stress, gently release tension, and give your body an enjoyable break from the demands of your sport. Sports require an enormous amount of repetitive contractions, which makes a slow-paced or restorative practice a great way to restore balance by countering all that contraction with expansion. In addition, a consistent yoga practice can improve your circulation and lymphatic flow, which means that it can speed up the time it takes for your body to recover from your last training session.
Body Awareness/Proprioception
Athletes know how important it is to be in tune with their bodies. It’s important for you to know when it’s time to pick up the pace, slow down, rest, or even take a step back when something’s not feeling right. Since a big part of yoga is learning how to stay present throughout your practice, a consistent practice can improve your understanding of your body. With a heightened awareness of your body, you’ll begin to pick up on its cues and learn how to move with more efficiency. This can help you determine the appropriate level of effort you need to execute a particular move; preventing you from overusing or underusing energy, as well as steer you away from injury.
Stress Relief/Relaxation
The demands of performing a sport, regardless of if it is is for pleasure or competition, is stressful on your body. Your body is working hard to help get you to that peak performance. Sport demands a lot from your heart, muscles, bones, joints, mind, and more, and just like your phone needs a restart every once in a while, so does your body. A yoga practice can be used to balance that stress with some relaxation. Not to mention the anxiety and pressure that comes along with competitive sports! Yoga can help you better manage your response to stressful situations and flush those stress hormones from your body.
Exciting News!
Yoga classes starting at SST Burlington
For more details either CLICK HERE and we’ll keep you updated OR
1/2cuptamari gluten free soy sauce or regular soy sauce is fine
1/2cup100 percent pineapple juice Trader Joe’s
1/2cupbrown sugar
2clovesgarlic chopped
1/2tspsalt
1/4tsppepper
6chicken thighs trimmed of fatcut into 1 inch pieces
1pineapple thinly sliced
cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Trim the chicken thighs of all fat and cut into one inch pieces.
Whisk together first six ingredients until sugar is dissolved.
Preheat grill.
Put chicken into a plastic bag and top with marinade. Place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least one hour.
Thread chicken on skewers alternately with thinly sliced pieces of pineapple. Discard marinade.
Place on a hot grill for about 6-8 minutes on the first side. Flip over and cook until done or until an instant read thermometer reaches 175 degrees about 6 – 8 more minutes. Watch closely.
½lb.cookedpeeled, deveined shrimp, shopped if desired
1cupgrated carrots
2cupsshredded cabbage
1cupcooked rice vermicelli noodles
1bunch cilantrowashed
Instructions
Dipping Sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until use.
Spring Rolls:
Dip a sheet of rice paper wrapper into a pan of warm water until rehydrated, about 5 seconds. Lay on a clean, flat work surface.
Lay a small amount of shrimp, carrot, cabbage, vermicelli and cilantro down the middle of the rice paper sheet.
Carefully roll the spring roll burrito-style, tucking in the sides, and folding the closes part of the rice paper towards the opposite end. Use caution when rolling, if rolled to tightly the spring roll will split.
Place completed spring rolls on a plate, serve immediately with dipping sauce.
Notes
Variations
Many ingredients are suitable for this recipe including snow peas, avocado, fresh basil, mint, cooked pork or chicken, tofu for our vegans out there and bell pepper. For a fun change try slicing up some fruit and using a chocolate dip sauce.
One of the best things about overnight oats is how easy they are to customize! Whether you need them to be vegan, gluten-free, or lower in sugar, the swaps are simple and require no extra effort.
Whisk together all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Spoon into a pint or half-liter jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Close and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight, before eating.
Notes
If you go the frozen route, you will want to back off on the added milk just a touch—by about a tablespoon—since the fruit will release some liquid as it defrosts.
Ratatouille combines a large volume of late-summer vegetables that have different cook times. If you tried to throw them all into a pot at once, none of the veggies would have a chance to caramelize, the eggplant would fall apart by the time the zucchini is tender, and your ratatouille would probably never meet its full potential.This recipe is a little different. We’re going to roast the vegetables until they’re deliciously caramelized on the edges and a little dehydrated (no squeaky or mushy zucchini here). Then, we’ll add those perfectly roasted veggies to a simmering fresh tomato sauce.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with one rack in the middle of the oven and one in the upper third of the oven. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper for easy clean-up, if desired.
To prepare your tomatoes, remove any woody cores with a paring knife. Then, grate them on the large holes of a box grater into a bowl (this is easiest if you hold the tomato at a diagonal), and chop any remaining tomato skin. Or, blitz the tomatoes in a food processor until they are broken into a frothy pulp. Set aside.
On one baking sheet, toss the diced eggplant with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until lightly coated. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer across the pan, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and set aside.
On the other baking sheet, toss the bell pepper, zucchini and yellow squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer. Place the eggplant pan on the middle rack and the other vegetables on the top rack. Set the timer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and caramelizing on the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, stir, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, and use a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula to stir any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan into the mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low, or as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
Once 15 minutes are up, remove both pans from the oven, stir, and redistribute the contents of each evenly across the pans. This time, place the eggplant on the top rack and other vegetables on the middle rack.
Bake until the eggplant is nice and golden on the edges, about 10 more minutes (the eggplant will be done sooner than the rest). Remove the eggplant from the oven, and carefully stir the eggplant into the simmering tomato sauce.
Let the squash and bell pepper pan continue to bake until the peppers are caramelized, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Then, transfer the contents of the pan into the simmering sauce. Continue simmering for 5 more minutes to give the flavors time to meld.
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon olive oil, the fresh basil and red pepper flakes. Crumble the dried oregano between your fingers as you drop it into the pot. Season to taste with additional salt (I usually add ¼ teaspoon more) and black pepper.
Serve in bowls, perhaps with a little drizzle of olive oil, additional chopped basil, or black pepper on top (all optional). Like all stews, this ratatouille’s flavor improves as it cools. It’s even better reheated the next day. Ratatouille keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 days, or for several months in the freezer.
Versatile chickpea flour (which happens to be gluten free) may not be as beloved as standard all-purpose—but we think that may be about to change. It's used to make socca, a Mediterranean chickpea pancake, which we top with a fresh chickpea pesto and goat cheese to turn it into a socca pizza. While it isn't a pizza in the technical sense, it still satisfies cravings for something doughy and cheesy.
8ounces4 cups whole fresh green chickpeas, shucked (1 cup)
Kosher saltto taste
¼cupolive oil
¼cupfresh chervil leaves
2tablespoonslemon juice
1tablespoonpistachios
1teaspoonlemon zest
1garlic cloveroughly chopped
For Assembly:
1tablespoonolive oilplus more for drizzling
2ouncesgoat cheesecrumbled (¼ cup)
1serrano chilethinly sliced
Chopped pistachiosfor garnish
Mâche rosettesfor garnish
Chervil leavesfor garnish
Flaky sea saltfor garnish
Instructions
Make the socca: In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until a smooth batter forms. Cover in plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the chickpea pesto: Bring a small pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Season the water with salt. Add the fresh chickpeas and cook until tender, 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chickpeas to the ice bath. Once cool, drain the chickpeas and remove their thin shells around the green centers. Transfer the chickpeas to a small food processor with the remaining pesto ingredients. Pulse until a smooth paste comes together, then season with salt.
Assemble the socca pizza: Preheat the broiler with the rack 6 inches away from the heat source. In a 10-inch ovenproof, nonstick pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Pour the batter into the pan, swirling to cover the entire surface, then transfer the pan to the oven. Bake until the socca sets, 5 to 6 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven. Spread the chickpea pesto over the socca and dot with the goat cheese. Return to the oven and broil until the cheese is slightly golden, 4 minutes more. Transfer the socca to a board and top with the sliced serrano, chopped pistachios, mâche and chervil. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with flaky sea salt, then serve.
Heat a greased frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausages, turning occasionally, for 8 mins or until cooked through. Halve diagonally.
Arrange the lentils, beetroot, fetta and spinach on a serving platter with the sausage. Drizzle with 1/4 cup (60ml) of the reserved marinade and season to serve.
