The Youth Athlete: Case Study, Ireland

Sean is currently in 5th year in secondary school and involved in multiple sports. He currently trains all year round for swimming (4 mornings + 1 evening per week) and plays soccer in Autumn/winter and hurling during the Spring/summer (both 2 evenings + 1 game per week). Consider you are a certified athletic development coach tasked with developing a training plan for Sean. Before designing your training program, your goal is to consider their unique developmental needs and the potential challenges associated with this age group. Take into consideration the athlete’s individual profile while answering each section.

The Case Study is split into 3 parts.
1. Youth Athletic Developmental Model:

a. Discuss a suitable youth athletic developmental model that aligns with the athlete’s age group and the specific sport or sports the athlete is involved in.

b. Justify your choice of the developmental model, providing a rationale for how it addresses the physical, psychological, and social aspects of youth athlete development.

2. Special Considerations for Youth Athletes:

a. Discuss how growth and maturation, particularly considering Seans profile, influence the design of a tailored training program, and what specific adjustments would you propose to accommodate his developmental stage?

b. Discuss key considerations, including nutritional needs & injury risk, that are unique to your athlete and their impact on athletic performance and overall health

3. Evaluation and Monitoring:

a. Outline a plan for ongoing assessment and monitoring of the athletes’ progress.

b. Briefly discuss 2 key performance indicators and benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of the training program.

c. Describe 3 strategies for adapting the program based on individual athletes’ needs and feedback.

Assessment Strategy

Guidelines:

• The assignment will be submitted on Moodle – a folder will be set up on the module page. Word count = 1500 words
• The document should be structured logically, include appropriate references, and be presented in a professional format.
• The formatting information for the document must follow that described in Appendix 1 below.
• Please use the format of the front page provided in Appendix 2.