Saturday’s Big Sky win by my Alma Mater, the Sac State Hornets, is extraordinary! 

When I look to the future of what this means to my kids, little athletes, still in elementary and middle school, I see a strategic win for the Greater Sacramento Region when it comes to athletic player development. 

Having been a Cross Country and Track & Field scholarship athlete at Sac State, myself, and having coached and held board positions of our kids' local leagues, we know that this location is a hub for leagues (of all sports & sizes), players, and has the infrastructure in place to excel strategically. As the years grow, Sacramento region’s collegiate sports are news breaking, and winning BIG!

A question I often get from parents: “When do you start looking into college level sports?”

Here is what I have seen in my industry, happening amongst players.  

• By early middle school your young athlete will most likely show interest and a strong desire towards a single sport. At that time, conversations generally begin about commitment, desire, opportunity and cost. Being an elite athlete is a family commitment. 
• By 8th grade year, minimum, your athlete will need to start considering college interest, and training towards it. Sports performance training should  be incorporated into an athletes regime, in addition to their team coaching staff and skill specific training coaching. Every coach has their scope of service. Competitive elite athletes include additional sports performance trainers like me to support the longevity of their sport, reduce injury risks, and excel at their present game.
• By Freshman year of high school, 
  • sports performance training should  be incorporated into an athletes regime, in addition to their coaching staff and skill specific training coaching. Training with a sports performance coach, in addition to sports specific coaching is most competitive.
  • athletes must maintain minimum NCAA eligibility requirements. Athletes should review these and set their plan forward with parental guidance and partnership. 
  • athletes must maintain minimum school athlete requirements during high school, and understand the requirements of each of the schools being considered in their collegiate line-up.  Athletes should review these and set their plan forward with parental guidance and partnership. 
• Play!
  • Get your play time in, where it makes an impact. 
  • A player, parent, coaching team is imperative. The player brings passion, motivation, desire, and responsibility (and so much more) to play at the most elite levels of their sport. The parent is in the driver seat. The coaches offer personalized and unique subject matter coaching, guidance and support. 

This outline is just that, an outline. Every athlete and family is unique. When you are ready to begin the conversation within your family, about collegiate sports, the Smooth Moto Team is here to chat. 

Do you want to be a college athlete? 
Here are some additional resources for inspiration and goal setting from Sac State Hornets Athletics Department: 
SacState Student Resources
https://www.csus.edu/student-affairs/centers-programs/student-athlete-resource-center/

Eligibility to Play as a Student Athlete at SacState
https://www.csus.edu/student-affairs/centers-programs/student-athlete-resource-center/_internal/_documents/what-it-takes-to-be-a-hornet-pdf.pdf

Eligibility to Play in the NCAA
https://www.csus.edu/student-affairs/centers-programs/student-athlete-resource-center/_internal/_documents/ncaa-initial-eligibility-for-the-college-bound-sa-pdf.pdf

Sports Summer Camps at SacState
https://info.abcsportscamps.com/csusfb
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Going to Games- Hornet Tickets and Youth Tickets
https://hornetsports.com/tickets/index

Hornets Sports
https://www.hornetsports.com/landing/index

*Note: Sac State Hornet's Athletic Department has done a fantastic job on their website and resources for the prospective and present student athletes, alike, offering an abundance of inspiration. 
 

Hi There! 

With the start of the school year, now is a great time to start an exercise log, setting baselines, goals and benchmarking progress. The school year is a natural beginning, with a natural end, making it a great S.M.A.R.T. goal, and goal setting lesson!  Beyond the exercise, this also makes for great math skills. 

Check out the At Home site of the Presidential Youth Challenge. We love the exercise tutorials, and downloadable tracker! This is a great way to incorporate healthy exercise practices in the home and start exercise discussions, beyond P.E. and training sessions. 

Smooth Moto Coaches love it when parents and kids ask about things like the Presidential Youth Challenge. During P.E. class, they work on building their abilities to excel at testing like this. P.E. class is a great time for kids to ask questions, get specifics on how to do an exercise, learn how to benchmark progress, or have Coach take a baseline for them. Coach will even help parents define appropriate "P.E. homework", if you choose.  Using the tracker as a goal setting experience, and point of discussion with Coach is also a fantastic use of this resource. Just ask! Anytime!

Resources:
Presidential Fitness Challenge at Home (url:  https://www.pyfpstore.org/pages/pyfpathome)

With Gratitude, 


The Smooth Moto team - P.E. for kids! where kids Learn Safe Movement

(originally published in Gold Country Media 1/24/2012) 
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Being active throughout life is undeniably vital for good health, physical independence and longevity. It is widely known that workouts should integrate cardiovascular conditioning, balance, core, strength and flexibility exercises. As we age, our workouts should change with us, and though they naturally evolve through change in interests, the key to staying in great shape and health is modifying your workout to address the needs of your body.

Apply these simple guidelines to your workout to achieve better health at any age.

Children (1-5)
The goal of physical activity within this age range is to build and develop cardiovascular health, spatial awareness, coordination, motor skills and lifelong habits of activity. Integrate active play, such as tumbling, tag or climbing, into your child’s day for a minimum total of two hours, accumulated over several sessions.

Adolescents to teens (6-17)
As an adolescent it’s important to continue developing the healthful benefits and habits of childhood exercise and introduce resistance-training exercises, using proper form and technique.

Put the video games aside. Aim to participate in one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity, like soccer, running, swimming or cycling, each day. Resistance exercise before age 13 should be body-weighted only, but after age 13, adding three weekly 30-minute total-body strengthening and weight-bearing workouts consisting of eight to 12 exercises performed in two to three sets of 10 to 15 reps is safe and extremely beneficial. For balance, power and strength, make it a lifelong habit to select resistance exercises like TRX that integrate core training.

Adults (18-64)
In adulthood, the goals of exercise grow to en-compass weight control, cardiovascular conditioning and disease prevention. Aim for five weekly 30-minute sessions of moderate- to high-intensity aerobic exercise.
Tennis, boot camps and running are all great options. Research shows that multiple bursts of activity are nearly as effective as one continuous session, so break it up if needed. As a general rule, three weekly 45- to 60-minute resistance workouts are a great start. Try eight to 12 different exercises targeting all major muscle groups, performed in one to three sets of 10 to 15 reps for a good full-body routine. Stretching is often overlooked. Just 10 minutes every other day, post-workout, when muscles are still pliable, will maintain healthy range of motion and reduce the risk of injuries.

Older adults (64+)
Strength, flexibility and balance training is paramount in maintaining mobility and reducing the risk of falling. Aim to exercise like a younger adult as long as it is sustainable. Perform moderate- to low-impact aerobic exercise in three to four 30-minute weekly sessions. Two weekly resistance training sessions are enough, but wait at least a day, possibly two, between sessions, as muscles need more time to recover. If weight-bearing exercises have become difficult, try water exercise. Continue to stretch at least every other day.

Start now!
There is no end date to when you can start exercising. At any age you can make significant positive changes in your health, slowing or even reversing age-related physical declines. It’s never too late!