ISSA Youth Fitness study plan

Map the major physical growth windows (early childhood through adolescence) onto training implications, writing two sentences per window

Define puberty, peak height velocity, and biological vs chronological age in your own words without notes

List the five most common coach misreads of normal adolescent awkwardness and the corrective cue for each

Draft a one-page parent explanation of why a 9-year-old and a 14-year-old should not run the same session

Explain how bone, tendon, and muscle tissue maturity differ and what that means for load progression

Identify three red flags that warrant referral rather than program adjustment

Practice a 3-minute scripted conversation delivering load-reduction news to a parent without triggering defensiveness

Compare youth resistance training position statements on supervision ratios and technique priority, summarizing points of agreement

Break the squat, hinge, push, pull, and brace patterns into 3 progressive teaching stages each

Design two corrective drills per pattern for the most common youth fault you observe

Sequence a 12-minute movement block that teaches a pattern before loading it

Describe how coordination windows (balance, rhythm, agility) shift across childhood and adjust drill choice accordingly

Build a 20-drill library tagged by pattern, equipment, space, and age band

Convert three drills into game formats that preserve the target movement quality

Set up a station-based circuit that keeps every child moving with under 20 seconds of waiting

Write the single-sentence instruction you would give for each of your five most-used drills

Estimate realistic attention spans by age band and test your estimate against a timed session plan

Design a 45-minute session with a stated attention curve: when focus peaks, dips, and resets

Define intensity using at least two observable markers (breathing, talk test, rep quality) rather than percentages

Draft rules for when to cut volume mid-session and how to do it without signaling failure

Set volume guidelines per age band for reps, sets, and weekly sessions, citing the reasoning behind each number

Build a three-level scaling ladder for four core exercises (regression, target, extension)

Design a self-regulation tool children can use to report effort (scale, color, or word-based)

Plan a deload week for a youth athlete mid-season and justify the reduction

Write and rehearse a 60-second opening routine that sets expectations and builds rapport

Script feedback using a specific-positive-specific structure and practice it on three scenarios

Design a reinforcement system that rewards effort and consistency rather than outcome

Plan a consistency handoff: what a substitute coach needs to run your session unchanged

Assemble a complete 8-week youth program pulling one artifact from each prior week

Audit the program against each of the five domains and log any gap you cannot close

Run a full mock session walkthrough aloud, timing each segment

Write a 10-question self-test on the weakest domain and score above 80%