The adolescent and pubertal years are an important time for young athletes to begin transitioning to a more structured training environment to enhance athletic development while adjusting to a rapidly changing body.
The focus in this program will be to lay the athletic foundation as these young athletes continue to progress through their athletic careers. This is accomplished by exposing these athletes to resistance training, along with the proper technique of each exercise. Ensuring it is done correctly will allow for proper strength and power development. Speed training is also incorporated into this program. In our upper division programs, there is an emphasis on technique mastery when it comes to speed training. In our youth program, we flip the emphasis to focusing on proper running mechanics and exposure so that as they progress through our program, what we coach is not foreign but can be built on for technical efficiency and true speed development.
This program is designed for elementary and middle school-aged athletes (MUST BE AGES 8-13) looking to develop healthy lifestyle habits and to gain an early competitive edge. Every athlete begins with a simple, age-appropriate testing battery that highlights key areas of athletic development. These baseline measures help our staff guide training to each young athlete’s needs and provide a clear reference for improvement in fundamental skills such as strength, coordination, speed, and overall movement quality.
Additionally, ACL prevention will be emphasized in our female youth athletes. Compared to males, female athletes, have a 3.5-fold increased risk of ACL injury occurring quick stops, cutting and lateral movements, and landing. Through improved strength, power, mobility, conditioning, balance, agility, jumping and landing, and cutting and changing direction, we help can reduce the risk of ACL injury.
Pillars to Success: Youth Athletic Development Program
ALL PROGRAM REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Friday, January 16th, 2026Register Now
For any questions or to get your athlete enrolled today, contact TJ Roe, Director of Loper Performance, at roet2@unk.edu or Cameron Munger at mungerc@unk.edu, 308-865-8155, or by calling the UNK Physical Activity and Wellness Lab at 308-865-8336.
