Entries by dazdrake

How To Manage the Individual in a Group

Hey Everyone! Today I want to talk about an area which I am always trying to optimise, management; both on an individual and a group scale. Today’s blog will stem from another great course from the guys at ALTIS and some of my own personal thoughts, and I am excited to share this with you […]

Coaching Feedback: Are We Talking Too Much?

A word from APA owner, Daz Drake. This week’s blog comes from APA coach Konrad McKenzie. Konrad has done a terrific job of summarising his thoughts on feedback and also leaves a few of his own thoughts on how this could relate to youth athletes.  This is a two part blog.  In case you missed […]

Nailing the Basics – Nutrition for the Youth Athlete

Nailing the basics: Youth athlete nutrition   Young athlete nutrition is vital due to the sheer volume of work they may be exposed to. Some young athletes take part in numerous training sessions and games per week as a result of school and external club sports. Additionally, growth and maturation add in another energy demand. […]

There’s no such thing as a sport specific strength exercise!

Okay folks, this is about my twentieth post on the topic- each time I move forward with my thinking on sport specific training.   Today’s blog has been inspired by my Tennis colleague Ruben Neyens, who was on a conference call with me and a few mutual friends where we were talking about strength training […]

Building Confidence in Youth Athletes

Building self-efficacy in youth athletes   A couple of distinctions I have found between mental toughness, confidence, and self-efficacy:   Mental toughness vs self-efficacy? Firstly,  I hesitate to use the words ‘mental toughness’ as sometimes, this may be used as an excuse to force young athletes to work excruciatingly hard, all the time (I am […]

Physical Attributes of a Youth Tennis Player- Demands of the Game

APA coach Konrad McKenzie will be doing a weekly guest blog looking at topics related to Tennis and the youth athlete. In today’s blog Konrad gives an overview of the the physical demands of the game using the APA framework of the 5 S’s of Athleticism. Physical Attributes of a Youth Tennis Player   I […]

Guest Post – Training The Core

This week’s post is a guest post from APA coach Konrad McKenzie looking at the role of the Core. Core training The Core is a broad term that is used frequently in the fitness industry. However, I feel we should give it the respect it deserves by considering its anatomy and function – rather than […]