I need a little info from someone who knows. I have a 16 year old son that is crazy about the sport of football. He was a the starting center up until about 4 days ago when he was replaced by someone that was a little stronger. He was very up set about this and doesn’t know how to gain extra (about 20 pounds) of weight and get stronger to get his position back. He works out 5 days a week and has hit a point where he is not getting any stornger. I know what I would like to do for him but don’t know if it’s the right thing. Like I said he is 16 years old at 5’10" and 200 pounds. What would you do??? Thanks for any info…
Check out everything written by Coach Davies. He’s got tons of articles here and at renegadetraining.com. Also search the forum archives for his posts. Oh, and his book which you’ll see at his website. Good luck.
You won’t find many 16 year olds who can train hard 5 days a week with 2 a day football practice on top of that and manage to gain solid weight and strength. I think at this point he would do best training a few days a week to maintain his strength and learning all he can about every single position on his football team that he could possibly playother then just center. When and/or if an injury occurs he should be ready to jump in and get after it. During the offseason is the time to make gains in size but he will be best served by training for function. Something like Coach Davies Renegade training works beautifully for this purpose.
First of all make sure he is eating plenty. You have to take into account that he is still growing and with the amount of activity he does, he will need all he can get. Make sure he eats good. Starting a healthy diet early in life is the best thing you can do. If I could go back to high school knowing what I know now; Watch out. You said he is 5’10" 200lbs. I would give up on the idea of playing center. There is no glory in that and you have a guys hand in your crack all the time. Does he have any speed. I mean real speed. Work on defense or something. Really I would have to know more about him. Is he overweight or is he 200 pounds ripped. Plus he will still probably grow, or does it not look likely. Give me a little more info, then I can recommend more.
A protein-packed diet, supported by a 3X a week compound/powerlift workout. Squats, deads, power cleans, bench press, military press. Sprint work as well with agility drills. This program was the bedrock of my HS days and earned me a starting spot every year. What yr. is he? Tell him it is not where you start, but where you finish. Might sound cheesy, but it is my dying theme. Good luck.
Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. Make sure he is at home working on his technique, studying his plays and what, and tell him to go balls out at practice, make sure he is hustling at all times. As a Coach myself, we all talk about who’s working hard and who’s lazy. Hopefully the kid who is over him gets comfortable in the position and starts to slack, messes up and your boy will have a chance to shine.
I know this is my reply to most sports related questions, but…in addition to going to renegadetraining.com…make sure your son is eating a lot! With your son’s age and activity level, the MAG-10 plan for success may work for him (of course no MAG-10). Regardless of his weight, have him work on his functional strength. Make sure that when he works out he is being explosive; Clap push-ups, jump squats, etc. In my long lost high school football days I used to find ways of doing exercises that simulated what was going to happen on the field. Another great program for explosive strength is Tim Grover’s Jump ATTACK plan. It’s designed for basketball players but can easily be converted to most sports. I would save that for the off-season. Additionally, keep him off balance. Teach his muscles to react quickly when off balance instead of when both feet are on the ground shoulder width apart. Good luck.
Key to his development is preparing properly for the game of Football. What has he presently been doing in his training? I will be pleased to discuss if you wish. In faith, Coach Davies
Very great posts above! I’d just add~you said you know what you’d like to do~~do that at the very last resort (I’m not advacating you to do it at all, but I know the situation). The roid issue is getting bigger, and in the future, teams may be tested that aren’t now, and he’ll have to suddenly stop it; so please think about that! Also, 200 lbs naturally at 16 sounds plenty big enough to me! Like the others said, he needs to increase his speed, and use that with his weight, blasting his current frustrations out in hitting the dummies, showing his coaches his pure power, sounds like a linebacker to me!
Put him on Massive Eating. At least 5000 cals a day.
Thor - I was a center in high school and played in college (almost NFL) Your son is young still and can get in the gym and bust his ass and eat! Get him skipping rope - not these sissy-ass skips that most guys are doing, get him busting ass at one to two minute intervals with one minite rest between sets (high stepping hard). Forget about the juice - I did that and I thin it screwed me (see above - injuries aplently) and I only tired juice between my sph and jr year in high school for four weeks… Make sure he is getting more than 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight - he is young and can handle it and the farts will be fun for him! get a punching bag and hang it in your garage - no matter how big and strong, he has to be nasty as hell and meaner than a pit bull! forget the supps - get him so good protein powder. quick and mean!
All the above posts are great ideas, especially about increasing cals. and lifting 3 times a week. However, my suggestion is a little bit different. I am a high school football coach in Canada and while gaining size and strength is a solution to your son’s problem, it is more of a long term solution then a short term one.
Assuming that the season has already started, the one thing your son can do immediatly is give 110% and really bust his ass for the 2+hrs he has at practice everyday. Besides natural athletic ability, the next thing coaches notice is a player’s drive, determination, attitude and overall HEART. Often a “naturally” good athlete will be beaten out a position by someone with less talent but more drive. Your son must do every drill with 100% effort, everytime. It is very rare for a coach not to play someone who is constantly out-hustling other players.
On another note (sorry for the long post), at 5’10" and 200lbs, your son might just be too small for o-line. If he is athletic enough can he try another position, like Linebacker? If not, tell your son to keep up the weight lifting (3 days a week) and increase his intensity and aggressiveness in practice. Perhaps he can get on a special team squad, also injuries happen, so who knows when he will get his chance to get his starting position back. Hope this helps.
This is a hard question to answer because at the level he is playing at, he has not developed yet. I was a center for 11 years and the smallest in the Pac-10 in 1993. The key for him would be for proper athletic development(i.e. quick feet, body balance and awareness, explosiveness, etc) I believe in a bit of old school training… pulling sleds, jump rope, speed bag, heavy bag. I can honestly tell you that this will help him more than adding 20 lbs to his frame. He is still growing so work with his natural development. Quickness and footwork are the tools for center regardless of weight.
Guys, thanks for all the info you have supplied us with. I would like to try and reply to each of you that posted. There is a lot of information here. It looks like the biggest thing is to eat and practic. Thanks again. Looking to talking to you more about this.