A friend recently asked:
I coach a girls Pee Wee Rep hockey team in Trail/Castlegar, BC. They are 12-13 year olds who play primarily against boys teams throughout the year until girls playdowns at the end of the year. We will be starting dryland training next month which will continue once a week throughout the season until Provincials in March. Currently our dryland program consists of a varying combination of long distance progression running, sprinting, stretching, agility/mobility/speed excercises, core work and finishing with some sort of team building game. Can you recommend any age-appropriate yoga excercises for these girls? It would have to be something that a novice like myself could employ. Thanks Donna!
So here are some free yoga exercises to meet these needs:
The best thing for all teen athletes is to learn Sun Salutation A – it is a full body workout that builds strength and flexibility and works as a wonderful warm-up for dryland/pre-season training. You’ll want to repeat Sun Salutations continuously, following the flow of your breath, for 10 mnutes, or longer if you have time. Here is a great video tutorial which includes clear technique pointers for beginners.
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Other yoga poses for athletes to include would be:
Warrior pose
warrior pose
Dancer pose
dancer pose
Low lunge
Pigeon pose
pigeon pose
Boat pose
boat pose final position
Finishing by lying on the ground hugging your knees to your chest then bring them to one side while looking in the opposite directions (reclined twist) and finally corpse pose (savasana). Staying for 5-10 minutes following a guided relaxation to focus the mind and relax the body.
corpse pose
I hope this helps and give ‘em hell this season!
I’ll be updating this post over the next few weeks with complete yoga pose descriptions so follow along on Facebook or subscribe to my RSS Feed.
