An 11-year-old shouldn’t be lifting weights.. #softballtraining #strengthtraining

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:03]Oh, but coach, an 11year-old shouldn't be lifting weights. But gymnastics are flipping and landing and tumbling and putting massive force through their joints at the age of five and six. And we call that normal. The difference is coaching and progression. This is one of my softball athletes learning how to box squat with a light barbell. And here we're not chasing like heavy weights.

[00:00:24]We're teaching movement quality, body control, coordination, being confident to do it, and that's it. Dang, girl. And just imagine because she's learning this now at the age of 11, just wait till she's 13, 14, and we can really start ramping things up with strength, power, and explosiveness. I mean, this whole strength training stunts grow thing has been blown out of proportion. The myth has been busted several time in several studies. So, we got to stop, guys. You know what's more dangerous in my opinion? You're around softball without any strength training. Think about it.

[00:01:01]Softball athletes are constantly sprinting, rotating, decelerating, jumping in some cases, and changing direction. If the body isn't strong enough to absorb force efficiently, that stress goes straight into the joints, into the muscle tissue, and then you wonder why their ankles start to hurt or their calves or their shoulder or their back.