Youth Programs
Age-appropriate fitness training and tennis coaching designed to build athletic foundations, movement skills, and a healthy relationship with exercise and sport.
Programming for Young Athletes
Youth programs at Precision Performance Systems are designed around how young athletes actually develop — age-appropriate progressions, movement quality before load, and a balance between work and play that builds long-term capacity instead of burning kids out.
The goal is not to produce a result this season. The goal is to give a young athlete the movement skill, strength foundation, and healthy relationship with training that they will carry forward through high school, college, and adult life — whether or not they continue in a specific sport.
Programs Offered
Youth Fitness Training
General athletic development for young athletes — fundamental movement patterns, coordination, balance, age-appropriate strength work, and conditioning. Suitable for kids in any sport (or none yet) who would benefit from a stronger movement foundation.
Youth Tennis Coaching
Tennis-specific coaching for junior players combining stroke development, tennis-specific conditioning, and the speed, agility, and footwork that the sport demands. Grounded in the iTPA Certified Tennis Performance Specialist framework, adapted for the player's age and stage.
Athletic Development & Fundamentals
For young athletes specializing in one sport — or those just starting to specialize — programming includes the off-court / off-field work that supports sport performance, reduces injury risk, and develops athletic qualities the primary sport alone won't build.
What This Looks Like in Practice
- Age-appropriate intensity. Young athletes are not small adults. Programming respects developmental stage, growth phases, and the difference between training a 9-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a 17-year-old.
- Movement quality first. Before any meaningful load goes onto a young body, the movement pattern is sound. This is non-negotiable and is the single biggest difference between programming that builds healthy adult athletes and programming that doesn't.
- Healthy relationship with training. Kids should leave a session feeling capable, not punished. Pressure, shame, and excessive volume produce short-term compliance and long-term dropout. They have no place here.
- Open communication with parents. You should know what your child is working on, how they are progressing, and any concerns I notice in movement or behavior. Quick conversations after sessions are standard.
- Coordination with primary sport coaches. When a young athlete already has a sport coach, the programming complements that work rather than competing with it.
A note on specialization: Research consistently shows that early single-sport specialization is associated with higher injury rates and earlier burnout. For most young athletes, broad athletic development through age 12–14 produces better long-term outcomes than year-round focus on one sport. Programming reflects that.
What to Expect
1. Conversation with the Parent
We start with a call between the parent or guardian and me — covering the child's age, current sport involvement, any prior injuries, and what you are hoping the program will do for them. Setting realistic expectations up front matters.
2. First Session: Assessment
The first session is largely assessment — movement screening, baseline measures appropriate for the age, and getting a feel for how the young athlete moves and responds to instruction. Parents are welcome to observe.
3. Programming
Based on the assessment and your goals for your child, I build a program that fits their developmental stage and complements (rather than overlaps with) their primary sport activities.
4. Ongoing Sessions
Sessions are run in person in Wantagh, NY. Frequency depends on age, primary sport schedule, and what we are working on. The cadence is set in collaboration with the parent.