Should Junior Golfers Stretch Regularly?
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Myths of Young Golfers' Flexibility
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by Susan Hill
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I love the internet! It has allowed me the
freedom and opportunity to launch my full time
business and train golfers around the globe!
However, along with great resources available
to us all is the reality that there are also
myths and untruths that are being offered next
to the same wonderful and accurate resources
you can find as you search the
internet.
A couple of weeks ago, I came across a well
read and frequented website discussing the
tendencies of junior golfers to be unstable in
their swings, specifically their backswings.
It went on to say that all juniors were over
flexible to some degree and the author stated
that ‘no golfer under the age of 25 should be
stretching’.
I could not disagree more with this statement
and would like an opportunity to explain some
of the things I have seen in junior golf as it
relates to their flexibility.
First, let’s look at some important
developmental issues which affect their
flexibility.
From the ages of 6 to 10, shoulder
mobility and hip range of motion is
reduced.
Spinal flexibility (which allows for a
full shoulder turn) reaches its natural
maximum at ages 8 or 9.
Ages 10 to 13 is when flexibility is most
important to train because children begin
gaining mass faster than weight and are
becoming stronger.
During the growth spurt years of 13 to 15,
height is increasing more rapidly and injuries
can be more prevalent.
Growth spurt changes can also contribute
to upper bodies increasing in unequal
proportions relative to lower bodies. The
result is increased range of motion in the
shoulders and spine with excessive tightness
in the hips.
Flexibility can be quite deceiving in youth
golfers. It is very typical to find many young
male golfers with overly flexible spines and
shoulders resulting in the ‘overswinging’ and
instability at the top of the backswing as
this author pointed out. However, in this same
golfer, you will also find the ‘overswinging’
can occur as a result of very tight hips. So,
where one area may be very flexible, another
area is in dire need of flexibility
training.
As a junior golfer, if you are aware of a
particularly tight area affecting your golf
swing, then make sure you use a dynamic
stretch sequence to unlock the area. Try a
method of dynamic stretching which takes the
stretched muscle to a point of slight tension
and holding for no more than 2 seconds before
releasing. Repeat 10 to 12 times per
side.
Ref: Children and Sports Training by Jozef
Drabik, Ph.D.
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