Questions

Will strength training stunt my young athlete’s growth?

No. This is the single most persistent myth in youth sport, and the research doesn’t support it. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in its 2020 clinical report on resistance training for children and adolescents, concluded that appropriately designed resistance training programs have no apparent negative effect on linear growth, on the health of the growth plates, or on the cardiovascular system.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association reached the same conclusion in its position statement on youth resistance training: there is no evidence that resistance training negatively affects growth and maturation during childhood and adolescence, and injury to growth cartilage has not been reported in a single prospective study of youth resistance training.

The worry isn’t invented. It comes from case reports published in the 1970s and 1980s, when children were being injured lifting weights. But when researchers went back through those cases, the injuries were traced to improper technique, maximal lifts attempted without instruction, and badly designed programs, not to resistance training itself.

The injury numbers are the part most parents find reassuring. In supervised, well-designed youth programs, studies record roughly 0.035 to 0.055 injuries per 100 participant hours. Rugby, by comparison, records about 0.800, well over ten times higher. In one review of school sport injuries, resistance training accounted for 0.7% of injuries, against roughly 19% for football and 15% for basketball.

The condition attached to every one of those findings is supervision. The research doesn’t say weights are safe for children; it says properly coached, age-appropriate resistance training is safe for children. That distinction is the whole job, which is why every session here is coached, and why we start athletes on movement quality before load.

How young do you take athletes?

Our youngest athletes are 10, but it’s a rule of thumb rather than a cut-off. The more important factors are physical maturity and whether an athlete can hold their attention and follow direction. If you asked us for an ideal age to start weight training, we’d say the summer before high school.

Age is the rough guide, not the deciding factor. What actually matters is readiness: whether an athlete can hold their attention on a task and follow direction in a group. So before a young athlete starts we’d rather talk with you first about where they are and what they’re working toward, then get them in for a free trial class so everyone can see how they do in the room.

Does my athlete need training experience to start?

No. Our classes are open to every training age, and our coaches are used to modifying sessions on the spot, so a beginner and an experienced lifter can train side by side and both get a session scaled to their needs, to help them progress and reach their goals.

If you’d rather see how it works before committing, the first class is free.

My athlete plays more than one sport. Is that a problem?

The opposite. Multi-sport athletes are setting themselves up well, and we love working with them. It means more practices and more obligations to juggle, but their movement foundation is usually broader than a single-sport athlete’s.

It also fits how we train. We’re building foundational athleticism rather than coaching a specific sport: power, speed, strength, and reducing the risk of injury. Those carry across everything they play.

How many days a week should they train?

One session a week is enough for a beginner or a young athlete to see progress. Two or three a week and progress comes quicker.

We know how quickly schedules fill up, so two a week is what we usually recommend: enough to keep moving forward, realistic enough to actually stick to.

Can they train with you during their competitive season?

Yes, and plenty do. Just have the athlete or a parent tell us when competitions are and we’ll adjust the session around them.

In season the aim shifts: we modify the lifts to hold on to the progress they’ve already made while keeping them fresh for practice and game day, rather than chasing new gains at the wrong time of year.

How soon will we see progress?

It’s different for every athlete. Most see a lot of progress early on simply because the training is new to them. Then it typically plateaus. Then, after months of consistent work, sometimes a year or two, it starts moving again.

The goal was never to get an athlete in for a set number of weeks and add a set number of inches to their vertical. It’s to keep them progressing across their whole athletic career: ready to compete if they want to play in college, and better off for the rest of their life if they don’t.

How many athletes are in a class?

General classes are capped at 10 athletes. Team training sessions can run larger, since those groups arrive already organized as a team.

Do you train adults, or is it youth athletes only?

Both. We coach adults and youth athletes, and group training is priced the same either way.

What should they bring?

Training shoes and a water bottle. We have filtered water on site for refills, and we sell water, protein and bars at the gym if you need something.

Where do I park, and can I watch?

There’s plenty of parking in front of and behind the building.

And yes, there’s a lobby where parents can wait and watch the session if you’d like to.

How does the free class work?

Any training plan can be started with a free intro class. You book a session, come in, and train. There’s no obligation afterwards.

If you’d like to know what to expect first, the Getting Started page walks through it step by step.

Do your coaches run the sessions, or can our own coaches run your programming?

Both, depending on what a team needs. Everything that happens in our facility is run by our coaches, who deliver every program and every session.

For teams, we also build programming to be run by your own staff: training blocks, warm-ups, testing protocols. That’s written for your team specifically and tailored to the facility and equipment you actually have, rather than handed over as a generic template.

Do you train athletes who can’t come to the facility?

Yes. Online training is programmed by the same coaches and delivered remotely, and it’s available at one to four sessions a week. Clubs and teams outside Santa Clara can also be coached remotely through a partnership.

What if we need to pause a membership?

We handle pauses case by case: injury, travel, an off-season, whatever it is. Reach out to Anthony and we’ll work something out.