While the role of the CrossFit Coach in a young athlete's life and development is important, it doesn't hold a candle to the role played by the parents (inclusive of all legal guardians, etc). To help supplement the ideas that we send the kids home with, I've tried to pull together some resources from around the web, blogosphere, and podcast universe. All items should be considered required listening/reading for Elm City CrossFit Kids parents. Bear in mind, this being the wilds of the internet, there may be language and intensity, especially in the first two links. You've been warned.
1. Attitude Nation podcast with Martin Rooney
Martin Rooney (author of Training For Warriors) discusses the importance of NOT pushing kids to specialize in sports too soon. The more you want Jimmy to be a star football player, the more you need to support him by having him play other sports, learn other skills, and increase his internal solution set, so that when he DOES get on the field, he's not just another over-specialized, injury-prone has-been.
2. EliteFTS/Underground Strength podcast with Dan John
Dan John, a VERY well-regarded strength and conditioning coach, has his own spin on youth sports, but ends up at the same place: Early specialization is a one way ticket to injury. Siting the recent, massive increase in teens requiring multiple Tommy John elbow surgeries (baseball), multiple ACL surgeries (football, basketball), Dan also makes the case for multi-sport, well-rounded young athletes.3. Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf's podcast - Episode 103 (question 5, Kids on Paleo)
(link leads to show page with question text. You can either listen to the mp3 recording or read the pdf of the transcript. Either way, question & answer #5)The following links were also listed on the Paleo Solution forums for further reading on the topic of kids and paleo eating. I haven't read all of them yet, so if you see something silly, let me know and I'll happily adjust the list.
- http://robbwolf.com/2010/04/16/kids-paleo-nutrient-density/
- http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/09-06/is-paleo-safe-for-kids/
- http://www.growinguppaleo.com/2011/01/growing-strong-without-milk/
- http://www.thepaleohome.com/2011/09/paleo-kids-cows-milk-is-for-baby-cow.html
- http://www.growinguppaleo.com/2011/06/simple-baby-food-a-guest-post-from-dain-of-everyday-paleo/
- http://everydaypaleo.com/paleo-kids/
- http://paleoparents.com/eat-like-a-dinosaur/
