Help Youth Stay Fit
NETA’s Youth Fitness Trainer Certification is designed to prepare and certify fitness professionals to meet the growing need of youth-centered training, equipping kids and teens to develop good physical activity habits, leading to a healthier overall lifestyle – both now and later on. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), less than a quarter of youth ages 6 to 17 years get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day (1), and a 2024 American Academy of Pediatrics study found that up to 35% of youth athletes report experiencing overtraining that can lead to burnout and increased risk of injury (2). Youth Fitness trainers and coaches can help their clientele develop balanced physical activity and training habits that will improve physical and mental health and extend the length of an athletic career.
In addition to current trends and statistics surrounding youth and physical activity, NETA’s curriculum provides fitness professionals with an understanding of stages of child development with age-appropriate activities and motivational strategies at each stage, taking a two-fold approach for developing youth athletes through multilateral training and promoting physical activity for a healthier weight.
With live, in-person or virtual offerings, and an online module option, obtaining your Youth Fitness Specialty is comprehensive and convenient!
Why Youth Fitness Training is Important
According to the latest statistics from the Center for Disease Control (1), 18.5% of youth and adolescents in the United States are considered obese; defined as having a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for those of the same age and gender.
This percentage has grown and continues to increase at an alarming rate. Between the years of 1970 and 2016, the prevalence of obesity more than doubled for children aged 2 to 5 years, from 5% to 13.9%; tripled for children aged 12 to 19 years, from 6% to 20.6%; and quadrupled for children aged 6 to 11 years, from 4 to 18.4%. Additionally, an estimated 27% of young adults are too heavy to serve in the United States military, with even more failing to meet the physical requirements of service.
Implications of childhood obesity are both immediate and long-term, and include an earlier onset of puberty, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, both in youth and adulthood; an increased risk of some types of cancers; a heightened risk of psychological comorbidties including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem ad behavioral disorders; an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood; and a nearly 70% likelihood of being overweigh or obese as an adult.
On the flip side, youth participating in organized sports are often funneled into a specific position in a specific sport at a young age, which can be problematic for several reasons:
- Youth often lack the fundamental movement patterns necessary to perform high-level skills safely and effectively. Thus, complexity is built upon an unstable foundation.
- Focused training may lead to unilateral development of the muscular system and disturb natural physical development.
- The likelihood of overuse and long-term injuries in increased, especially in younger athletes that are lacking basic multilateral movement skills, as compensatory movement patterns with exacerbate imbalanced muscular development.
- Emphasis on achieving maximal potential in a specific sport or position may create psychological stress and pressure for the athlete to excel.
- The requirements of training may monopolize the time of the athlete, leaving little time for developing relationships outside of the sport.
- Many athletes become burned out in the activity and quit before reaching their true potential, and may even develop an aversion to other types of physical activity.
Training should be built upon fundamental skills that translate across a number of sports and activities. Understanding the developmental stages – both physical and psychological – of youth is essential to decrease risk of injury and to instill a lifelong love of physical activity rather than an aversion to it.
Get Certified Online
If attending a live workshop is not convenient for you, obtaining a Youth Fitness trainer certification with NETA is also available via an online module format.
Containing the same information covered in the workshop, NETA’s Youth Fitness Specialty Certification Online Module provides research-backed explanation and discussion, with video demonstration of exercises and drills, and practical skill development for programming based on your client’s needs.
For more information, see FAQs on Getting Certified.
(1)Center for Disease Control (2022, July 26). Physical activity facts. CDC Healthy Schools. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm
(2)Wyckoff, A.S. (2024). Professionalization of youth sports and lead to burnout: Why athletes need time off. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/27833/Professionalization-of-youth-sports-can-lead-to?autologincheck=redirected
