Lead Stories, Sports

NYP Sports Performance Institute helps young athletes

Children and teenagers face a variety of challenges to performing their best in sports, but sports performance trainingat the NewYork-Presbyterian Sports Performance Institute can help athletes ages 10 to 18 improve their speed, strength and, perhaps most importantly,
movement patterns.

“Young athletes are heavier than in previous generations and technology affects their posture more,” said Jason Hutchings, AS, BS, XPS, site performance manager at the NewYork-Presbyterian Sports Performance Institute.  “Additionally, instead of playing several sports, many children and teens play one sport year round, despite the fact that their movement patterns haven’t fully developed yet. They need to
build good movement patterns early to prevent injury.”

Sports performance training at the NewYork-Presbyterian Sports Performance Institute helps young athletes do just that in small-group and semi-private sessions. Using EXOS, a training system trusted by professional and amateur athletes in the U.S. and around the
world, trainers lead participants through one-hour sessions designed to address common areas of weakness for young athletes, such as joint instability and improper weight-training technique.

“We incorporate games that involve movement, which keeps kids engaged and allows the trainers and coaches to analyze their movement patterns,”  Hutchings said. “We can see the whole picture while they play—how they’re running, jumping, landing and moving laterally.”

In addition to regular training sessions, the NewYork-Presbyterian Sports Performance Institute also hosts sports performance camps to help young athletes hone speed, strength and movement patterns.  Athletes can choose from camps that last a few hours or an entire
weekend.
“Our training helps athletes develop strength and biomechanics, but it also gives them confidence,” Hutchings said.  “There’s a direct correlation between confidence and athletic performance, and sports performance training empowers kids to realize they can improve.”

The NewYork-Presbyterian Sports Performance Institute is located at 693 White Plains Road in Scarsdale, New York.  Services are available to people of any athletic skill level and for children as young as age 10.

Services include:
• Sports medicine and orthopedic surgery expertise provided by Columbia physicians and surgeons practicing at NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia

• Sports medicine primary care and rehabilitation from NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia sports medicine physicians, who perform diagnostic testing and provide nonsurgical therapies

• Sports performance training powered by EXOS, featuring high-intensity group classes, semi-private sessions and one-on-one training

• Sports therapy from Columbia physical therapists with specialized training in manual therapy and sports-specific techniques to help athletes recover and gain strength and flexibility

To learn more about the NewYork-Presbyterian Sports Performance Institute, visit nyp.org/sportsinstitute or call 914-750-4690. Please call to verify availability of services, which are subject to change due to public health precautions.
(Submitted)