There should be a world of difference in the off-season training programs for young athletes and established, older professionals. However, it is common for an enthusiastic youngster - - or the over-enthusiastic parents - - to copy what college or professional players are doing.

This is a mistake, perhaps a permanent mistake if too much time and energy are spent unwisely. Some types of training are appropriate at both ages, but if a given program is the most appropriate one for a 35 year-old superstar, it cannot be the best program for an adolescent (or younger) athlete.

Two concepts must be understood to see why an aging athlete should train differently than younger players: (1) supercompensation, and (2) age-dependent development of athleticism.

The second topic will be discussed next week, and it is perhaps the most important, yet poorly taught principal in team sports.  Coaches of individual sports are decades ahead in this area, but in team sports, nothing limits the development of athletes more than the ignorance of age-dependent training.

Supercompensation refers to the ability of our bodies to adapt to, and eventually overcompensate for the stress of exercise.  This is similar to adaptations the body makes to other types of stress, such as living at high altitude, acclimatization to heat or cold, and immunities built up after contacting certain diseases.

Immunization therapy is a great example.  A vaccination is simply the injection of a small amount of a disease antigen, which is detected by our body as a 'foreign' invader.  Our cells develop antibodies to destroy these 'foreign' antigens and prevent them from proliferating in the future when we are exposed to an epidemic spread of the particular disease for which we were vaccinated.

Why is this topic so important for young athletes?  Because supercompensation is the only reason for a young athlete to train - the goal is to get better.  An older, established professional simply wants to maintain the status quo for a few more years - - and a few million dollars.

We know that muscles not only adapt to a consistent heavy stress, but actually overcompensate by becoming bigger and stronger.  A weight that causes failure in the initial days of training will be much easier to lift after a few weeks.  This is supercompensation.

If the exercise stress is a daily endurance run, the supercompensation takes several forms, not so visible to the naked eye.  Strengthening of the heart muscle, enables it to pump a larger volume of blood with each beat, so it doesn't have to work as fast at a given load.  Local changes in skeletal muscles are microscopic in size, but the results are huge, allowing the endurance-trained athlete to deliver more energy and oxygen to muscles and use them efficiently for longer periods of time.

Supercompensation requires two factors: (1) the stimulus, which is an adequate stress from exercise, and (2) the rebuilding process, which requires adequate rest and nutrition.

Rebuilding comes only when rest and nutritional plans are built into the overall plan.  Muscles will only become bigger and stronger if there is a good diet.  This includes fruits, vegetables, grains from cereal and bread, dairy products, lean meat, and some fat.  For an athlete undergoing intense training, there must be protein in several meals per day, especially after the workout.

Dairy products, eggs, and meat contain the highest quality protein, because they provide all the essential amino acids.  However, by intentionally eating more of these products, you must make a concerted effort to eliminate some of the saturated (animal) fats.  Therefore, low-fat varieties are the healthiest.

How much protein is necessary?

An athlete in training should consume up to a gram of protein per day for every pound of body weight, twice the amount recommended for a sedentary person.  This can easily be achieved with an intelligent, well-balanced diet.  Consuming much more protein than this might be harmful, so supplements should be used wisely.  This is not a case where mega doses are better than the recommended amount.

Rest/Recovery is just as important as intense workouts.

While no one doubts the importance of a good diet in athletic development, many high school athletes pay little attention.  This is an opportunity lost.

However, almost no one plans their rest/recovery as well as they plan the workouts.  This limits the amount of supercompensation just as surely as failing to work out.  Recovery must follow every intense workout to allow muscles and other organ-systems to rebuild even stronger.  It also allows the next workout to be more intense after a good rest period.

Also, during any workout, careful planning should dictate the length of the rest intervals between sets of sprints, jumps, or strength exercises.  Again, this allows each subsequent set to have enough quality or intensity to serve as an adequate stimulus for improvement.

Consider the attributes of athleticism and skill that need to be developed in a young hockey player: skills like skating, shooting, stickhandling plus athletic attributes like speed, quickness, agility, coordination, explosive power, strength, balance, etc. Each of these can only be developed through quality repetitions.

In other words, a sluggish workout will do more harm than good in any of these areas - - like a golfer going on the range and hitting hundreds of balls without quality.  On the other hand, if aerobic endurance is the only objective of a workout - - perhaps for a middle aged non-athlete - -there are benefits even if intensity and quality are lacking.  The sluggish workout would still challenge the cardiovascular system, reduce body fat, and increase resistance to middle-age diabetes, among a host of further benefits.

But if an athlete goes on the ice to improve skill - - and if quality is missing in the repetitions, the results are counterproductive.  This is also true for dryland workouts for speed, explosiveness, or any of the qualities needed to improve as a hockey player.

Supercompensation requires planning for recovery and commitment to intensity during the workouts.   If either ingredient is missing there will be no improvement.