Wealden Times | WT203 | January 2019 | Interiors supplement inside

Education
Roy Headey, Director of Sport at Hampton Court House, believes in the
importance of young people building strength – through weightlifting
Children are taller and heavier than they used to be –
but they are also weaker and less fit than they were 16
years ago, according to a British study, published in
the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.
The researchers found they scored worse in tests including
sit-ups and grip strength and the decline has been speeding up.
There had been a 20% decrease in absolute muscle strength
and a 30% decrease in muscle endurance over the 16-year
period studied.
“Inactive lifestyles are a health risk, but physical fitness is the
single best measure of health in childhood, adolescence and
on into adulthood,” said Dr Sandercock, who led the research.
“Poor fitness and inactivity lead to multiple health problems in
their adult life.”
Dr Sandercock said the current concept of a ‘healthy weight’
was misleading and that using Body Mass Index (BMI) in
isolation was not an effective way to monitor health. Of the
children studied, 80% had a normal BMI, but one in three of
those was found to be unfit.
At Hampton Court House, we are embarking on a
programme specifically designed to increase strength in our
pupils – introducing safe-lifting technique as part of the
curriculum, progressing to teaching Olympic Weightlifting.
Strength is a key foundation for an active life and we will
provide that foundation.
Hampton Court House’s sporting philosophy centres upon
our pupils’ finding sports or activities they can be passionate
about for life, because a physically active lifestyle will only
happen as a result of each child’s discovery of joy in their sport
of choice. This is our overall goal, but strength is our first
priority in terms of physical development.
The idea of young children lifting weights is still
controversial, with claims that lifting weights at an early
age will lead to stunted growth, fractured growth plates and
inflexibility as a result of becoming ‘musclebound’.
But none of these fears are borne out by the evidence: with
good coaching and qualified supervision there is actually a
very low risk of injury to children who participate in weight
training – in fact it is considerably lower than those of many
of the traditional team sports that are commonplace in our
schools.
Injuries that were sustained by children while weight training
generally come down to one factor: poor
supervision. When unsupervised the
chances of a young athlete attempting
to lift with poor technique or with too
much weight dramatically rises. It also
increases the chances of ‘horseplay’
in the weight room; not surprisingly,
the most common injuries to
children in the weight room are
a result of dropping weights on their own hands and feet.
Many parents still fear that lifting weights at an early age
will stunt a child’s growth; there has never been any scientific
evidence that youth weight training is harmful to the normal
growth and development process, but in fact youth weightlifters
commonly display higher than average bone density.
Weight training also helps young athletes develop strength.
After a two-year study, researchers compared the strength
of children who had lifted weights to those of the same
age who had participated only in games. Those in the
weightlifting group had gained significant strength compared
to the others, without any reports of significant injury.
Youth athletes who lift weights are also less likely to
sustain injuries in other sports in which they participate
and they also recover from injuries faster when
compared to teammates who don’t lift weights.
There’s much more to gain from school sports
than winning – here are some of the benefits
parents have told Roy Headey their children
gain from sports and physical activity
“We want them to have the experience of feeling so
tired when they are playing that they want to quit, but
don’t – because they can’t let their team-mates down.”
“The times they come home from school too tired to
go to their training, but they go anyway.”
“To learn to take care of their bodies and to look
after equipment.”
“To experience collaborating with others, to understand
that teams are bigger than individuals, to care about
others and to share.”
“To learn to be gracious – whether they win or lose.”
“To understand and respect rules – and the people
who are responsible for making sure they are upheld.”
“To learn there are no magical shortcuts to success and
that expertise takes years of practice. Also that failure is
an essential part of learning and not to be feared.”
“For life-long friendships and memories - for the sheer
joy they feel when they master a skill that once seemed
to them to be unattainable.”
Hampton Court House, Hampton Court Road, East Molesey, KT8 9BS hamptoncourthouse.co.uk 020 8943 0889
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