26 Aug 2026

8 things all pre-teen athletes should be doing

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🥇 The Athlete Development Journal

Simple solutions for complex athletic problems.

For the full story, listen to this episode on your way to practice. ⬇️

You can also listen on ​Spotify​ or ​Apple Podcasts​.

If you just want the quick-hitters, you can read the summaries below. ⬇️

What’s going on at GT?

From our athletes:

  • Paige Sansonetti broad jumped 6′ 3″, did 2 chin-ups, ran a 1.59 sec X/10 Fly, and jumped an 8’9.5″ 2-foot approach vert.
  • Rocco Bompiani hit a 34.6″ Vert.
  • Eric Guiser (my dad) ran a 5.5 sec 40-yd dash and hit 21 reps of 405 on Trap Bar Deadlift at 59 years old!
  • Ryan Group battled back from a pulled hamstring 2 months before the combine and performed really well in all events, including the 2nd most BB Bench Press reps of 225 lbs.

In our business:

  • We’re on to our fall schedule!

Physical deep dive: 8 things all pre-teen athletes should be doing.

  1. Challenge the vestibular and proprioceptive systems.
  2. Crawl and climb.
  3. Skip, bound, and move in all types of new ways.
  4. Jump on and over things.
  5. Race people, chase people, and evade people.
  6. Hit the major strength movements.
  7. Train the core like an athlete.
  8. Isolate vulnerable/weak structures.

What’s going on in my life?

  • Grace crushed her first big-girl gymnastics class and starts tee-ball next week!
  • Evie’s starting soccer soon!
  • I’ve started training for an “Athletic Hour.” In October, I want to:
    • Run a 3.15 sec 3/4 Court Sprint,
    • dunk a basketball,
    • Trap Bar Deadlift 500 lbs,
    • and run a sub-24-minute 5k in the same hour.

Mental deep dive: Are you playing the right game in life?

Life is an infinite game.

Each career you choose is a different game.

Most people make the mistake of choosing the game solely based on the reward or end stage of that game.

They choose career X because it’s moderately more predictable and well-paying than career Y.

But there’s something missing there.

Each game has a set of rules and processes that are inextricably tied to it. That’s what you’re going to spend the bulk of your time doing.

If career X is moderately better-paying than career Y, but the rules of career Y are exponentially more in line with your values, strengths, and preferences, wouldn’t career Y be the better choice?

Let’s wrap it up with a couple of important things…

  1. This newsletter and podcast are completely free. I spend many hours each week researching, writing, illustrating, recording, editing, and uploading. The best way you can support them and allow them to continue is to share them with people you know. You can just send them to ​gtperformance.co/newsletter​ and they can subscribe there!
  2. Everything in these newsletters and podcasts, on social media, and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.

Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about athlete development!

Go be great out there,

Zach

Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS