Introduction

For my FPQ project I have picked the question what does a teenage American football player
do to become professional? The reason I have picked this title is because I have always
wanted to be a professional athlete and have inspired to work in a similar direction too that.
The reason I picked the sport American football is partly because I have spent a lot of my life
in America and have enjoyed all the sports they play there, but the knowledge of American
sports in the uk is very faint.
Lastly, one thing I have always wondered about, is what does a teenage athlete do to go from
a semiprofessional athlete to a professional athlete.
In this essay I will be talking about what’s best for people around my age group (14-16) I will
be talking about strength and conditioning, speed, footwork, mentality, technique, and health.

Health
Does wight lifting have a damaging effect on your growth?

A big question many parents have been asking is does wight lifting have a bad effect on a
teenager growth? To answer that, it does not, Andrew Lay a Physiotherapist states that
“Strength training does not injure the growth plates of bones and does not limit the general
growth of teenagers.” This is true but incorrect technique of weightlifting can result in serious
semipermanent or permanent injury having a major effect on your life.

On the other hand, working out in your teenage years responsibly can have some major
benefits. Such as encouraging healthy habits and staying healthy. Andrew lay a
Physiotherapist supports this stating “general physical performance and reduces sports-
related injury risk in adolescents”1 furthermore he states, “Those who have positive early
experiences in physical education are much more likely to have better life-long physical
activity and may improve long-term health and fitness.” From this it proves that
weightlifting in teenage years can be beneficial.

Technique and routine

But know that we know that weightlifting is safe for teenagers, the next thing we need to
know is how many times should a teenager be weightlifting a week? Well Kids health a
reliable website which specialises in whats and whats not safe for kids or teenager's states
1
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3810/psm.2011.02.1854
that “For best results, do strength exercises for at least 20–30 minutes 2 or 3 days per week
and take at least a day off between sessions”.2
To add on Michael Behringer, a sports scientist states that “It has previously been reported
that children and adolescents show faster recovery between sets of resistance training”3. from
this it shows that 1–2-minute intervals between weightlifting sets can maximise muscle
growth and repair. To add on he also states that “It has previously been reported that low-
intensity high-repetition protocols produce larger strength gains”4. This means that if you
lower the weight, it reduces the chances of over straining your muscles and injuring yourself
and it also mean that you can increase the muscle mass gained.

Strength and conditioning

One of the biggest specks of any professional or semiprofessional athlete’s career is their
workout routine. Now to be able to see improvement in the sport American football you must
factor in the following speed, strength, and footwork.

Speed
Speed in American football is one of the biggest aspects, and if you are not fast enough then
you will not be able to exceed in the sport. To think about speed, its how much force you put
into the ground So, to increase your speed you are going to need to improve the muscles
which are used when sprinting and putting force in the ground. These muscles are the

2
https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/strength-training.html#:~:text=For%20best%20results%2C%20do%20strength,a
%20day%20off%20between%20sessions.
3
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0205525
4
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0205525
Hamstring, calfs, and quads. To incorporate all the muscles said you can factor in some
plyometrics work such as box jumps, depth jumps, and squat jumps. If you want to target the
muscles individually do Nordic curls and Romaine deadlift for hamstring, if you want to
target calves do dumbbell calf raises, and lastly if you want to target quads do front barbell
squats and leg extensions.

Strength
The next most important thing in football is the strength because when your running people
are going to pushing you around and you are going to have to be able to resist and carry on
running. But to be able to stop this from happening you are going to know what muscle to
exercise. On the physical side of football, the muscles that you are going to want to work on
are going to be chest for pushing and blocking, back for pulling and lifting, shoulders for
tackling, and arms for catching and throwing. So, to be able to gain the most muscle mass
possible you are going to want to do 3-4 sets with low intensity high reps and have a 1–2-
minute intervals between, this is the best practical way to gain muscle mass.

Footwork
Lastly one of the things that can stop you from becoming D1 is your footwork because in a
game if the player knows were you you are going you have already lost the game. So, to be
able to perform better you are going to need to find the muscles that help with footwork
which are Calfs, and ankles. To train these you are going to calf raises for your calf’s and
kettle bell toe raises for the ankles. you are also going to need to do some footwork drills for
these drills you are going to need a ladder and do the drills shown on the picture. Try to
repeat these exercises as much as possible for best results.

Dietary requirements
Many athletes agree when you say that the diet is one of the biggest factors in any athletes'
career because it can affect their weight, strength, and their muscle mass. But to be able to see
a difference you are going to know how many calories you need a day, how much protein
you’ll need per pound of body wight, and wether you should be in a calorie deficit or calorie
surplus. To know what is best for you you need to know how heavy you are, and you can do
this by finding out how much body weight is in every inch of your height which is an average
of “5 pounds in every inch”5. Once you find out wether your over or under your average
weight you can gain weight by adding on 200-300 calories to your daily calorific intake but if
you are trying to loose weight you are going to have to remove 200-300 calories from your
daily calorific intake.

5
https://support.sas.com/resources/papers/proceedings10/193-2010.pdf
Mental toughness
If a teenager was to change from a semi-professional level to a professional level there would
be a significant difference, as the competition will be mentally dedicated to being the best out
of everyone and you would have to keep up with that. But to be able to change your mental
attitude you would have to know what brain muscle gives you that mental endurance and
strength is the prefrontal cortex, this muscle is shown down below.

To be able to train this muscle you will not need weights, the only thing you need is a quite
room with no distractions as it has been scientifically proven that “The prefrontal cortex is
activated and strengthened through mindfulness”6. National Institutes of Health also says that
mindfulness can help with “functions like cognition, self awareness, and self control”7.

Conclusion
In conclusion becoming a professional athlete is not just being good at the sport, it can
require dedication to becoming the best, mentality such as not letting anyone get inside your
head, resilience such as never giving up. Furthermore, it also requires the correct technique in
the gym and on the game field to prevent injuries, and lastly becoming a professional athlete
can factor in a good healthy balanced diet that gives you everything your body needs for
growth and repair.

6
https://corporate.britishcouncil.org/insights/neuroscience-resilience-strengthening-mental-fitness-wellbeing-
workplace#:~:text=Cultivate%20mindfulness%20to%20build%20resilience&text=Fact%20%232%3A%20The
%20prefrontal%20cortex,and%20connection%20to%20our%20feelings.&text=Guided%20meditations.
7
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10026337/#:~:text=Although%20there%20is
%20diversity%20in,memory%20and%20reduce%20psychological%20symptoms.
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