Physical Preparation Podcast Archives - Robertson Training Systems

Dave Gleason on a Holistic and Well-Rounded Approach to Young Athlete Development

Nov 14, 2025

In this engaging discussion, veteran coach Dave Gleason shares insights from over 30 years in youth strength and conditioning. He highlights the challenges young athletes face today, including rising injury rates and the pressures of early specialization. Dave emphasizes the importance of recovery, fostering a positive relationship with fitness, and the need for holistic development. He also offers practical advice for parents and coaches to help athletes navigate their journeys, stressing that connection and individualized care are paramount in training.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Under-Recovered More Than Deconditioned

Young athletes today are often under-recovered rather than deconditioned due to year-round structured sports and screen-induced dysregulation.
Dave Gleason emphasizes sleep, hydration, nutrition, and emotional regulation as foundational controllables to reduce injury risk.

ADVICE

Start Each Session With An Informal Inventory

Meet athletes where they are and run a nonjudgmental informal inventory each session about sleep, food, and hydration.
Modify the session intensity based on that inventory instead of forcing a preset program.

ADVICE

Use 'No' To Protect Long-Term Development

Say no sometimes and give parents and athletes perspective to fight FOMO and burnout.
Encourage short rest periods (a week) when needed to preserve long-term development and enjoyment.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Do you have young athletes?

Work with young athletes?

Or just want to learn more about what young athletes are up against these days when it comes to their training, recovery and mindset?

If so, you’re going to love today’s episode with Dave Gleason!

Dave has been coaching young athletes for over 3 decades and is the former owner of one of the most recognized youth training facilities in the world.

He has worked with thousands of athletes ranging from the shy six-year-old to all-stars at the professional level.

Finally, he’s an acclaimed international presenter on coaching and youth fitness, and widely regarded as the fitness industry’s ‘go-to guy’ for coaching kids ages 6-14.

And in this episode, we’re going to talk about what kids are up against these days, and give you practical strategies to get them back on the right track!

Quotable Quotes:

I always feel like we’re right where we’re supposed to be in life, whether we realize it or not.

The comeback is always better than the setback; your injury doesn’t define you.

You’re not going to be able to help everyone, but you can help every ONE.

This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast:

Dave’s journey from D2 soccer player to renowned strength and conditioning coach.
What he’s seeing as a coach, and the issues his athletes are struggling with.
Navigating the balance between “FOMO” workouts and being under-recovered.
Why it’s so critical to help athletes develop a positive relationship with working out (and the weight room as a whole).
How Dave helps coaches and athletes better understand the high-pressure youth sports landscape.
Why he didn’t allow his son to specialize early in soccer, and the struggles that came along with that.
The power of helping athletes have a “positive exit” from sports.
Dave’s thoughts on how to build more resilient and robust athletes.
The role of curiosity and constantly asking questions during your journey.
How he helps athletes who have torn their ACL get back to 100% and feeling great again!

Connect with Dave:

Grow Your Fitness Business or Gym with Push Press!

Gym owners and coaches, have you heard about PushPress?

It’s the best gym management software company and it’s revolutionizing the fitness world.

So check this out: PushPress is built BY gym owners. They understand the ins and outs of running a fitness business because they’re “in the trenches” in their own gyms every single day.

Key products like Core, Grow, and Train are designed to help you with everything from billing and scheduling to lead generation and progress tracking.

Built on the “help first” ethos, PushPress places an exceptional focus on prioritizing client needs, listening to feedback from their community, and using it as the impetus for its ever-evolving, innovative features.

And here’s the strongest plug I can give them – I’ve actually switched to PushPress for all of my clients and athletes.

Getting things set-up and running smoothly is not only easier, but also far more intuitive than many other solutions.

So if you’re interested in learning more, just head over to pushpress.com/ppp.

Subscribe, Rate & Share

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Physical Preparation Podcast!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts and leave your honest review. I’d also love to connect via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit our website.

Thanks so much for your support – love and appreciate you!

The post Dave Gleason on a Holistic and Well-Rounded Approach to Young Athlete Development appeared first on Robertson Training Systems.