Youth Fitness & Development Programs
Empower Your Young Athlete
Give your child, middle-schooler, or teenager the confidence to tackle whatever the world throws at them through fitness and development.
Our Empower Youth Fitness Programs in Vancouver are designed to develop strong, adaptable, resilient athletes with superior physical literacy. These programs are designed to meet the neurological and physiological needs of the each respective age group. Because these functional fitness movements are scalable, the athletes can safely train at their level.
Whether your child is just starting their fitness journey, is playing sports at a recreational level or is an experienced elite athlete, our programs will help them excel.
In the gym your young athlete will develop self-awareness, discipline, focus and perseverance that will help them overcome obstacles outside the gym. We want to help create a passion for fitness that your child will carry with them throughout their lives.
Group Classes, Small Group Training, and 1:1 Coaching for Youth
Choose from any of the following programs or call for a custom option
For athletes aged 13-17
Varsity
Ages: 13-17
Prerequisites: Prior assessment
Start date: Monthly
Our Varsity program includes all weight lifting movements, gymnastics and metabolic conditioning. All weights are scaled appropriately to the correct stimulus and intensity for the athlete. We work on injury prevention and strong core conditioning in addition to providing a positive confidence building environment.
Prerequisites: Coach assessment and approval to ensure you can transition to Varsity classes safely and easily. One-to-one coaching sessions are available if needed to set you up for success in this program.
Register now and we'll arrange for an assessment at a time convenient for you prior to joining class.
For athletes aged 8-12
Junior Varsity
Ages: 8-12
Prerequisites: None
Start date: Monthly
The Junior Varsity group learns all the foundational movements of CrossFit. This includes weight lifting, gymnastics and metabolic conditioning. The PVC pipe is an excellent tool for teaching complex movements like clean and jerks without load until the athlete is ready to handle a barbell. If you stop by during class time you might see us playing games like shoulder tap cone grab or tabata hot potato hollow holds. These games help develop the smaller stabilizing muscles as well as make it fun so the kids work hard without realizing it!
Prerequisites: none at this time. All youth athletes welcome. Athletes who have participated in Junior Varsity can graduate to Varsity level when they age up.
For young athletes on an alternative education path
Homeschool PE
Ages: 9-17
Prerequisites: None
Start date: Next session starts January 8
Homeschool PE is a CrossFit-based program that incorporates cardio, strength training, and gymnastics movements for complete body conditioning. All weights are scaled appropriately to the correct stimulus and intensity for the athlete.
We work on injury prevention and strong core conditioning in addition to providing a positive confidence-building environment. Best of all, we have fun doing it, by incorporating partner workouts and games.
For families who want to train and have fun together
Family Fit
Ages: 8-108
Prerequisites: None
Start date: TBD
Family Fit is a fun, six-week program that's designed for families to train together. Any combination of children, parents, and caregivers can participate.
Classes have a combination of movements that include strength and conditioning, core work and, most importantly, a whole lot of fun. Families can work together to complete workouts or sometimes they might compete against each other!
For teams between seasons
Team Training
Ages: 9-18
Prerequisites: None
Start date: Let's talk!
Empower offers dryland training for teams that are coming off the ice, out of the pool or are in between seasons. Bring your team in for strength and conditioning sessions and set them up for success when they return to sport.
Talk to Coach Barb to set up a training program for your team.
For all athletes aged 8-17
Youth Personal Training
Ages: 8-17
Prerequisites: None
Start date: Let's talk!
Our Youth Personal Training program is custom built to support the needs of your athlete. These custom programmed sessions can be built to support youth athletes in specific sports with a focus on strengthening, injury prevention, and injury recovery.
Personal training can be done 1:1 or in small groups (1:2, 1:3, 1:4, etc.) so kids can train with their friends.
Whether the group class time doesn’t fit your schedule, your athlete works better one-on-one, or your elite athlete is looking for more specific training, we are here to help meet those needs.
Youth Fitness Program Calendar
Coach Barb Shares Her Insights on Empowering Youth Athletes
Youth Sports Performance
This coming Saturday, Empower Youth will be attending the 2025 Family Day Winter Classic for the U7-U9 Vancouver Thunderbirds. I am grateful to have this opportunity to be out there to talk about sports performance training and how our organization can help their youth athletes.
Youth sports performance training has become a key focus for young athletes looking to improve their skills, build strength, and reduce the risk of injuries. Instead of just playing the game, more and more kids are engaging in specialized training programs designed to help them excel in their chosen sport. This type of training, which we offer at Empower, goes beyond the basic drills and involves a well-rounded approach that focuses on enhancing speed, agility, strength, flexibility, and coordination. It’s not about turning kids into pros too soon; it’s about helping them develop a solid foundation so they can grow into strong, capable athletes.
Teen Varsity Youth Athlete working on Rope Climbs.
The benefits of youth sports performance training are numerous. For one, it can help young athletes avoid injuries by teaching proper movement techniques and promoting the development of muscles and joints that are often underused. Plus, it helps them become more efficient in their sport by improving their power and endurance, which can give them an edge on the field, court, or track.
What's great about this type of training is that it's tailored to a kid’s developmental stage and needs. Our coaches work on building fundamental skills first and gradually increase the intensity as the athlete matures. They might also incorporate sport-specific drills to ensure that the training is directly applicable to the athlete's game. Beyond physical improvements, sports performance training also boosts mental toughness and confidence, helping young athletes to stay focused under pressure and push through challenging moments.
In the end, youth sports performance training is all about helping kids reach their full potential, stay injury-free, and most importantly, have fun while doing it!
But what about over-training? For youth athletes, dryland training or extra training can be really helpful, but it’s important to strike a balance. The general rule is that they should aim for about 2–3 sessions per week of dryland work or extra training. This can vary depending on whether they are in-season, pre-season or post-season from sport. This helps build strength, flexibility, and endurance without overloading their bodies.
Junior Varsity athlete working on her KB Deadlift
It's essential to keep in mind that young athletes are still developing, so too much intense training can lead to burnout or even injury. The key is to focus on quality over quantity. If they’re doing a sport that requires a lot of physical movement, dryland training can complement their sport by targeting muscles that might not be used as much during practice.
It’s also good to keep the training varied—mix in mobility, strength, conditioning, and agility drills to keep things interesting and cover all bases. Most importantly is REST. Youth athletes need to recover to allow their muscles to rebuild and grow stronger. As long as they’re maintaining a healthy balance between training, rest, and sleep, dryland training can be a great tool for improving performance in their sport!
If you have a youth athlete that is interested in doing sports performance training, you can contact Coach Barb (barb@empowereverybody.com) for more information.
Check out our current youth training opportunities at Empower Youth Fitness and Development.
See you at the gym!
-OG
Thursday Workout
Updates from Timberwolf
H:00 - 02 Intro (2-3 min)
H:03 - 06 General warm up (6 min)
Shoulder
Shoulder Screws: Shoulder Screws
Pinwheel
Chest Stretch
The Greatest Stretch + Hamstring Stretch
Inchworm with pushup - 8 reps
H: 06 - 14 Tech (8 min)
Points of performance and progressions
Then, find a partner and build up your weight
Starting from the Thruster weight, power clean and then DL
Find your gymnastics station and prepare for your progression
H: 14 - 50 (36 min)
For time:
30 handstand push-ups
30 deadlifts
30 ring dips
30 power cleans
30 pull-ups
30 thrusters
♀ 155-lb deadlifts, 95-lb cleans, 65-lb thrusters
♂ 225-lb deadlifts, 135-lb cleans, 95-lb thrusters
*Do not spend more than 6 min at each station
**Also meaning you can work on movements that you are struggling with for up to 6 min.
The Chief practicing on the rings. Next up Ring Dips
About Coach Barb
Coach Barb (aka. Coach OG) is passionate about creating a community of kids growing together in sports. In her programs, she teaches youth self-advocacy and boosts their self-esteem, skills that they can take with them outside of the gym into their day-to-day lives. Barb also has a teen mentorship program, where she builds the athletic and leadership skills of young athletes by leading them in the role of assistant coach.
Barb believes that training youth athletes can set them up for a lifetime of fitness. She’s a big kid at heart and loves nothing more than empowering young athletes to be the best they can be.
You can learn more about Coach Barb here.
Infusing Students With a Belief in Themselves
"While Coach Barb’s knowledge and enthusiasm are immediately apparent, it is her unique way of connecting with young people that really sets her apart. Not only does she keep them engaged and interested, but her calm confidence in their abilities infuses them with a belief in themselves. Thanks to Coach Barb’s support, we have seen our teenage son push towards accomplishments he might otherwise avoid. And he loves every minute of it!"
-Chris H.
Transformed Athletic Ability
"My children attend ELEV8 and Varsity classes with Barb (Coach OG). For my younger son, working with Barb has transformed his athletic ability. Barb is an intuitive coach who has supported him in gaining his confidence in the gym and this has transferred to school as well. Both kids look forward to attending their classes!"
-Carmine S.
Empower
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