Youth Female Athlete Performance - How to Train Young Women (3 hrs)
Youth Female Athlete Performance
3 Hours CE/CPD | Online Course with Erica Suter
A practical course for coaches, therapists, trainers, and performance professionals working with young female athletes, focused on strength, speed, confidence, injury risk reduction, recovery, and long-term athletic development.
Youth Female Athlete Performance is presented by Erica Suter, former college and professional soccer player, Youth Speed, Agility, Strength, and Conditioning Coach, and author of The Strong Female Athlete.
This course provides a development-first framework for supporting young female athletes as complete individuals, helping professionals understand how physical development, movement quality, confidence, nutrition, recovery, and coaching environment all influence performance and wellbeing.
Course Overview
This 3-hour CE/CPD course explores the unique considerations involved in training and supporting young female athletes. Rather than focusing only on performance outcomes, the course emphasizes long-term development, athlete health, confidence, movement competency, and sustainable participation in sport.
Participants will examine how growth and maturation influence readiness for training, why confidence and athletic identity matter, how strength training can support resilience and performance, and how speed, power, landing mechanics, and change-of-direction skills can be developed progressively.
The course also addresses important health and recovery considerations, including energy availability, RED-S, menstrual health, hydration, sleep, workload management, and the importance of appropriate referral when concerns arise.
With video instruction, supporting written lessons, and an illustrated workbook, this course provides a practical and professionally relevant resource for those working with youth female athletes in coaching, rehabilitation, fitness, and performance settings.
What You Will Learn
| Topic | Professional Focus |
|---|---|
| Youth Female Athlete Development | Understand growth, maturation, biological age, individual variability, and long-term development pathways. |
| Confidence and Athletic Identity | Support confidence, motivation, self-efficacy, athlete retention, and healthy sport participation. |
| Strength Training | Apply principles of movement quality, progressive overload, resistance training, and long-term strength development. |
| Speed, Power, and Movement Efficiency | Develop sprint mechanics, jumping, landing, deceleration, change of direction, and transferable athletic movement skills. |
| Injury Risk Reduction | Explore ACL risk factors, neuromuscular control, landing mechanics, workload management, movement screening, and practical prevention strategies. |
| Female Athlete Health | Recognize the importance of energy availability, menstrual health, RED-S awareness, hydration, sleep, and recovery. |
Course Content / Modules
The course is structured around seven practical learning areas that support a complete, development-first approach to youth female athlete performance.
| Module Area | Focus |
|---|---|
| Understanding the Young Female Athlete | Growth, maturation, physical and psychological development, individual variability, and realistic expectations. |
| Confidence, Competence, and Athletic Identity | Building confidence, improving self-efficacy, supporting motivation, and creating positive training environments. |
| Strength Training for Young Female Athletes | Movement quality, resistance training, progressive overload, technique before load, and resilient athlete development. |
| Speed, Power, and Movement Efficiency | Sprint mechanics, jumping, landing, deceleration, change-of-direction skill, and athletic movement transfer. |
| Injury Prevention and the Female Athlete | ACL risk awareness, neuromuscular control, landing mechanics, overuse injuries, workload management, and movement screening. |
| Nutrition, Recovery, and Female Athlete Health | Energy availability, RED-S, Female Athlete Triad awareness, menstrual health, hydration, sleep, and sustainable habits. |
| Coaching for Long-Term Success | Communication, parent relationships, performance monitoring, goal setting, athlete autonomy, and long-term development. |
Who This Course Is For
This course is suitable for strength and conditioning coaches, sports coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, physiotherapists, physical therapist assistants, massage and manual therapists, Doctors of Chiropractic, exercise professionals, rehabilitation professionals, and sports medicine practitioners working with youth female athletes.
It is especially relevant for professionals who want to support athletic performance while also understanding growth, maturation, confidence, injury risk reduction, nutrition, recovery, menstrual health, and long-term athlete development.
About the Instructor
Erica Suter is a former college and professional soccer player and a highly respected Youth Speed, Agility, Strength, and Conditioning Coach. Based in Tampa, Florida, Erica has spent more than a decade helping young athletes develop strength, speed, confidence, resilience, and long-term athletic performance.
Known online as the Fit Soccer Queen, Erica is the author of The Strong Female Athlete, a book drawing on both science and personal experience to present a new approach for helping young female athletes reduce injury risk and optimize performance.
Erica earned her Master's degree in Exercise Science and Sports Performance Enhancement from Johns Hopkins University. She also holds several respected credentials, including a USSF “C” License, NSPA Certified Speed and Agility Coach certification, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification.
Included With This Course
| Included | Details |
|---|---|
| CE/CPD Hours | 3 Hours CE/CPD |
| Video Classes | Online video tutorials presented by Erica Suter. |
| Course Workbook | Illustrated workbook supporting the course content and professional learning experience. |
| Companion Course | Structured lessons reinforcing assessment, treatment reasoning, and rehabilitation principles |
| Lesson Quizzes | Knowledge checks designed to reinforce learning throughout the course |
| Online Exam and Certification | Online multiple-choice exam and certificate issued upon successful completion. |
| Lifetime Access | Study online at your own pace and revisit the course materials whenever required. |
CE Finder
This course has been approved for continuing education by numerous professional boards and associations worldwide. Scroll sideways to find your board or association.
Approvals Listed: 8
CE Broker Provider: #20-1343928
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Approval requirements can change. Please confirm acceptance with your own board, association, employer, or regulatory authority before registration.
Youth Female Athlete Performance
Professional Reviews & Feedback
The reviews below represent feedback provided by students and practitioners through Trustpilot, Google Reviews, and Judge.me.
“Erica Suter provides a fresh and practical perspective on training female athletes. The course was both informative and highly relevant.”
“The material helped me better understand the unique considerations involved in coaching and supporting female athletes.”
“I appreciated the focus on long-term athletic development rather than simply chasing short-term performance outcomes.”
“The course challenged several assumptions I had about female athletic training and gave me practical strategies I can use immediately.”
“Erica’s coaching experience shines through in every lesson. The content felt grounded in real-world practice.”
“The discussions around strength development and athletic confidence were particularly valuable.”
“This course gave me a much clearer framework for working with adolescent and collegiate female athletes.”
“The training examples were practical and easy to adapt across different sports and ability levels.”
“I found the emphasis on movement quality, resilience, and injury reduction especially useful.”
“A thoughtful course that blends sports performance with athlete wellbeing and long-term development.”
“The content helped me better understand how to communicate and coach female athletes more effectively.”
“Erica explains complex training concepts in a straightforward way that coaches and therapists can immediately understand.”
“The course reinforced the importance of individualisation rather than relying on generic training templates.”
“A very engaging course. I came away with practical ideas for improving performance while supporting athlete health.”
“The sections on strength training and athletic development were particularly well presented.”
“This course broadened my perspective on female athlete development and highlighted areas I had not previously considered.”
“I appreciated how the course balanced performance goals with practical coaching and rehabilitation considerations.”
“The examples felt realistic and relevant to the athletes I work with every day.”
“Erica presents with energy and credibility. The course held my attention from beginning to end.”
“A worthwhile course for anyone involved in performance, rehabilitation, or athlete development.”
