At Depth, we pride ourselves on getting results with our athletes to help them achieve their training and sport performance goals. In order to get results we rely on our assessment, individualized programming, results monitoring, and elite level coaching.

So what does ‘individualized programming’ mean for the athletes here at Depth?

Individualized programming means providing an age appropriate training program which considers a number of individual factors such as:

  1. Chronological Age: 

    Based on their date of birth.

  2. Maturational Age: 

    Based on their height, weight and development level relative to their age.

  3. Training Age: 

    Based on their past training experience and skill level in the gym (ie. are they a beginner, have a few months of training experience or multiple years of training experience?).

  4. Current Injury Concerns: 

    Not all athletes who arrive to start training are healthy and many are dealing with small injury concerns we want to be aware of before we develop their program.

  5. Past Injury Concerns: 

    We want to know if they’ve had any serious or chronic injuries in the past which may not only effect their training program but also their movement efficiency, performance potential and future injury risk.

  6. Sport or Sports (many athletes compete in multiple sports): 

    Every sport can bring an elevated risk for certain injuries so we want to include corrective and (hopefully) preventative exercise strategies in their training program, for example:

    1. Hockey – hip flexor/groin overuse injuries, AC joint shoulder injuries, MCL sprains, low back injuries.
    2. Soccer – knee injuries, ACL injuries, ankle sprains, groin and hip flexor overuse injuries, Achilles tendon and calf injuries While all sports require a common set of athletic skill and ability, each sport brings with it specific performance demands which need to be accounted for.
    3. As a general rule, the older and more advanced the athlete is in their sport the more specific to their sport the training program will be. Younger athletes (early high school, high school athletes new to a sport) require more general training strategies to improve their competence in all athletic skills and abilities to help provide them with more physical potential when specialized training begins (generally late high school).
  7. Playing position: 

    Sometimes, but not always, the playing position will influence exercise prescription in the training program as in some sports (football is a good example) the physical demands between playing positions can differ tremendously. Generally this is a strategy used for more advanced athletes who are specializing in their sport or playing at the University/Professional level.

  8. Athlete Physical Screening and Performance Assessment Results: 

    At Depth we recommend our High School Athletes complete an individualized physical assessment which helps us to further individualize their training program by taking a closer look at their current physical function and performance capacity. Our assessment process involves 2 components:

    1. Physical Screening – this is completed by one of our rehabilitation professionals (Registered Physiotherapist or Doctor of Chiropractic) and involves a comprehensive assessment of muscle, bone and joint function; movement efficiency and movement quality.
      1. This part of the screening helps us to identify how efficient the athlete is in their athletic movement quality so we can program specific exercises to address any areas of concern.
      2. Improving the efficiency of the athletes movement quality will also greatly contribute to our ability to improve their effectiveness (their ability to be strong, fast, powerful and well-conditioned).
    2. Performance Assessment – this is completed by one of our High-Performance Athlete Coaches and involves a specific battery of performance tests which allow us to assess their current performance related to specific strength, power, speed, agility and endurance qualities.
      1. This part of the assessment allows us to identify how effective the athlete is at producing strength, power, speed and endurance.
      2. Our testing battery is specific to the age, development level, injury history and sport of each athlete.
      3. This allows us to provide feedback to the athlete on their current performance ability and helps us establish baseline performance goals which can be used to measure training success.

In summary, individualized programming is specific, comprehensive, and designed to develop each and every athlete at Depth.  It follows a scientific process that we continually improve and build to meet the demands of each athlete, sport and if required, injuries.

At Depth we have put together a team of professionals capable of collecting, analyzing and implementing important information for each athlete into a training program which get RESULTS.

When you combine this individualized programming with our educated coaching staff and a high-energy, growth mindset environment it is no wonder why our athletes have success in our programs.

Experience the DEPTH DIFFERENCE when it comes to your sport specific training by contacting [email protected].


Written by: Justin Brooks, Director of Athletic Development, Registered Physiotherapist