Training junior athletes

I am a very busy person, but wouldn't want it any other way! Working two casual jobs, training, full time uni and coaching junior athletes leaves little time to paint nails and navelgaze.

My coaching is very much done in blocks: I will just be emailing, getting athlete feedback, writing down notes etc for later stages of programs and adjusting things for a couple of months, and then I will have a sit down when a new block of program is due and be at the computer for a whole day figuring out how best to help each athlete. It's all state level stuff, but with hopes from these juniors to go and race hard at a national level in years to come.

But what I always find useful is differing opinions on junior athlete mentality and physiology.

Aldo Sassi has trained many champion athletes, and states that a VO2max of >70 (for males) is required for a champion. Is it true? Well there is a correlation, but there are many exceptions to this rule! he write some interesting things about junior athletes HERE. Granted, coaching a junior world cup road rider is quite different in training load to a state level xc mountain biker, but there are quite a few similarities as well!