UPSHIFT Training Disclaimer
This disclaimer is part of the UPSHIFT Terms of Use. Please read it before you train with UPSHIFT. If you are under 18, read it with a parent or guardian.
In this document, "UPSHIFT", "we" and "us" mean [Operator legal name], the operator of the UPSHIFT app. "You" means the athlete using the app.
1. General information, not coaching or medical advice
UPSHIFT gives general training information for school-age athletes in Soccer, Football, Basketball, Track and Field and Baseball. It is not individual coaching, and it is not medical, physical therapy or nutrition advice.
UPSHIFT cannot see you. It cannot check your technique, your health, your growth, your equipment or where you train. Its suggestions are based only on the answers you give it, such as your sport, age band, experience, equipment and schedule. A coach, athletic trainer, physical therapist or doctor who knows you can give advice that UPSHIFT cannot.
2. Where the programs come from
UPSHIFT programs are original UPSHIFT programming. They are based on principles from published youth-training guidance. They are not copied from any published program, and the authors and organizations below have not reviewed, approved or endorsed UPSHIFT.
The guidance we used:
- S1: National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper (Faigenbaum et al., 2009).
- S2: Position statement on youth resistance training: the 2014 International Consensus (Lloyd et al., 2014).
- S3: NSCA Position Statement on Long-Term Athletic Development (Lloyd et al., 2016).
- S4: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Resistance Training for Children and Adolescents (Stricker et al., 2020).
- S5: AAP, Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes (Brenner, 2016).
- S6: AAP, Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Young Athletes (Brenner and Watson, 2024).
- S7: A systematic review: plyometric training programs for young children (Johnson, Salzberg and Stevenson, 2011).
- S8: Plyometric training effects on athletic performance in youth soccer athletes: a systematic review (Bedoya, Miltenberger and Lopez, 2015).
- For Baseball pitch-count reminders: MLB/USA Baseball Pitch Smart guidelines (mlb.com/pitch-smart/pitching-guidelines).
The programs have not been reviewed or approved by a coach. We may ask a qualified professional to review them in the future. If that happens, we will say so honestly in the app. Until then, do not treat any UPSHIFT program as coach-approved.
Guidance changes over time, and published guidance is written for general groups of young people, not for you personally.
3. Before you start
- Talk to a doctor first. Check with a doctor before you start UPSHIFT or make your training harder, especially if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, asthma, seizures, a recent injury or illness, or if a doctor has ever told you to limit exercise. Follow any sports physical or medical clearance your school or league requires.
- Under 18? Review this with a parent or guardian. The app asks you to confirm that you have done this. Your parent or guardian should know what you are training and how often.
4. Train within your ability
- Start easy, learn the movement first and add difficulty slowly.
- Never train through sharp pain, dizziness or exhaustion to finish a session.
- Rest days and lighter days are part of the plan. Skip or shorten a session when you are tired, sick or sore. Your team practices, games and other sports count as training too.
- Warm up before each session and use safe, suitable equipment and space.
- Recovery and readiness indicators in the app are estimates, not measurements of your body.
5. Supervision
- Weight-room work needs qualified supervision. Lifting with bars or weights, Olympic-style lifts and their variations, high-intensity jumping and anything the app marks as needing supervision should only be done with a qualified adult (for example, a certified strength and conditioning coach) supervising in person.
- The app asks whether a qualified coach supervises your loaded training. Only answer "yes" if that is true. If you answer "no", the app aims to suggest alternatives instead, but you are still responsible for not attempting work you are not supervised for.
- Do not attempt maximum lifts or "max-out" tests on your own.
6. If something hurts, stop
If you feel pain, stop the exercise. Rest, and tell a parent or guardian, your coach, an athletic trainer or a doctor. Do not continue just because the plan says so. Pain that keeps coming back, pain during normal activity or pain at rest needs to be checked by a professional.
UPSHIFT lets you report pain, and it then suggests rest instead of training. It does not diagnose injuries or give rehabilitation advice.
Emergencies: if you or someone else has chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, a head injury, or signs of heat illness, stop and get help immediately. Call your local emergency number.
7. Baseball pitch-count reminders
If you play Baseball, UPSHIFT can show reminders about pitch counts and rest days after pitching, based on the published youth pitching guidelines listed above. These are displayed reminders only. They are not medical rules and they do not guarantee your arm is ready. Pitch counts in the app are the numbers you enter yourself.
Always follow your league's pitching rules and your coach's instructions, even when they are stricter than the reminder. If your arm hurts, stop throwing and tell an adult.
8. Assumption of risk
Sport and exercise involve risk. Even when you train carefully, injuries can happen, including muscle strains, sprains, broken bones, overuse injuries, heat illness and, rarely, serious injury or death. By choosing to use UPSHIFT, you understand that these risks exist and that you decide whether, when and how hard to train. If you are under 18, your parent or guardian should understand these risks too.
9. Limitation of liability
To the extent permitted by law, [Operator legal name] is not responsible for injury, illness, loss or damage that results from using UPSHIFT's training information, from doing exercises without appropriate supervision, or from ignoring pain, medical advice or this disclaimer.
Nothing in this disclaimer excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under the law that applies to you. Your acceptance of this disclaimer is not a promise that you give up any right the law does not allow you to give up, and for athletes under 18 some of these terms may not apply in the same way. The "Limitation of liability" section of the Terms of Use also applies.
10. Changes and questions
We may update this disclaimer. When we change its version, the app asks you to read and accept it again before you continue training.
Questions: [contact email].