Coach Campbell ( weight gain products )

I agree with Coach Campbell....a 15 year old taking weight gain supplements I think is unwise. A good, solid diet is the healthiest and most effective means to grow. I just think your inviting trouble by giving your approval to supplements...that could lead to truly risky things down the road. Just my opinion...pdow

I came away very impressed with the common sense approach of Dan Riley, the Texans head s&c coach after attending the Houston Texans coaching clinic this summer. You can find his team strength and conditioning manual which covers diet and nutritional supplements on their website. Just click on the fitness link on their homepage and look for manual. Coach Riley said this is the exact same info he provides Texan's players with. It is an interesting and thorough read.

I wouldn't recommend supplements at such a young age either. Maybe creatine once he reaches about 17 or 18. I took a lot of supplements when i was a freshman in high school, trying to find anything that would give me an added boost, so I could step up and play varsity. I believe I would have made the same gains in strength and size if I hadn't used anything but a properly balanced diet and a multi-vitamin. However, I now stand at 5-9. Both my brothers are over 6ft tall. 5-9 is average for the general population, but for a football player....people will always say i'm too short. I may play like i'm 6-2, 240, but I'll always be 5-9. It hurts to think that if I had grown to my brother's height (6-2) and with my build i'd be around 220-230 pretty easily what I could have done. My best and most natural position in high school was LB, but for college I was always projected as a SS. Indiana University recruited me to play SS for them, but LB really is a much better fit for me. I think that if I had reached my full height potential I could have went to a number of div 1 schools to play LB, and who knows maybe the NFL. But instead, I bought into the supplement company's advertisements and never really grew much after 14.

I will always swear by creatine, I think it is great, but only for those over the age of 18. I've had some great success with creatine!