When I was young, I used to be very active in joining school athletics and I would even volunteer to represent my small hometown in our amateur football league. It was through this sport that I developed a lot of confidence in myself and in my skills. I also met a lot of people and made so many new friends in the process.
Now that I have kids of my own, it's always been my goal to let them experience the joy of being engaged in sports. Sadly, however, it seems that youth sports has changed so much already. I believe this is the reason why many parents are very frustrated with today's athlete development.
The methods used by children today who want to succeed in sports are actually not developing young kids the way they should. To make matters worse, the path that many children are being made to follow isn't the path to best develop an athlete.
My goal here is to make you, whether you're a parent or a young athlete, aware of the common misconceptions or myths surrounding athlete development of the youth. By having this knowledge, you may be able to know for yourself if you or your child is on the right path towards development.
#1 - Children must specialize in a particular sport as early as possible for them to play college or pro sports
The problem about this belief about sports development is that it takes for granted the several important aspects of athletic development, such as coaching, genetics, motivation, and enjoyment.
According to studies, early specialization has a lot to do with high injury rates, high dropout and burnout rates, and even various identity and psychological issues. That's why talent development programs in college and professional sports these days are putting more importance on how an athlete is developed, and not only on what an athlete can do.
#2 - In sports, winning is all that matters
There's nothing wrong with winning, of course, because we all want to be winners. And in developing a young athlete, it's important that he or she be taught how to win. The idea of always having to win becomes a problem, however, when children are not taught about the more important things than winning a game.
Part of any development program is to help the youth develop the right mindset and attitude towards a game or sport. Young athletes need to understand that being out there playing is just as important as winning. They need to know that following the rules is just as important as winning. And they have to understand that being given the opportunity to play and be part of the game is sometimes more important than the result of the game. This is what long term development is all about.
If you truly want your child to succeed in youth sports, you've got to be more concerned about how they approach the game, their attitudes towards the game, and how they are physically, mentally, and emotionally developing through the sport.
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