What We Can Do Better for Youth Sports

Early-specialization has been one of the biggest culprits in the tarnishing of youth sports culture in this country. The negative issues that spawn with many youth sports originates in three things (there are probably more) in my opinion:

1.) The over-involvement of parents.

We look at some individual cases of certain athletes like a Tiger Woods, and parents feel their children are the next meal-ticket, even if it is not what's best for the child. What would be better than playing a sport for one season a year? Play it for all seasons in the year. Parents are under the false assumptions that the more a child practices and plays a sport, and only that one sport, the better they will be at that sport. Many of us already understand that a child performing one sport, year-round, has a higher likelyhood of causing:

1. Mental burn-out from a lack of variety in activities and year-round training for multiple years.
2. Missed opportunities of social development, physical preparation, and other extra-curricular activities.
3. Compensation patterns and increase injury rates from the lack of variety in motor-skill development.

2.) The emphasis is on the outcome instead of the process.

When coaches and parents are looking for championships and concerned with wins and losses, they avoid the daily lessons that can be taught every day. The ability to work with others, depend on teammates, have someone else count on you, and suffer through adversity and overcome obstacles are invaluable benefits of team sports. Listen, if your child is going to remember (and care about) their youth basketball record when they were 8 years old, probably not going to have a fulfilling life. If you are a parent bragging that your son was the leading scorer on his soccer team when he was 9 years old, I feel bad for you. Do I need to explain why?

3.) Anyone having a remote clue of LTAD.

Some people get it. Some coaches and parents actually understand the mulit-year process of why systematically developing motor skills and the broad exposure to multiple activities is so important. Specializing in one activity (even if you think it's a "general" activity) is detrimental in physical and emotional development. The pool of activities for athletic success can be exponentially large, so mastery of any is difficult and inadvisable (because it's unnecessary) at such a young age.

Bottom Line
The thought of kids quitting sports in order to focus on just one, or even worse "competitive exercising" is extremely disappointing to me. Here are some example of individuals who are hurting the kids they are influencing:

1. Any travel, sport, youth, or high school coach who has made the experience for their kids about ONLY winning and not about becoming better people.

2. Any sport coaches that talks a kid into quitting another sport to concentrate on theirs. It should be the kids's decision (with guidance from their parents).

3. Any parent who fails to see the value in team sports and does everything they can to use sports to live vicariously through them. Don't steal the spotlight, parents.

Overall, here are a few ideas, including some valuable research and resources dealing with youth sports.

The More Games You Play, the Worse You Get

Well, maybe not exactly. There is no replacement for game experience. Any coach who had to start a freshman will understand that. This is the whole reason why High School and D3 schools have JV games in most sports. 

At the same time, when talking about most youth sports and even up to the collegiate level; the more you play games the worse you can get.

Let me explain.

Youth travel team or club sports have become more showcases than actual opportunities for development. It becomes  a war of attrition. If your son or daughter can survive the weekend tournament, they may be noticed.

Youth soccer players will play as many  games as possible over the course of a tournament weekend. It becomes a matter of survival and we wonder why injuries are so high. Research has shown, that non-contact ACL and soft tissue injuries soccer at a higher rate directly correlated to the amount of games being played. This can be due to fatigue, dehydration, or just extended exposure to competition. 

Sports like baseball and softball are dependent on the weather and make-up games and could mean 5 double headers in 6 days. For certain positions like a catcher or softball pitcher, this could mean an extended amount of wear and tear. For a little league right-fielder, their only in danger of dying from boredom.

Seasons are longer, less kids play multiple sports, and everything is a tournament. Go to a basketball camp and you are placed on a team and coaches watch you play. Skill development is an after thought and sometimes only added due to NCAA regulations mandated an "instructional component". The AAU or High School coach just wants to play games and the kids would rather play as opposed to go through drills.

Here's the Problem
So, for the soccer player: Let's say you've played 4 games of the course of a tournament in 2 days. most games won't be 90 minutes but still, it's 4 games. Now, how much running have those young athletes done in those 4 games. How fatigued are they? Are they just in survival mode by game 4? Maybe, maybe not. 

Now, how many touches have each of those kids had over the course of 4 games? Enough to really get better? How many touches would they have if they were playing small sided games, without keeping score, while being as creative as possible. In other words, unstructured play in it's purest form.

Let's look at softball or baseball. Some colleges will play back to back double headers on Saturday and Sunday. Some bigger schools may do Friday, Saturday, Sunday with maybe 2 on Saturday. Regardless, out of innings,(which could be two 7s and two 9s or even 3 nines), How many live pitches will each batter see? How many balls will each player really get to field over the course of 4 games. Depending on position and the pitching, they may see 1-2 balls hit to them all game. Is that enough to get better? Add a mandatory day off and make-up games; practices are few and far between.

In terms of specific skill of an infielder, how much better would a little league player get by throwing a ball of his garage and catching the "grounder as opposed to playing in a game?

Last scenario, let's look at the young basketball player. If it's a high school team camp, they will spend most of the time running their offense and some coaches will simplify things be running a zone defense due to eliminating some match-up problems. Remember, there is a difference between tactical and technical preparedness. 

Again, how many touches will each kid get? Most important, can you really tell if a kid can defend during some of these tournaments. Good coaches can see the potential, but players need to defend one-on-one. Team defense is different than the skill development of defending one-on-one. Remember, there is a difference between skill, ability, and talent.

What's the all mean
My only advice to coaches and parents is to understand the difference between developing skill and showcasing it. Not saying games are not good for learning the game, exposing kids to adversity, and all of the other attributes of playing team sports in the first place. But, nothing takes the place of repetition in sports, nothing. 

The secret may just be:

1. High Repetition of Skills 
- Take 30 shots on goal per day
- Swing a bat 100 times per day
- Shoot 50 free throws per day

2. Small Sided Games
- smaller field, close quarter games
- Infield/ Outfield only situational
- 1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3

3. Unstructured play
- Pick-up games, raquetball court, 4 on 3, etc
- Run-down, pepper, wall ball
- pick-up games, 33, 1on1on1, etc.

Not saying I have the answers, but I have been involved at many levels of a variety of sports for a long time. I am not sure you can deny that youth, high school, and even college athletes are forced to play so many games while practice times (skill development) is reduced drastically (especially in the off-season in college).

In today's youth and scholastic sports climate, the level of talent has improved, but the skill development has not. Bold and vague statement, I know, but it is hard for me to deny. In addition, the ability of young athletes have gotten better, but the physical development is still lagging (although it is catching up.)

Like Dan John has said. "Kids today are overconditioned and undertrained." I agree and can say with as much as they play and as little as they train and practice... it makes sense.

Changing the Game and Growing Leaders

Facebook is usually an abyss of self-promotion, misinformation, and people pushing their agendas. Most people mindlessly share articles and information without even knowing what they are sharing.

Having been a coach for as long as I have, most of my colleagues are still in coaching. Coaches by nature, usually only share things that are relevant to them and other coaches. Recently, two of my colleagues shared a few articles on a hot topic of mine. The state of Youth Sports. In fact, the overall climate of youth athletics in this country is deplorable in my opinion. 

Without stating the obvious issues like early specialization, longer seasons, parental involvement etc., I thought I would share some brief points from two different sources.

Three Things Every Athlete Needs to Succeed 

John O'Sullivan authored a book entitled Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids. In his website Changing the Game Project, O'Sullivan talked about three things athletes need to succeed.

1. Intrinsic Motivation
Young athletes need to have this at some level and at some point in their career. Too often coaches and parents try to instill motivation in the form of pep talks and soon realize that the child needs to "want" to do the extra work to succeed.

2. Enjoyment
Parents and coaches equate winning with fun. This isn't necessarily the case when young athletes. This is especially the case if the athletes doesn't play much. It ends up being a vicious cycle. The kid isn't very talented so they don't get to play or get a of of reps at practice so they don't improve at the same rate as the other kids. 

3. Autonomy
Young athletes need to have some sort of control over their sport. Making decision concerning their sport. The more parents control, the quicker their kids get disengaged with the sport. 

O'Sullivan also provided an equation in his article. 
Performance = Potential – Interference
- W. Timothy Gallway

This really hit home with me and could probably have relevance in many situations. Competitive lifters, in the workplace, etc.

The Only Three Phrases You Need

Brad Griffin wrote a nice piece called The Only Six Words Parents Need to Say to Their Kids About Sports—Or Any Performance. The phrase he mentioned seems corny but when you look at the alternatives that most parents tell their children, it will make more sense. The phrase?

I love to watch you play

Or even a derivative of it. Regardless, you can show support without crowning your child the next superstar or correcting them. Say those six words instead of entitling your child or giving them a complex. 

The three phrases that Griffin provided came from research done by Tim Elmore (author of generation iY). Elmore concluded that these three phrases before and after competitions were the most productive and healthiest according to his research. 

Before the Competition: 
Have fun.
Play hard.
I love you.

After the competition:
Did you have fun?
I’m proud of you.
I love you.

Organized sports should be the best learning experience for young boys and girls. No other activity reinforces positive character development quite like team sports. Sometimes, we as parents do more to hinder this experience. Climate change needs to happen. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ABOUT EARLY SPECIALIZATION

This is from a blog post I referenced before from the Changing the Game Project entitled Is it Wise to Specialize

From John O'Sullivan:
First, here are five research excerpts that demonstrate how early specialization may negatively affect your child:

1. Children who specialize in a single sport account for 50% of overuse injuries in young athletes according to pediatric orthopedic specialists

2. A study by The Ohio State University found that children who specialized early in a single sport led to higher rates of adult physical inactivity. Those who commit to one sport at a young age are often the first to quit, and suffer a lifetime of consequences.

3. In a study of 1200 youth athletes, Dr Neeru Jayanthi of Loyola University found that early specialization in a single sport is one of the strongest predictors of injury. Athletes in the study who specialized were 70% to 93% more likely to be injured than children who played multiple sports!

4. Children who specialize early are at a far greater risk for burnout due to stress, decreased motivation and lack of enjoyment

5. Early sport specialization in female adolescents is associated with increased risk of anterior knee pain disorders including PFP, Osgood Schlatter and Sinding Larsen-Johansson compared to multi-sport athletes, and may lead to higher rates of future ACL tears (added May 2014)

If that is not enough for you, here are six research based reasons for multi-sport participation:

1. Better Overall Skills and Ability: Research shows that early participation in multiple sports leads to better overall motor and athletic development, longer playing careers, increased ability to transfer sports skills other sports and increased motivation, ownership of the sports experience, and confidence.

2. Smarter, More Creative Players: Multi-sport participation at the youngest ages yields better decision making and pattern recognition, as well as increased creativity. These are all qualities that coaches of high level teams look for.

3. Most College Athletes Come From a Multi-Sport Background: A 2013 American Medical Society for Sports Medicine survey found that 88% of college athletes surveyed participated in more than one sport as a child

4. 10,000 Hours is not a Rule: In his survey of the scientific literature regarding sport specific practice in The Sports Gene, author David Epstein finds that most elite competitors require far less than 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Specifically, studies have shown that basketball (4000), field hockey (4000) and wrestling (6000) all require far less than 10,000 hours. Even Anders Ericsson, the researcher credited with discovering the 10,000 hour rule, says the misrepresentation of his work, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, ignores many of the elements that go into high-performance (genetics, coaching, opportunity, luck) and focuses on only one, deliberate practice. That, he says, is wrong.

5. Free Play Equals More Play: Early specialization ignores the importance of deliberate play/free play. Researches found that activities which are intrinsically motivating, maximize fun and provide enjoyment are incredibly important. These are termed deliberate play (as opposed to deliberate practice, which are activities motivated by the goal of performance enhancement and not enjoyment). Deliberate play increases motor skills, emotional ability, and creativity. Children allowed deliberate play also tend spend more time engaged in a sport than athletes in structured training with a coach.

6. There are Many Paths to Mastery: A 2003 study on professional ice hockey players found that while most pros had spent 10,000 hours or more involved in sports prior to age 20, only 3000 of those hours were involved in hockey specific deliberate practice (and only 450 of those hours were prior to age 12).

• Prior to age 12: 80% of time should be spent in deliberate play and in sports OTHER THAN the chosen sport!
• Age 13-15: 50/50 split between a chosen sport and other athletic pursuits
• Age 16+: Even when specialization becomes very important, 20% of training time should still be in the non-specialized sport and deliberate play.

The Best Sports Performance Podcasts on Youth Sports

1. Interview with JL Holdsworth and Nic Bronkall
   

2. Interview with Anthony Donskov
3. Interview with David Allen
4. Interview with Scott Umberger
5. Interview with Dr. Michael Yessis
6. Interview with Adam Feit
7. Interview with Nick Showman
8. Interview with John O'Sullivan
9. Interview with Mike Boyle
10. Interview with Mark McLaughlin
11. Interview with Joe Hashey

 Mark Watts' Articles and Coaching Log

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