Developing Sports Kid

Personally, I like many of you reading this, love training and working with young kids (6-10 years). I find at such a young age they are more ‘plastic’ to molding and shaping. The older they get the more challenging and difficult it is to ‘reverse’ a bad pattern or poorly taught skill. Much the same as driving a car all your life incorrectly and then having to re-learn the proper way.

Did you know that 70% of kids give up their sport before the age 13, mostly because of burnout, loss of fun or pressure?

In my opinion, the main reason why this happens is due to parental influence and the excitement, addiction and sometimes ego (the parents) of chasing trophies and accolades.

So here are my 5 key guidelines for developing sports kids:

1. Stay the course, no matter how advanced they are. Learn, apply, teach and stick to the fundamentals of the sport.

2. Focus on developing the athlete. Remember that kids under the age of 13 should be spending at least 40-50% of their time on other athletic skills and games.

3. Follow the long term plan and don’t be side tracked by early success. Develop all the necessary skills – do them well.

4. Let them compete, but the goal must still be focused on working on their skills and game. Each match or competition should have goals that are performance and skill driven, NOT result driven. Mistakes should be encouraged. Results can come later!

5. Last but not least, find a coach who understands the development path. A coach who is not results driven, but development driven. A coach who makes it all FUN.