The post by Allistair McCaw

Here’s one area that comes up quite a bit in my field. It’s a question I get asked especially from the parents of ‘star’ kids. This usually comes from parents of kids around the ages of 9-12 years.

“Should my child play up an age group?”

I see it all too often in a variety of sports, the moment the kid starts out performing the others, that’s when the parent wants them to play up a higher age group.

So let me give you my thoughts on this subject. For me, the answer will always involve getting back to basics and what the development plan requires. When I talk about the development plan, I’m referring to LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development).

In most cases, kids that are the best in the age groups of 14 and under are the kids that have played the actual sport more hours than the rest. If they’re tennis players, then they’ve hit more balls, done more drills. If they’re soccer players then they’ve kicked more balls and likewise, done more drills.

Never place winning over development

The problem that occurs when a kid plays up, isn’t only that they will feel more physical and emotional pressure, (and possibly get beat more), but most importantly when playing ahead of their age classification, they often skip the process and stages of improving their overall development (athletic and technical skills).

Simply put, in the long term, the better the athlete is, the better the player will be. So if you skip the important stages of a child’s athletic development (fundamentals, motor skills, games etc..) you jeopardize the chances of their sporting success later.

One familiar pattern I’ve seen in parents that are adamant in playing their kids up an age group, is that they feel their child is too good for the rest and will feel less pressure, simply because they ‘have nothing to lose’ playing older kids. That child was so used to always winning against their own age group.

Now, don’t misunderstand me here, losing is an important part of a child’s social and sports development, and they need to learn how to handle the defeats. But the detrimental thing is that the focus has changed from fun (the reason they started playing) and development to pure winning (results).

What commonly happens is that parents lose track of what is most important (the development) and chase the results instead. With those results come the lure of rankings, funding etc.. (not to forget the bragging rights of having a ‘talented kid’ that is better than the others kids in their age group).

Is there an exception to the rule? In my 20 odd years of sports performance coaching, I have maybe seen it no more than two times! The child was top of his age group AND athletically advanced beyond his age group, that’s when it was an option. But all too often parents just see the results (winning) and think their kid can be played up.

Development is a process that shouldn’t be rushed

Players develop at their own pace, and trying to accelerate that pace artificially can actually hurt their growth.

Stop comparing. Too often, I have parents coming to me and saying that they feel their kid should be pushed harder or challenged more (the pushy over-zealous parent). What I tell them is to stay focused on what matters most for their child (enjoyment, athletic and skill development) plus focus on their child, not the others.

There’s nothing sadder than seeing a child’s love for a sport being taken away from a parent who was chasing fame and success. The psychological scares can still be there for years and years after.

Decide together (you and your child) what level is going to help them develop and ask them where they want to play. Odds are they’ll be best served by playing with their own age group, socially and athletically.

Remember that it is not about you, it is about the kid

Parents, if you want the best 12 year old, then fine. It’s pretty easy: Go compete as much as possible, play them up, hit balls (or kick) all day and do drills. Chances that that kid still loves and wants to play sport at age 18? Substantially less.

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