Developing Sports Kid
The post by Allistair McCaw
Youth Development. My Five Key Guidelines when it comes to developing sports kid:
I believe that the single biggest mistake made in kids coaching and the developing of a young athlete is that the fundamentals are not taught well enough and the development process is rushed.
Especially, the moment a kid gets a result or wins something ‘big’, the carefully set development plan is thrown out the window with the kid then being transported from one side of the country, competing in tournament after tournament.
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.
good method
I am a parent of a talented 7 year old girl (whoever seen her play was thinking she is 10). I have spoken with 3 different coaches about her development. They are considered “experienced”, with the history of playing, or/and coaching on pro tour, ATP and WTA. She has worked with all of them. They agree only about one thing, she is high talented, very coachable. Everything else about her development pathway they have different opinions. But no one has recommended me the way the author talks in his article, which I like and I agree with him in global.
Their answer is, ” once somebody develops a new Federer, Djokovic, Nadal…in that way I would agree with that (they mean with all colored balls, small racquets, playing instead seriously working…)
What would be the right development pathway for her?! I don’t want to push her and make her to quit it at given point, but I don’t want to destroy her talent taking it easy.
Again, I think if you will not put some pressure on your kid, he/she will not make any success in his/her life, no matter what it is, school, or sport. That is in kids nature.