Congratulations, mom and dad, you have yourselves a budding superstar. But, before signing up your precocious toddler for private soccer or basketball training, stop and consider the most important elements of athletic (and life) success.
Pro athletes have an uncommon combination of genes, skills and work ethic. The difference between a multi-millionaire professional athlete and a just-missed could, shoulda, woulda is razor thin, and oftentimes the only difference is the right situation or opportunity at the right time. Look at Boris Diaw or Darko Milicic, first round draft picks about to be labeled major busts in one situation, now ready to sign nine million dollar a year (or more) contracts as integral parts of play-off (likely) teams.
The genes are already taken care of; let's assume you, as the parents, held up your part of the bargain. What can you do to nurture little Johnny into the next Derek Jeter/Landon Donovan/Tom Brady/Chris Paul or Mia Hamm/Diana Tarausi/Lyndsay Davenport?
Most assume the best recipe for success is to get a jump on the competition. I have heard from parents with children as young as six asking for personal basketball training. However, I am not in favor of children ths young even playing organized sports, and I am not alone. "Experts like Rae Pica, a movement education consultant and author of Your Active Child, echoes numerous child-development experts in her argument that kids under 11 or 12 years old shouldn't even be in organized, competitive team sports because their bodies aren't developed enough to safely accomplish certain athletic tasks."
According to Brian Grasso, founder of the International Youth Conditioning Association, young children should participate in four sports activities:
Pro athletes have an uncommon combination of genes, skills and work ethic. The difference between a multi-millionaire professional athlete and a just-missed could, shoulda, woulda is razor thin, and oftentimes the only difference is the right situation or opportunity at the right time. Look at Boris Diaw or Darko Milicic, first round draft picks about to be labeled major busts in one situation, now ready to sign nine million dollar a year (or more) contracts as integral parts of play-off (likely) teams.
The genes are already taken care of; let's assume you, as the parents, held up your part of the bargain. What can you do to nurture little Johnny into the next Derek Jeter/Landon Donovan/Tom Brady/Chris Paul or Mia Hamm/Diana Tarausi/Lyndsay Davenport?
Most assume the best recipe for success is to get a jump on the competition. I have heard from parents with children as young as six asking for personal basketball training. However, I am not in favor of children ths young even playing organized sports, and I am not alone. "Experts like Rae Pica, a movement education consultant and author of Your Active Child, echoes numerous child-development experts in her argument that kids under 11 or 12 years old shouldn't even be in organized, competitive team sports because their bodies aren't developed enough to safely accomplish certain athletic tasks."
According to Brian Grasso, founder of the International Youth Conditioning Association, young children should participate in four sports activities:
Kobe Bryant played soccer, Dirk Nowitski played tennis, LeBron James played football and Tim Duncan was a swimmer. Arguably the top four NBA players and all played other sports as part of their overall athletic development. Do not rush the process.
Comments
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(Guest)
(Guest)
12/31/2008
Take it from me this artical is right on. I have three kids, the first I will sadly say I bured out & have had to do some of damage control. My middle child has had improperly trained coaches & I have had to keep a close eye on his training regiment & set some guidline ( no more than 4 hrs a week in practice) He was trying to work theme out 9 hrs a week plus 1 game a week. They were a winning team but the price for these wins meant injuries to 12 year old girls and emotional breakdowns on the court. The girls could not stand each at the end of the 4 seasons they played together. The coach was all about stats and not a true coach. Thinking back now I should have pulled my daghter from the team. She now plays for a great coach. I also have a 9 year old boy who has great succsess in wrestling (started when he was 5) his coach and now a friend of the family gave me advise I wish someone would have given me when I first started he said "lets pull him from compation for a 2 to 4 years" I jus
I have coached baseball for 10 and 11 year olds and found that even at this age, not all were ready for competitive sports. Most of the teams had a good percentage that were ready and they were the sole reason the team did well. In my experience, I found that teaching each one according to their own skills was much better than comparing abilities with other players. Comparing means grading and that is the quickest way to turn any child away from sports. Remember, all children do not develop skills at the same age. A good coach or a good parent must learn to let the child do what he can with his available skills. A second thought is that some children will not develop past a certain point no matter how hard they are pushed or encouraged. My best players turned out to be the ones having the most fun.
Great article!! Content of the Day! My son (5 years old) has participated in soccer and swimming! Good to know we were giving him the "right" opportunities. I used to coach a age group swim team and saw so many kids (young) already burning out because they were pushed too hard at an early age. It has to be fun or it's not worth it.
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