To explain the title, one of the most common cognitive biases in how we see the world is encapsulated as ‘what you see is all there is’. In other words, we have a tendency to overlook what is not immediately visible or obvious. We tend to assume that the elements we see in front of us are the only aspects at play. We are slow to consider that there might be additional unseen factors at work that might lead us to an alternative explanation for what we are seeing.
The Opportunity of Early Adolescence with Young Performers
Without doubt a unique opportunity to have a profound impact and see dramatic changes presents itself as young performers enter the adolescent years. The theme for this latest offering is this overlooked but crucial phase in the development of young athletes.
As most who read this will already be well aware, there are fertile windows of development in the childhood years. It is widely recognised that young kids are a sponge for learning and acquiring cognitive and motor skills, including language. What is less known is that there is similarly a distinct window of development that coincides with the transition from childhood to adolescence.
Keeping the Fire Burning
Whilst much of what I do involves sport at the elite level, throughout my career and to this day I have had a specific interest and involvement in the journey from youth sport to senior level. This area is variously described as talent development and long term athlete development, but these are largely academic concepts. One question that is not fully resolved is how we can create a learning environment that provides the challenge and support so that young performers acquire the necessary tools and abilities. But today we tackle a more fundamental question: how can we help to ensure that young performers have the fuel to sustain them through this journey which may span many years?
Weekly Reflections: Getting it Wrong
For this latest offering, I chose the theme of getting it wrong. Much of what I do as a coach involves helping individuals to acquire new skills and coaching them to move in ways that differ to what they are accustomed to. When we attempt something new or try out a different way of doing things naturally we do not get it right first time or every time. Learning, relearning or refining skills means having a go and in turn getting it wrong with some regularity!
Weekly Reflections: Finding a Way
Clearly the major current news story that is affecting all of us presently is the COVID-19 pandemic. Things escalated pretty quickly over the past week with the suspensions of college competition and professional leagues (perhaps less news-worthy, but I also took the step of postponing the workshop that I was due to present this weekend). Beyond disrupting competition, the precautions regarding public gatherings and restrictions to indoor training facilities access that are likely to come into force could conceivably also disrupt training and practices. I know several running groups locally have temporarily shut down. A number of professional athletes for whom competition is currently suspended are currently also unable to access their training facility. At this time, finding a way and exploring alternatives for training remotely within these restrictions seems highly pertinent.
Weekly Reflections: Engaging with Coaches
Welcome back to the regular reader, and greetings to anybody finding the Prepared Blog for the first time. Highlights from this past week included a visit to the Tennis Canada regional training centre for the province of British Columbia on Vancouver’s North Shore. On that note, the theme I chose to focus on this week is engaging with coaches, albeit I was also tempted to go down either the talent identification or talent development rabbit hole… I will save that for a future post!
The parallels between coaching and parenting are striking and both of these elements naturally come together with youth sports. The concept of free-range kids popularised by author (and parent) Lenore Skenazy thus readily applies to how we coach young athletes (as well as sport parenting). In each case, free play and participating in unsupervised games are essential parts of how children and young athletes develop. Engaging in play is central to how we learn to navigate the world and engage with others. Voluntarily participating in games with others (without intervention from the grown ups) teaches kids how to conduct themselves and develops the capability to interact with peers in a competitive context and a cooperative manner. A less structured environment where the kids themselves decide the playing area and the rules of the game affords the opportunity to apply what they have learned, explore different tactics and engage in trial and error. As such, free play and unsupervised games are particularly rich in opportunities to acquire and adapt sport skills and develop game sense. Given the myriad benefits and the essential role that these opportunities play in developing adept athletes and capable humans, it seems baffling that they are systematically being eliminated with today’s youth. So here we will make the case for applying the free-range perspective to rethink youth sports participation and talent development in a way that fosters engagement and creates self-reliant athletes.