Sport Parenting, Youth Coaching
Paul Gamble
Free-Range Athletes

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.

Free-Range Athletes
Sport Parenting, Athlete Life
Paul Gamble
Helping Young Performers Find Their Aim

Having an end in mind is pretty important. Aspiring towards a future outcome provides the impetus and intent that helps us to act in the moment. Knowing where we want to get to also provides a sense of how we are progressing and in turn guides us along the way. Deciding upon an ultimate aim is thus a central theme of the youth sports journey. As we will explore to some extent the performer settles upon their ultimate aspiration through a process of elimination and will often try out a few before they find their true north star to guide the journey. These formative experiences and the lessons they contain are part of what makes participating in youth sports so valuable in developing crucial traits, tools and behaviours that serve the performer well not only in their chosen sport but also in their life outside sport.

Helping Young Performers Find Their Aim
Sport Parenting, Youth Coaching
Paul Gamble
What Performers Need to Hear

What we want to hear and what we need to hear do not always match up. Indeed in some instances they are distinctly different things! On the youth sports journey the performer will encounter numerous trials and situations that offer abundant lessons. The conversations with those around them are an integral part of how the performer makes sense of events, puzzle things through and elucidate what lessons to take. As the grown ups, it follows that coaches and parents alike have a duty to help performers be objective and uncover the insights to make the best use of these experiences. To that end, there is an onus on us to ensure that the performer maintains a healthy relationship with the truth and remains in touch with reality.

What Performers Need to Hear
Sport Parenting, Athlete Life
Paul Gamble
Feeling Privileged

The idea of privilege has taken on strange and somewhat dark connotations in recent times, as has the idea of feeling privileged. This strikes me as a little odd. As a coach I feel privileged to work with performers who are committed to their craft. I am quick to acknowledge that it is a privilege to coach these individuals and to have them place their faith in my expertise. I feel grateful for my good fortune. I also feel a profound sense of responsibility to hold such a privileged position and a duty to do great work in return. Perhaps we should foster a more healthy attitude towards privilege. By reframing how we think about privilege we can perhaps respond to it in ways that better serves the performer and those supporting them.

Feeling Privileged
Sport Parenting
Paul Gamble
Dealing with Distraction

Distraction is a constant feature of modern life. Current generations are growing up as digital natives and the allure of technology is ever-present in most environments. Clearly the genie is not going back in the bottle so it follows we should take steps to equip young performers to manage their own mental traffic to take back control of their actions and better deal with distractions of technological and other origin. The ability to marshal one’s own attention and resist becoming sidetracked is arguably the new superpower. Developing these capabilities to harness and direct our attention amidst all the distraction represents not only a competitive advantage but also the key to unlocking the possibilities for long term achievement in sport and beyond.

Dealing with Distraction

Mechanics

The Merits of Becoming an Athletic Virtuoso

The Merits of Becoming an Athletic Virtuoso

Raw physical attributes and performance in junior competition are not good predictors of future success until late adolescence. Technical skills, tactical awareness and character traits are more reflective of future potential. Beyond the specialist skills of the sport, more evolved talent ID and development systems are also starting to recognise the value of general movement proficiency or athleticism. As with skills and character, these qualities are less biased by the transient influence of growth and maturation, making them a much more reliable indicator of future potential and a crucial asset regardless of the sport. From the performer’s perspective, developing athleticism is therefore a very good investment in the future.

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The Glaring Gap in Skill Development for Youth Sports

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The Glaring Gap in Skill Development for Youth Sports

Traditionally, practices and skill development in general within youth sports has focussed on technical and tactical aspects. Dedicated development of athletic skills have been largely overlooked, which was previously not a major issue as sports coaches were able to rely on the natural athleticism that young performers brought to the party. Consequently, whilst youth sports coaches with a physical education teaching background might bring expertise in these areas, for the most part athletic skills have not typically been part of the coach education process, particularly in ‘skill sports’ (i.e. team sports, racquet sports, etc.). However, we are now having to reckon with these omissions, as is becoming increasingly evident at all levels of junior competition in many sports.

Weekly Reflections: The Growing Needs of Kids

Weekly Reflections: The Growing Needs of Kids

We are back with our regular instalment from the Prepared Athlete Training & Healthy project. A warm welcome to regular readers and those finding the Prepared Blog for the first time. This past week as usual saw a mix of coaching, discussions on collaborations (including a consultation with Volleyball Canada), and building relationships with sports injury clinics locally. Another significant development with our sister project was the submission for a new book manuscript to literary agents on Friday. Amidst all those developments, the theme I chose to focus on with this post is the growing needs of kids, and why and how we might assist them.

Weekly Reflections: Managing Injury and Return to Performance

Weekly Reflections: Managing Injury and Return to Performance

After a week’s hiatus for some rest and recuperation, coinciding with a trip to Europe, we return with our regular update from the Prepared Athlete Training and Health project. Following recent events, a post on the theme of injury management and return to performance seemed apt. It is also always helpful to articulate what role and functions I fulfill in this space. As a sports medicine physician I met up with this week remarked, ‘it must be a confusing for some people, as you are not a (medical) doctor or a physio’. Indeed my wife also asked this week what I call what I do in this space, as she was having a hard time explaining it to a friend of hers. So in this week’s offering I will attempt to clarify those questions as we outline the process and rationale for working with injured athletes and preparing them to return to performing.

Weekly Reflections: Endurance Runners and Multisports Athletes

Weekly Reflections: Endurance Runners and Multisports Athletes

Regular readers will be familiar with my comments about Vancouver drivers and the perils of cycling amongst them. This week events progressed to the logical conclusion, as I was taken out by a car on my ride to a coaching session on monday. To be fair it was the middle of the day. In the sunshine. On a straight road designated as a greenway for cyclists. And I was wearing a high visibility fluorescent yellow top. With my lights on and flashing. So I guess I was asking for it. In tribute to the triathlete I was due to be coaching on the day who was very understanding, and also a triathlon coach I connected with this week, the theme of this week’s post is the value of the Prepared ATH service offering for multi-sports, such as triathlon, and endurance runners.

Weekly Reflections: The Necessities of Preparation for Young Female Athletes

Weekly Reflections: The Necessities of Preparation for Young Female Athletes

Since the world athletics championships came to a close last weekend I found myself with some attention capacity to spare over the past week. This led me to realise it had turned distinctly chilly outside. Despite the chill in the air, it has been a productive week. Sophie, the poster girl for the Develop stream who regular readers have met previously, had the dubious pleasure of seeing me more than usual this week, as we hit the gym to revise her strength training plan, in addition to her regular movement session at the track. I also met Sophie’s grandfather, who came along to the track and after the session asked me the question ‘do girls run differently than boys?’. My answer was, ‘yes - if we are not careful’. Which leads me to the theme of this week’s post: the unique requirements and necessity of preparation for young female athletes.