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
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.
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.