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: Practising Gratitude
In these strange times we perhaps have a newfound appreciation of the many comforts, amenities, and simple pleasures that we normally have at our disposal. Since many of these things are presently subject to restrictions and various everyday pursuits are temporarily not available to us, we certainly now miss them and eagerly look forward to normal service being resumed. It turns out we have much to be grateful for. This got me thinking on gratitude, what role it plays in our everyday lives, and how this all relates to the journey of the athlete. A broader question is how we might appreciate the good stuff without needing to rely on extreme events to bring it to our attention.
Weekly Reflections: Separating the Circles...
This might be a topical read given present circumstances. Many athletes are contemplating cancelled competition seasons, or at the very least the cancellation or postponement of major events that have been their focus for an extended period (the 2020 Olympics being perhaps the biggest example). Arguably more disconcerting is the numerous instances where the situation remains unclear, and so there is an onus to continue preparations without knowing if and when events will go ahead. It is fair to say the majority of us are faced with questions on how to proceed given the present restrictions, and a lack of certainty on what the coming months hold.
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: Adversity as Opportunity
The topic for this latest offering was inspired by a parent of a young athlete I have the privilege of working with. The parent in question greatly impressed me with how they chose to respond to a recent setback, which included declining my offer to intervene on her daughter’s behalf. We generally think of times of adversity and setbacks as at best something to be endured (under duress). Our natural inclination is to steer clear of difficulties, and our urge is to shield those we care about from potential upset. However, as the parent in question intuitively understood, going through these difficult experiences is in fact vital to our mission.
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.