A Coach's Diary

It’s hard trying to find the balance between pushing your kids and keeping sports fun. When you take the joy out of youth sports, it becomes a job and you run the risk of your kids not wanting to do it anymore. Jon Gordon and David Pollack had a great discussion about how to maintain that balance on Gordon’s Positive U podcast. Here are my notes: Don’t Make It Too Serious Too Early Don’t professionalize sports for kids, and don’t over-prioritize sports too early. There is plenty of time to get serious.  Don’t make it too serious too early or you run the risk of burning them out. Keep it fun and keep it healthy because the journey is a marathon and not a sprint. Character >>> Results Don’t worry too much about outcomes; worry more about who they are becoming as a result of the chase. The purpose of sports is to make you a better human being. Focus on that. At some point, we will all be retired athletes; who will you be when you are finished playing? Keep it Fun and Healthy ...

Great advice!!  Sometimes you aren't playing simply because there is somebody better than you in front of you; and that is OKAY!! The highest difference between club ball and school ball is 1 - You pay the club coach, you don't pay the school coach 2 - If you don't play on a club team, you can change teams/coaches.  You can't do so (as easily) with school ball. So as former NBA champion Shane Battier once said, play so good that your coach CAN'T take you out of the game.   It's not equal opportunity - its who is going to give us the best chance to win and we have to teach our kids how to be a part of team and that sometimes that means we are the best player and sometimes that means that our role is to cheer them on from the bench.   We have to teach them to work hard in and out of practice to get better, and that while we might be working hard, there just might be somebody better - and that is OKAY!

It's very easy to get caught up with trying to 'keep up with the Joneses' in youth sports.  At ridiculously earlier ages, we are pushing our kids to specialize in one sport in a rat race to nowhere , even to the detriment of what's best from and physical and mental standpoint for our young athletes.   The world of youth sports can be confusing, complicated and an emotional roller coaster for athletes and parents if you let it.  My recommendation for any parent getting lost in the struggle of what to do with their young athlete is to be lead by 3 questions: 1 - Is your athlete having fun? 2 - Is your athlete getting better? 3 - Is your athlete doing the best that they can? Is Your Athlete Having Fun We overthink and over-analyze this sports thing.  We play sports to stay in shape, have fun, and compete.  Fun and enjoyment and joy should drive their attendance at an early age while building up a healthy level of competition.  ...