Supporting student-athletes since ‘07, dad/coach for #teamreed, Zag grad, and wanna-be chef. Opinions my own. Athletic Director for @seaprepsports/@SeattlePrep
Seattle, WA
Joined February 2009
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Senior Night season is upon us at @seaprepsports and at high schools around the country.
You can read why these nights mean so much to me here: lnkd.in/p/gYAykxZ8
Don’t want to read a 26-thread of me rambling on about youth sports?!?
Well, maybe you want to read the unedited version on LinkedIn instead. Oh boy!
linkedin.com/pulse/my-though…
The other path is for the more recreational athlete who has sampled many sports growing up and simply enjoys playing and competing with his or her friends.
Again, I don’t have it all figured out. My mind doesn’t get why club baseball tryouts for next spring/summer take place the previous July. Or why some club volleyball girls can look so athletic and graceful on the court but often not be able to do a push-up off of it.
…Maybe you have to pay for it and maybe that coach isn’t happy in the short-term, but trust me when I say if your kid comes back fresh, healthy and stronger (mentally and physically), it’s probably going to be ok.
The benefits of multi-sport participation are limitless in my eyes, both from a health and physical development standpoint, but also from a social-emotional level as kids learn how to play different roles, fit into different groups and quite frankly care different amounts.
For those kids that do have a A sport - one that they play at a high level, nearly year round - whether you play a second sport or not, they simply HAVE to take time off. I hear the objections all the time: I don’t want to lose my spot. We’re paying for it so I want to use it.
Every high school has different seasons and different opportunities within those seasons to play with your friends and classmates. Most schools offer non-cut sports. And regardless of what your A sport is, there’s a B sport out there that compliments the other.
The first path sends that kid that now loves to compete and has hopefully fallen in love with one or two sports into high school with an A/B sport. When kids love something they are willing to work for it, which is where more specialized training starts to come in.
There are so many unscripted moments in any sport that can’t be replicated in training sessions. The more balanced, tight games you play at this age the more fun they have and the more they want to get better…and only then does the skill building come in and become worthwhile.
But games also help build well-rounded athletes and develop a ‘sports IQ’ that can translate across fields and courts. Who cares what a kid’s swing looks like at this age if they are swinging hard and with confidence and then running as fast as they can afterwards.
Clubs get flack for adding teams as money grabs, but this ignores the opportunity gained by placing kids where their current size and skill lie. When done right, clubs can create competitive matchups that are more fun and meets each kid where they are at skill, ability-wise.