Coaching Young Athletes

Don’t Be Fooled By The Advanced Stuff

Why do many parents think that fundamental skills teaching is “too basic” for their kids?

Why will some parents remove their child from a really good development coach (citing “slow” progress) and take them elsewhere to coach who rushes the kids to the “advanced” stuff?

Why will many parents opt to enrol their kid in an “advanced” session or program, even when their child should clearly be taking the beginner option?

Why do a lot of youth sports coaches look to advanced technical manuals for inspiration when they should be looking at youth sports resources?

There is not enough respect given to developing the basics in youth sports. People get impatient with the fundamentals.

Unfortunately a lot of kids are not as advanced in their skills as some people think. They lack the fundamentals.

“Advanced” is not the answer.

Stars

Many people think that a coach who gives kids “advanced” stuff is a better coach.

But a coach who properly teaches kids the fundamentals is far better than the coach who ignores them. Parents often can’t see this. Maybe it’s the stars in their eyes.

The “stars” can make you blind to bad coaching. They can get in the way of a long-term development vision.

For the sake of the kids, avoid getting stars in your eyes.

ABCs

The technical stuff looks REALLY COOL. What looks “cool” is not necessarily effective.

Don’t be fooled by the advanced stuff.

You must learn your ABCs before constructing words and your words before constructing sentences.

The fundamentals are never too basic to teach.

Acknowledgement

The title of this article was inspired by a quote by James Leath in his article Kids Are Not Mini-Adults

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