Athletic development is a long and stressful endeavor. As parents, we just want to do what is best for our kids. Here is a five-step process to help them reach their full potential.
How do athletes become world-class? Many parents, teachers, and coaches wrestle with this question. In the quest to answer this, there is a growing interest in studying long-term athlete development (LTAD). LTAD is the building of athleticism over time to improve health and fitness, enhance physical performance, reduce the relative risk of injury, and develop the confidence and competence of all youth (Lloyd et al., 2016). LTAD programs aim to assist athletes in reaching their full potential.
One thing becomes clear when evaluating outstanding performers in various sports: evolving into an exceptional athlete later in life begins at the beginning. It takes a long time to become an elite athlete. Many of the world’s finest athletes followed similar pathways to achievement. However, similar does not mean identical. No two kids are the same, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. For every child prodigy aiming to follow the footsteps of Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, or LeBron James, there is a Todd Marinovich who fails to live up to expectations.
Of course, the path to elite performance is multifaceted, some of which is out of our control. For example, we cannot control an athlete’s genetics, birthplace, or at what time of year they are born. This article covers five controllable steps to becoming elite. The process begins with implementing an active lifestyle and ends with athletes fully immersing themselves in professional training. Despite the allure of jumping ahead, evidence suggests there are few shortcuts along the path to greatness. Let’s dig in.
Step 1: Develop an Active Lifestyle
That said, the initial step towards athletic development is in the hands of the parents. As parents, we must establish an active environment for our children. The objective is to embed active lifestyle habits early so the child can carry them forward.
With the abundance of screen-based activities today, getting kids moving is a struggle. The World Health Organization recommends that children and adolescents accumulate moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes per day (Bull et al., 2020). An hour per day is a substantial amount of activity. According to the CDC, less than one-quarter (24%) of children 6 to 17 years of age meet that recommendation (“Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors,” 2020).
Ideally, as parents, the goal is to create conditions where children willingly and eagerly engage in physical activity. The first step is to incorporate activity into their lives from an early age. When kids are in the 2-4-year-old range, sports activities such as throwing, catching, and kicking a ball can be introduced, as well as swinging a plastic bat and early gymnastics movements. In the 4-6 range, kids should learn to ride a bike without training wheels and refine and extend skills already learned. This stage is also the time when they can start playing organized sports. The primary focus at this age is on fostering a love for movement, introducing basic sports skills in a fun manner, and laying the groundwork for future athletic endeavors.
Go Outside And Play
Kids see massive brain development at an early age. Therefore, play during the toddler and early childhood years aims to create as many physical activity brain connections as possible so that the brain learns to control the many movements that make up the building blocks of physical activity and sport later in life (Balyi et al., 2013, p. 193). This idea might not seem like a big deal for future athletic success. However, children with low perceived and actual motor competence are significantly less physically active and have a higher BMI than children with high perceived and actual motor competence (De Meester et al., 2016).
Get outside and play with kids at a young age so they feel confident and can continue being active as adolescents. It does not have to be anything special. Go outside and run around, ride bikes, walk, swim, or wrestle on the living room floor. Keep it fun and physically active.
Step 2: Facilitate Deliberate Play
Ericsson et al.’s (1993) landmark study on Deliberate Practice and the subsequent ten-thousand-hour rule changed the game on talent development both in and out of athletics. Deliberate practice is a focused and systematic approach to learning or improving a skill, where individuals engage in activities specifically designed to push their abilities to the edge of their current competence level. It involves breaking down tasks into manageable parts, receiving feedback, and repeating exercises to master each component gradually. It is practice with purpose and intentionality. Deliberate practice requires time, energy, and access to teachers, training materials, and facilities. It is also not inherently motivating and is effortful, so it can only be sustained for a limited time each day (Ericsson et al., 1993).
Although beneficial for achieving elite status, deliberate practice does not need to be part of childhood training. The optimal learning and motivational activities in the later years differ from those associated with the best education and motivational environment in the early years (Cote et al., 2003). In youth sports, deliberate play is more impactful than deliberate practice.
What is Deliberate Play?
Cote and Hay (2002) define deliberate play as games with rules designed to maximize enjoyment. The rules are adapted from standardized sports rules and monitored by the children or adults involved in the activity. Deliberate play includes pickup basketball, backyard football and soccer, street hockey, and similar sport-like activities.
As parents, we must get out and play sports with our kids. Moreover, we need to encourage our kids to play sports with their friends. Being part of organized sports is excellent and a critical aspect of development, but deliberate play is also beneficial. Backyard sports teach kids anticipation, decision-making, and creative tactical responses to game situations. In a study on youth elite soccer players, the only differentiating factor between the elite players who became professionals compared to those who did not was accumulating more hours of soccer play (not practice or competition) activities between the ages of 6 and 12 (Ford et al., 2009). When kids are engaged in deliberate play, they can take chances, be creative, and try new techniques in an environment free of judgment from parents or coaches.
One crucial aspect of deliberate play is the need for safe and convenient places for kids to participate. Research shows a positive correlation between physical activity in young people and the availability of parks and open-space play areas close to home and school (Kumar et al., 2015).
Parents (and policymakers) are responsible for ensuring kids have these safe and convenient places to be active.
The take-home point is not to rely on organized sports to develop athletic ability. Deliberate play is a powerful driver of future sports performance, and most kids are not doing it anymore.
Step 3: Encourage Early Sports Diversification
Few topics in athletic development are as contentious or well-studied as early sports specialization. Sports specialization is defined in a few different ways, but for this article, it is year-round training in a single sport.
On the other hand, sports diversification means playing more than one organized sport throughout the year. Although early specialization aims to fast-track athletic development during childhood, it may do so at the risk of several negative consequences affecting the child’s physical, psychological, and social development, such as overuse injuries and burnout (Sleiman, 2019). Does early specialization work for some athletes? Yes, of course. Elite athletes are often genetic outliers, and using outliers as an example of what the masses should do or expect is not a good idea. Specialization early to keep up at younger ages only hampers long-term development.
How to Avoid Burnout
Burnout is of particular importance. Reaching full athletic potential is a battle of attrition. According to the National Alliance for Youth Sports, roughly 70% of children in the United States quit playing organized sports by age 13 (Miner, 2016). Not all of that is attributed to early specialization, but it is not helping keep athletes involved, either. One study found that kids who started off-ice training earlier were likelier to drop out of organized hockey (Wall & Côté, 2007).
Similarly, 50% of weightlifting athletes at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games did not compete in an IWF competition just three years later in 2013 (Wilson, 2013). It is crucial to avoid training young athletes with the same methods applied to mature elite athletes. Instead, we must understand that their physiological peak is beyond puberty for most sports.
Outside of a few select sports, such as gymnastics, diving, and figure skating, there is no evidence that extensive practice and specialization before puberty are required to attain elite levels. In fact, early diversification followed by specialization later may lead to more enjoyment, fewer injuries, and longer participation, increasing the chances of success (Jayanthi et al., 2013). According to a United States Olympic Committee survey, on average, Olympians are involved in three sports per year until age 14 and two per year from ages 15 to 18. Interestingly, 88 percent of the Olympic athletes surveyed felt that playing multiple sports growing up was valuable to their athletic development (Riewald & Snyder, 2014).
Athletic Development Categories of Sports Participation
Cote (1999) outlines three distinct chronological categories of sports participation. The stages are the sampling years (age 6-13), the specializing years (age 13-15), and the investment years (age 15 and over).
Parents are responsible for introducing their children to sports during the sampling years. The main priority during this period is to experience fun and excitement, with an emphasis on deliberate play. Get kids involved in as many sports and positions within a sport as possible during this stage. It not only helps them develop a well-rounded skill set but also helps them find out what they enjoy. At this stage, coaches should focus on long-term development and keeping the kids involved. Winning is secondary.
The specializing years are when athletes gradually decrease their extracurricular activities and focus on a couple of specific sports. While fun and excitement remain central elements, skill development through practice is essential. There needs to be a balanced amount of deliberate play and practice. Avoid forcing kids to play, practice, or train for a specific sport. Anything extra should be athlete-driven.
Finally, during the investment years, the athlete is dedicated to reaching an elite level of performance in a specific activity. This stage requires extreme intensity of commitment and a tremendous amount of practice. There is a low frequency of deliberate play and a high frequency of deliberate practice.
Step 4: Implement Strength and Conditioning
Quality strength and conditioning are missing links in many athletic development programs, particularly for young athletes. Although there have been many myths and misinformation about youth resistance training over the years, the strength and conditioning community consensus is that it is safe and effective.
The NSCA Position Statement on Youth Resistance Training states that it can positively impact health-related measures such as bone health, body composition, and sports injury prevention. These advantages are not just theoretical-they can be safely realized by most children and adolescents when following age-appropriate resistance training guidelines (Faigenbaum et al., 2009). Contrary to common misconceptions, injury rates in youth resistance training that adhere to proper technique are lower than in other sports or general recess play at school (Eisenberg et al., 2012).
When to Start Strength and Conditioning?
The question is when to start. If a child is mature enough to participate in organized sports, they are generally old enough to start resistance training. Science has shown us that athletes as young as five and six can benefit from some form of resistance training programming organized and supervised by competent instructors (Smith, 2021). The strongest argument for weight training for pre-pubescent children deals with the neural plasticity associated with this point in development. For this reason, researchers have suggested that the prepubertal years are an ideal opportunity for strength training (Lloyd & Oliver, 2012).
For programming, it is essential not to treat young athletes like mini-adults. Technique should always be the priority over weight and performance. The workouts do not need to be overly structured at first. Focus on bodyweight exercises – pushups, pullups, air squats, lunges, sit-ups, planks, and gymnastics movements. However, once ready, they can transition to a PVC pipe or light barbell (or dumbbells) to learn the fundamental movements (squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, and row) and eventually proceed to heavier loads. Once the athletes reach high school, they should participate in a full-fledged strength and conditioning routine.
Proper Nutrition for Athletic Development
Within the context of strength and conditioning is proper nutrition. Nutrition can be a confusing topic. Everyone has opinions of what performance nutrition is, and experts often contradict each other. The key is to focus on the basics.
Proper nutrition for a young athlete aiming to be elite involves eating a balanced diet rich in whole foods. A diet should include plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins like eggs, chicken, fish, and dairy products, and whole grains like rice and oats. Eating regularly and not skipping meals helps maintain energy levels and support recovery after training.
Of course, athletes should avoid excessive junk food, sugary drinks, and processed foods. However, they don’t need to eat like bodybuilders in contest prep. Young athletes should not limit calorie intake; athletes need calories to be successful. The intake of calories and macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) should maximize performance and body composition. For most athletes, this requires eating at maintenance or in a slight surplus.
Step 5: Full Commitment to Excellence
Eventually, all athletes must focus on one sport to reach their full potential. For most athletes, that is around 15 or 16 years old. However, athletes can continue playing multiple sports throughout high school if they want to. To get in enough training, they can have a primary sport that gets extra attention in the offseason and a secondary sport they play for fun.
At this point in the athletic development process, the limiting factor is time. There needs to be a total commitment to excellence. Practice, training, traveling, sleep, nutrition, and recovery all come into play. Keep in mind that only some athletes will choose to pursue this step. In a study on martial arts, on average, athletes spent over 26 hours per week training when they received their black belt (Hodge & Deakin, 1998). Enjoying martial arts is one thing; however, devoting over 26 hours to it per week requires a different level of commitment. As the famous Vince Lombardi quote goes, “Everyone has a will to win, but very few have the will to prepare to win.”
Deliberate Practice
The level of commitment required for excellence is where deliberate practice comes into play. As Ericsson (1993) points out, deliberate practice requires available time, energy, access to professional coaches, and training facilities. If the athlete is a teenager or young adult, they will need support to help pay for coaching, facilities, and transportation. Financial support is crucial here. It allows athletes to train full-time without needing a career outside of sports that could add unnecessary stress and hinder their training. The need for support continues until the athlete can make a living through the sport (either directly or indirectly) or terminates the path toward maximizing performance.
The commitment to excellence stage is a full-court press on pursuing greatness. It is beyond the scope of this article to go into detail, but this is when seeking out and traveling to expert coaches and practice partners becomes necessary. A full commitment to excellence is also the stage where things like sports psychology come into play. Leaving no stone unturned is the final piece of the athletic development puzzle.
Staying on the Path to Greatness
The five-step process outlined in the article offers a straightforward plan for athletic development. Although greatness is not guaranteed, parents, coaches, and practitioners can help athletes actively pursue reaching their full potential by following these guidelines. It starts early with an active lifestyle, emphasis on deliberate play, and getting involved in multiple sports. As athletes progress, they can intensify their training and involvement, ultimately embracing a whatever it takes mentality on the path to greatness.
Author: Kyle Hunt
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