I have over 10 years of experience working with athletes in Corona, CA, more specifically youth athletes. Youth athletes are elementary, middle and high school kids. I take youth development seriously, and out of respect for science have earned multiple certifications to ensure I’m doing right by my clients. In my opinion youth athletics is such a cool demographic because this is the age where athletes are motivated by nothing more than dreams. There’s no big pay day, no scrutiny from big time sports commentators, it’s really just for the love of the game. I love this about youth athletics. It’s also a time where parents can get a bit crazy, and in their push to help their child reach their goals (also the parents goals) burn out and f.o.m.o become real problems. Here’s 5 things parents should do with their child athletes to help them continuously develop.
#1-Give your child time
The biggest mistake I see with parents is that they want their child to be the best right now. They constantly measure their kids up to the best in their age group, and they always want them to compete with those kids. I do understand the logic, but the problem here is that kids don’t develop at the same rate. Some kids come out of the womb looking like they were doing pushups, with high coordination and great speed. That’s just genetics. You will never be able to catch up with those kids until your child’s maturation begins (and even then they still may not catch up, genetics are tough to beat). Putting them in the most competitive leagues, and around the most competitive kids when in actuality your kid may need something more fundamental to start can hurt their confidence. And this is where time becomes a factor. Kids need time to reach their full potential, to grow mentally and physically as the year goes by. What’s more important, having your child be the best when they’re age 12/13 or age 17/18? In athletic development, time is an asset and should be treated as such.
#2 Get over the F.O.M.O.
In case you didn’t know, F.O.M.O. stands for Fear Of Missing Out. And it’s actually very real in the world of youth development. I’ve mentioned before that youth athletes face the constant struggle of continuous competition over actual athletic development. This evolution is in large part due to the monetization of youth sports, which is at an all time high. Competitive club organizations have made the off-season, typically a time to rest, play other sports, or participate in strength and conditioning, non-existent. It’s tough though, many of these club teams purport to have connections to colleges and say they can assist with recruitment efforts. But the true depth of these connections is almost always impossible to verify. Setting up college visits, and the fact that some really talented kids have at some point been recruited doesn’t mean they can guarantee anything. It would serve parents best to take some time off from their sport and invest in strength and conditioning. Allowing their child to build athletic qualities such as strength, speed, power, mobility and proper dieting. Competing year round only serves the interest of coaches, and the only thing parents are missing out on is the opportunity to to turn their child into a better athlete.
Owner, Boost Training Systems
Level 1 & 2 Coach Bommarito Performance
CSCS, USAW
