One of the most frequently asked questions is which sports I believe offer the best developmental capacity for young athletes.
This is a loaded question for several reasons …
First of all, ANY sports activity led by a quality coach is wonderful for kids.
That said, the real crux and effectiveness of that statement is largely based on the “quality-based coach” comment.
Only when poorly educated and overzealous parents and coaches (i.e. adults) become overly involved in youth sports can the experience turn sour. Parents often push too hard and seek success at an early age; Coaches often have a limited understanding of developmental science and routinely ‘instruct’ kids with ‘sport-specific’ exercises (I hate that phrase) that are too limited in scope (not to mention that many youth sports coaches don’t know how to TEACH specifics of movement or speed and yet get upset when their athletes don’t perform a certain exercise at a high enough level).
One of the more prominent and troublesome realities from the comments above is that it seems like there aren’t many (any?) Outlets for kids to play anymore. Every youth sporting activity is a life and death struggle that MUST culminate in victory … God forbid we teach strong developmental skills in a fun and energetic way to promote developmental integrity in our youth, which incidentally it should include emotional stability (for example, highlighting skills acquired in a given season rather than ‘wins’ and increased trophies) and mental stimulation (in the form of engaging life lessons that instill a lifelong love for physical activity rather than gain at all cost mentality that can burden children with various complexes for years).
Having said that, I encourage parents to eliminate the desire to see their 8 year old win the weekend tournament; I encourage coaches to remove their ‘Lombardi’ hats when entering a practice or game situation; I also encourage strength and conditioning coaches to remove the yearning to ‘test’ young athletes from a biomotor perspective and only seek to increase a child’s ability from a performance perspective.
In fact …
My message is simple …
Play sports seasonally.
Find coaches and programs that emphasize skill acquisition rather than victory.
Find coaches who do the same – work to instill skills in children rather than creating performance markers.
So, here are my top four sports that all kids should play (in no particular order):
1) Soccer
In most of North America, children lack dexterity on their feet and soccer is a wonderful natural enhancer of both foot dexterity and foot-eye coordination. Also, do not pigeonhole this skill as only necessary for soccer. Remember, the crux of developing a “complete” athlete is absorbing them in as many athletic stimuli as possible at a young age. Increased dexterity of the foot will, over time, supplement the overall ability of young people and allow them to progress in their “chosen” sport more competently.
Also, while many Americans find soccer to be ‘boring’ (although I will need an explanation as to how boring soccer is, but baseball and golf are America’s pastimes), it is a wonderfully athletic and tactical sport. Sudden bursts of explosive power, change of direction, looking two plays ahead, playing a ‘force’ based defense in which the defender uses his body / skills to change what the offensive player wanted to do – these are fantastic athletic lessons that they can occur in the nervous system and is used at a later time in any sporting activity.
2) swim
The unloaded shoulder and hip mobility adds great flexibility to a young athlete’s build. With so many injuries occurring due to restraints and stiffness in children (yes … I wholeheartedly believe that many of the youth sports injuries that we see annually around the world could be prevented with a simple and basic increase in both systemic strength and in mobility) Hip and shoulder mobility initiatives are crucial.
Also, kinesthetic differentiation is a physical skill that many children lack (this refers to the knowledge of how much force is necessary to produce a desired result). My opinion on this is simple: everything we usually do with children, both in sport and in training, is based on maximum effort. In our zeal to search for such “performance markers,” we overlook the notion that submaximal stresses are both developmentally robust and build certain physical qualities that are not seen in high force-based results. . Swimming is the essence of building kinesthetic differentiation – kids just won’t last long in a pool if they put as much force as possible into each stroke.
3) martial arts
Almost all martial arts that I am familiar with are based on acquiring skills as a primary marker. That is not only good mentally and emotionally for a child, but it infers the teaching of patience and “enjoying the ride” rather than “seeking the destination.”
While a lot of martial arts practices in North America have waned (8-year-olds earning black belts, if they knew anything about traditional martial arts, they know how ridiculous that is), most organizations with the that I am familiar with teach a wonderful style. of the development of skills and discipline of the patient.
Athletically speaking, dynamic flexibility, systemic end-range strength, mobility, spatial awareness – the physical skill developed through martial arts is impressive and can be applied to any sport.
4) Gymnastics
Once again, the physical elements that can be built through gymnastics are amazing: spatial awareness, flexibility, relative strength, dynamic and static balance, and the list goes on.
If for no other reason, the ability to know where you are in space and take a “good” drop is a necessary skill for any sport.
So … there is my list.
Don’t get me wrong, the list is nothing without a quality coach at the helm of each of these respective sports. Martial arts instructors, for example, are often archaic in their knowledge of warm-up design, as are gymnastics coaches in their flexibility-enhancing practices. Having said that, there are good coaches out there and I urge you as a parent to find them. I also encourage coaches to seek joint venture partnerships with quality coaches and increase the development of a child with strong training habits based on the acquisition of skills and strength.
Play soccer in the fall.
Nothing in summer.
Participate in martial arts during the winter.
Take gymnastics in the spring.
Mix in some developmental training and play other sports recreationally for interest and development (basketball and baseball, for example).
At the age of 13-14, you will have a solid athlete with limited injuries who understands sports tactics and is strong, mobile, and flexible …
Not a bad place to be!
