Get Mental: Erika Carlson
Today’s “professional model” of competitive youth sports has tremendous advantages over the former recreational sport model that most of us parents grew up with.
In regards to development, young athletes are learning more, faster and sooner than ever before. My 10-year old daughter already knows more about soccer than I did when I was 25! This model is excellent for identifying the best talent and helping to build the competitiveness of our clubs, colleges, national and professional teams. It also helps drive coaching education with licensing by national governing bodies, giving our kids better coaching and better sport experiences. All great news for our elite youth athletes.
However, there is a downside to this training model: Deficient self-motivation. Here’s why.