Paving the Way

Parents of young athletes have it tough. As youth sports become increasingly more complex and competitive, parents are tasked with nurturing, teaching, motivating and training their athletes. I believe parents have the best intentions for their children’s pursuit of reaching their highest

level of performance. But far too often their young athletes are not cultivated properly; parents (and coaches) mistakenly push their athletes too far, too soon! The end result is an athlete who grows to despise the very sport or activity that they used to love.

In theory, reaching for the stars sounds great, but putting it into practice is very difficult. How often have you heard stories of children and adolescents who dominated their sport at an early age, only to drop out due to exhaustion and burnout? How about all of the stress-related injuries that stop young athletes from pursuing their dreams?

This leaves coaches and parents wondering what happened. How did such a talented young player drop out of the game or just become average after so much time on the court or field?

The toll this takes on the ambitious parents is also devastating, as they have been the ones grooming the athlete for elite status since their first game.

So the question becomes, how can children thrive throughout their sports development? And, how can parents support that performance status in sports and life?

The reality is that elite performance takes much more than year-round training and extraordi- nary talent. Elite athletes possess a support structure that cultivates success in the elite zone for extended periods of time. This support structure must grow as the level of the athlete grows.

As the athlete continues to go up each competitive level, the more solid the foundation must be in resisting the toppling of the Elite Performer Pyramid “” a wide base of training, nutrition, mindset, drive AND positive environment must support it.

The responsibility falls on parent and coaches to fosterv the lower base elements of the Elite Performer Pyramid by allowing our athletes to achieve elite performance. At the base is a positive environment and mindset. As you stack the pyramid, nutrition and training become building blocks. Only then can one begin to see how important each component is and how they all work together in support of grooming our young athletes.