Young athletes today have plenty of opportunities when it comes to sports training — arguably too many. Unlike the old days of sending your child out to whatever sport was going on that particular season, today’s young athletes can choose to play one sport, year-round if they choose. But that’s just the beginning when it comes to opportunities for kids today, as there are seemingly endless more ways to help your child succeed in sports by means of additional helping professionals! Essentially what this means is that you can fill your child’s sport schedule beyond just the games on the field by including other “coaches” to help your son or daughter maximize his or her athletic abilities. All of this begs the question — is this too much for kids?
Coaches, training, and additional opportunities
If your child plays youth sports or interscholastic sports, then he or she already has at least one coach (if not a few by means of assistant coaches). Most kids easily handle working with a coach or two, but what happens when we bulk up their athletic schedule to include the following:
- Club coach. If your child plays sports beyond his or her school team, it’s likely that he or she is on a club team and has additional club coaches.
- Position coach. Some kids play unique positions that warrant an additional coach who specializes in things like throwing, catching, blocking, kicking, or other similar skills.
- Strength coach. Many kids attend their school weight room and work out under the supervision of the school strength coach (an increasingly common occurrence), while other kids work directly with a strength coach outside of their school.
- Mental skills coach. Increasingly more kids are turning to experts in sport psychology to help with confidence, focus, and resiliency, while learning how to control anxiety and other stress-related issues.
- Nutrition coach. We are what we eat, and more kids today are learning about the best ways to manage their diets by working with experts in nutrition.
- ID camps. For kids who are interested in playing college sports, it is almost a requirement to attend ID camps in order to be seen.
- Preparing video for online profile. Similar to ID camps, kids who want to play at the college level will need to market themselves online by means of an online profile featuring their best plays.
As you can see, youth sports have changed a lot since you played, and the time needed to work with specialized coaches can be overwhelming for kids. In fact, it is precisely this kind of schedule where kids are most prone to sports burnout, and eventually prematurely quitting sports altogether.
The good news is that you do not have to work with all of these coaches, and you can instead create the type of sport experience that best fits your family. Talk regularly to your kids about the importance of a balanced schedule, learning time management and communications skills, and how proper rest is what allows them to play their best each day. If your child has above-average sport skills, he or she will attract attention and you can decide at that time what makes the most sense for you.
Final thoughts
There are so many opportunities for kids involved in youth sports today that it can make your head spin! The good news is that you can still keep things in check by making sure your are proactive with the ways in which you devote time to sports, the professionals you elect to work with, and the level of commitment you put toward camps and developing an online presence. In other words, you do not need to hire a bunch of coaches and overwhelm your kids! The #1 reason why kids play sports is to have fun, but it’s not a lot of fun when your child feels burned out and overwhelmed.
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