Sports parents today regularly buy their kids additional sports training to help their performance on the field, including working with former players and other high-level sport experts. In fact, some families spend thousands of dollars each year finding the best ex-pros to help their kid stay ahead of the competition, but is this the most effective way to help a kid succeed? The answer is it depends, not so much on the sport instructor, but instead the level of training your child receives from the instructor. If training is commensurate with your child’s athletic ability and potential that’s one thing, but too often today young kids are training with advanced experts before mastering the basics of their sport, creating a sub-optimal learning situation. Finding top stars in your neighborhood to teach your kid is one thing, but if your kid isn’t ready for that level of training, it’s like driving a Ferrari in a school zone in that what you bought more than you can use.
The most expensive sport lessons may be the least effective
Personalized, professional training is very en vogue for young athletes today, but is this too much for kids still learning how to throw, catch, and kick? While it might make sense for a 5 star high school recruit to train with a former professional athlete, it might not be the kind of training your 3rd grader needs. The problem today is that increasingly more parents are chasing after the highest, most credible, and often most expensive sport training with the assumption that “more is better,” when in reality kids grow the fastest when training is appropriate to their age, skill level, interest, and potential. For many kids, that means learning the basics from their current recreation coach!
…too often today young kids are training with advanced experts before mastering the basics of their sport, creating a sub-optimal learning situation.
I hear from families at my office all the time about the great former college/pro player working with their kid, and while some of these situations make sense, in many other instances the kid ends up receiving advice way over his head — and at a great financial cost to his parents. For example, if you have a 10 year old baseball pitcher still learning how to master his windup and delivery, hiring a former pro player to teach your kid different breaking ball pitches is way too much training than what is needed. In this situation, the kid needs to master the basic windup (and that can be taught to him by his regular coach), and then work his way up to learning new pitches and mastering them (expertise help may be considered here).
This same approach can be used with any sport, and should begin with an honest appraisal of where your kid is at today with his or her age and ability. Buying a former athlete’s time will not automatically make your kid great! Kids excel when they learn and master basic muscle movements until they become automatic and confidence is developed — and then they can begin working with more advanced training that builds from the basics. Introducing advanced training too soon can actually have the opposite effect where kids become overwhelmed with information, feel paralyzed by it all, and actually disengage from the experience. Yes, it is very important that you get this right!
Final thoughts
When it comes to sports training for your child, one size does not fit all! Even if it seems like everybody is doing it, parents need to consider training that is a good fit for their child, and that decision should be made based on age, interest, basic skill mastery, and future goals. Most families today are looking past building up fundamentals and instead being drawn to the bells and whistles associated with former pro and college athletes, new facilities, and expensive training camps. While all of those options might work one day, it is important to first help your child learn and master the basics, then move on to more specialized training when he or she is ready.
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