Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / What’s More Important in Youth Sports, Growth or Accomplishments?

What’s More Important in Youth Sports, Growth or Accomplishments?

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Mar 16, 2017

No Comments

An ongoing debate of philosophies in education, growth versus accomplishment, can be parlayed onto youth sports using the same critical analysis.  More simply, should the focus of success in youth sports be on-field accomplishments (i.e. number of wins), or personal growth (kids playing better at the end of the year, regardless whether they are “winners” on the field).

Fun, growth, & success

Studies have consistently shown that the #1 reason why kids play sports is to have fun. Fortunately, the vast majority of parents and coaches involved in youth and interscholastic sports work hard to ensure kids enjoy playing sports, but there are still hurdles and pitfalls that can quickly take the fun out of sports. For example, when we turn our attention toward focusing only on personal statistics and awards, we move from the essence of amateur sports to a more professional-sport model that focuses exclusively on performance.  Rather than promoting personal growth through athletics, the measure of a successful experience is gauged by on-field measurable accomplishments.

While we have always had statistics and awards as part of the sport experience, some critics argue that we are becoming too focused on individual achievements, and that stats and awards put undue pressure on kids to perform solely for individual recognition.  When kids feel pressured to focus exclusively on winning, they often lose their excitement for competing, and subsequently don’t maximize the athletic experience.

All of this prompts the big question: Can a season still be considered a great season for kids that don’t win awards or experience on-field success?

The impact of social media

When kids consistently see adults gloat and post about various awards and victories on social media, it’s understandable how kids can develop the belief that the only thing that matters is winning and individual accomplishments.

Social media allows for emotional, immediate posts, and some parents have been guilty of going overboard trying to get their kid’s great plays to go “viral.” Obviously parents take pride in seeing their kids succeed, but perhaps a more balanced approach to social media posts that includes team-building efforts, community volunteerism, and various other examples of leadership and sportsmanship might help offset the perceived notion that only on-field success matters.

Some parents get caught up in the social media race to get the most “likes,” and as a result work extra-hard to glamorize on-field success and accomplishments in order to one-up the competition. Again, there is a risk when all kids see are posts about great plays and winning at the expense of other potential posts that might provide for a more broad view of all the values and growth experiences in youth sports.

Don’t overlook all the life lessons

Kids who play sports learn countless invaluable athletic transferable skills, as well as benefit from physical, emotional, and cognitive development opportunities from playing on a team. Additionally, the time commitment and structure of sports helps steer kids away from off-field issues and problems, from drug use to joining gangs. When we only focus on catching that next great play on video, or the chance to showcase awards on social media, we lose sight of the comprehensive value of playing sports.

Setting and achieving goals, balancing a schedule, learning time management skills, and coping with adversity are just a few life skills student athletes learn while competing, but those skills are sometimes overlooked or taken for granted when we only reinforce efforts directly tied to winning, awards, and recognition. It is important that we make regular, direct, overt efforts to talk with kids about the life skills they learn through sport, and then help them apply those skills to the classroom, their future careers, and all areas of their lives.

There’s nothing wrong with success, or offering recognition for kids who achieve accomplishments on the field.  It is important, however, that we balance our accomplishment recognition with development and growth experiences kids have through sports if we want them to grow and develop through sport participation.

What are your thoughts when it comes to growth versus accomplishments in youth sports?  What advice do you have so that kids have a balanced approach that includes both?

www.drstankovich.com

Coaching, parenting, psychology, sport, success

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • December 8, 2023 The Psychology of Successful Sports Coaching
  • December 4, 2023 Turn off the Noise for Improved Mental Health
  • November 28, 2023 Understanding Psychology: The Backfire Effect, and Why Facts Don’t Always Matter
  • November 28, 2023 Artificial Intelligence is Delivering Your News More Often than You Think
  • November 20, 2023 Experiencing Depression isn’t a Bug, it’s a Feature of the Human Condition

PREVIOUS POST

5 Key Youth Sport Parent “Dont’s”

NEXT POST

The Impact of Attitude on Human Performance & Success

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Coaching , Communicating with Coach , Mental Toughness , Parent Training , Prep , Sport Psychology , Sport Sociology , Sports Administrators , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Parenting , Sports Performance Science , Uncategorized , Youth and Interscholastic Sports , Youth Sports

Tags

Coaching, parenting, psychology, sport, success

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • The Psychology of Successful Sports Coaching
  • Turn off the Noise for Improved Mental Health
  • Understanding Psychology: The Backfire Effect, and Why Facts Don't Always Matter
  • Artificial Intelligence is Delivering Your News More Often than You Think
  • Experiencing Depression isn't a Bug, it's a Feature of the Human Condition
  • Rather than Focus on Youth Sport Results, Try Embracing the Power of Play
  • Exercise Patience with Growing Kids Working Hard for Sport Success
  • The Impact of Psychological Identity Development on Young Athletes
  • Here's What Your Kid Might Not Tell You, But Tells Me
  • Examining Mental Toughness: Attitude, Desire, & Determination
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1207 Grandview Ave., Suite #218, Columbus, OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482

    Media & General Inquiries

    information@drstankovich.com

    Sales & Product Support

    sales@drstankovich.com

  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2023 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓