The Youth Sport Conundrum

As a coach and parent I always have people assume that I’m going to push my daughter to participate in sports. Although I won’t allow her to be the next XBOX or Wii junkie, nothing could really be further from the truth. Personally I’m really not a fan of most youth sports for a number of reasons, some of which I will expound on below as most of these are rarely emphasized.

Physical Development- A tremendous amount of physical development can be gained as a result of participating in sports. It should be the goal of the coach to properly progress and develop the athlete in a way that will benefit the athlete for current participation as well as encouraging life-long fitness.

Psychological Development- Too often, athletic participation is looked at as having a negative affect on an athlete’s psychological development. However, when a coach provides the proper learning environment it is a great way to teach someone how to compete and how to accept the outcomes of their participation, whether it is winning or losing. Promoting the benefits of the athletic experience rather than just winning or losing is the most important issue that should be stressed because winning should be a by-product of the experience and losing should be viewed as a way to address change, learn and personal growth.

Social Development- Sports provide coaches the opportunity to teach honesty, self respect, sportsmanship, acceptance of winning and or losing as well as accountability for one’s actions. All of these must be addressed in sports to allow for the overall development of the participant as an athlete and as a person.
Relationships- The coach-athlete relationship must be professional and one of a mentor at all times with both parties understanding that there are limits to this relationship. It is extremely important that the coach exhibits a professional relationship at all times and with all who may be present before, during and after an athletic performance. The coach should respect officials as well as opponents players and coaches.

Ethics-Because of their role as a coach and the influence that they have over those that they come in contact with, anyone who is a coach is a role model for athletes and represents all those in the profession. A coach must strive to represent the profession as well as possible through their behavior, dress and relationships that they have with others. It is extremely important to realize the influence, authority and responsibility that a coach has on others and therefore, their personal life should also be held to high standards. A coach also has the responsibility to maintain safe practice and competitive environments by making sure equipment is safe, properly fit and legally maintained.

Professional Development-To be a successful coach one must strive to attain the highest amount of knowledge possible. This is extremely important for the growth and development of not only the coach but also the athletes as you can better educate them on why they are performing something. With a broad knowledge base, a coach will have a better understanding of the demands, techniques and skills of the activity that they are coaching/training. This in turn will help in the development of more appropriate/sound programs for the athletes.

I think if more coaches and parents would stress these six items they would provide a much more beneficial environment for their child and teams they are associated with. Who knows, it may even help prevent some of the parent/coach/official fights that have been documented in youth sports. There might not be as many 12 year olds getting OPTIONAL Tommy John’s surgery so they can try to fulfill their parents hope of him being the next big league phenomenon. You might see a drop in the number of youths that get burnt out and stop playing sports all together. Here’s a link to Dr. Chris Stankovich’s that youth sports coaches and parents might want to check out. http://blog.drstankovich.com/blog/tag/youth-sports/

Fighting The Fear....

The fear of getting back on the playing surface after sustaining a serious injury can be a daunting task. As a former Division 1 Collegiate baseball player that sustained a major knee injury that required two surgeries and 16 months of rehabilitative strength training just to get back to practicing again, I understand the demons faced just to get back onto the field.

Overcoming those demons were the toughest part of getting back on the field. The thought of my injury lingered in my head. The simple act of running to first (which was how my injury occurred), was a mountain that I had to get over. For the longest time I would slow down when approaching the bag and it really took a toll on me. My strength was back to where it should be, but the fear of my injury really hindered me from being the player I was before it occurred. It took a little time, but I eventually came to grips with the fact that if I ever wanted to play baseball again I would have to face those demons and push through the mental block. Once I did, my "game" came back and I was out there having fun playing the sport that I love without fear.

For athletes today that have sustained a major injury, it might not be as easy as just regaining the strength and conditioning to get you back on the field. If you do have the mental issue of getting back out there you will have to find the will to persevere.

Fight that fear and get back to playing the sport that you love!

The other night I was having some trouble sleeping because of the amount of things I had running through my mind. These thoughts varied anywhere from work (programming/planning my sports, our football road trip the next day and my interns handling their responsibilities for me when I was gone) to thinking about my little girl and her upcoming soccer game that I was going to miss. It was at this time, about 1:30 a.m., I started to think about perspective and the role it plays in both our personal and professional lives.

The world is filled with a wide variety of very interesting individuals whose outlook on everything is as extreme as their personalities. However, the perspective that people have in their personal and professional lives will help determine how successful they are in both. Too often people allow what is or has happened in one aspect of their lives to affect the other, be it positive or negative. The problem with this is that people allow themselves to go from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other with very little time spent in the middle where they can be the most productive and therefore successful.

When people are dissatisfied with their job they will often do just enough for them to get by and not get fired, if you’ve ever seen Office Space you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. This is true with both athletes and coaches. The problem with this type of attitude is that it has a snowball effect on both their personal and professional lives as they will often get passed over for promotions, raises, other jobs, playing time and other accolades related to your team.

Similar to life, sports are filled with obstacles and the perspective that one has will determine their success more times than talent or athletic ability. If you are a coach, what are you doing to improve? Are you reading something every day that pertains to your work? Are you continuing your education, be it through certification, advanced degree or clinics and seminars? Are you being the best you can for your family, community, co-workers and athletes? As an athlete what are you doing to make your team and coincidently yourself better? Are you doing the small things like watching film, getting treatment, going to class, lifting and whatever your coaches ask of you? Realize that your attitude is contagious but is yours worth catching?

Bones: Responses to Training

Bones provide the structure onto which soft tissue is built, they provide protection for internal organs, as well as provide a system of levers that allow for movement by way of muscular contraction. Much like muscles, bones undergo changes and improvements when a training stimulus is introduced, namely: impact and weight bearing exercises.

Though there are many functions and mechanisms taking place within the bones, I want to focus on the two main things that are happening within the bones when training occurs. First is bone hypertrophy due to training, and second is bone density improvement due to training.

The periosteum, a soft membrane covering the outside of bones, is responsible for building new outer layers of bone onto the existing bone. It essentially builds concentric layers of new bone, and this building is more rapid when the bones are being regularly stressed by way of impact or weight bearing exercises. It should be noted, however, that bone hypertrophy is very minuscule even when training is introduced.

The second and most prominent mechanism of bone response to training is density improvements. There are two types of specialized cells within the bones: Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts. Osteoblasts are responsible for building new bone while Osteoclasts reabsorb bone tissue. When introduced to impact and/or weight bearing training, Osteoblast activity increases while Osteoclast activity decreases. This increased activity results in greater bone density. Conversely, when an individual is sedentary, the opposite occurs. Osteoclast activity increases while Osteoblast activity decreases, effectively causing bone wasting.

Why is this important? Who doesn't want stronger bones!? This is especially important for the performance athlete within impact/contact sports. Having greater bone densities makes the athlete less prone to bone breaks and stress fractures. Even the non-contact or non-weight bearing athlete, such as cross country runners, can benefit (Cross country runners can often suffer from stress fractures that occur due to the continuous and repetitive striking of the ground during long distance runs). Having these improved bone densities also helps the average individual avoid bone wasting which can lead to osteoporosis and stress fractures.

Moral of the story: Lift heavy, run, jump, and get active!