Participation in competitive sport is an important opportunity to grasp the nuances of how the sport is played and what works best against a variety of opponents style in games and matches. Crippling errors in developing junior athletic skills are:
a) Either the coach, player or parent interprets mistakes, errors, and experimentation that are a natural part of the learning curve process as failures.
b) Practice is one arena, being on the playing field, court, arena at game time and tested mentally, physically, technically, presents an emotional shift that time and experience enhances.
c) The player becomes so programmed that he/she doesn't have an opportunity to develop a unique style thus differentiating him/herself from other players.
d) Winning becomes so seemly vital at an early age that the results of competitive pressure to win becomes the standard not learning, growth and enjoyment of the activity. Is it a surprise that the burn-out rate for junior athletes is extraordinarily high?
Health: junior athletes that set their personal goals for performance and having those goals
celebrated by coaches and parents will be inclined to have more energy, joy in playing.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Sporty Ideas
Prior to competitive play many athletes have difficulty calming their nerves. To relieve symptoms of anxiety prior to or during sport activity try focusing on your breath. Following the flow of your breath for 20 seconds or more can aid in calming nerves. Your nerves calm down as your thinking calms down. Thoughts influence feelings. Shifting a physiology state from anxious and tight to relaxed and focused can be aided by a brief deep breathing exercise. The body cannot be anxious and relaxed at the same time.
For starters 4x4x5 breath technique: Breathe in deeply for the count of 4 seconds, hold your breath for the count of 4 seconds then release your breath for the count of 5 seconds. The technique can easily be practiced 2-3x's during breaks in sport.
Pick a sport:
Tennis, has a 20 second break between points.
Basketball, players utilize this before free throws or breaks in the game.
Baseball, plenty of opportunities during games whether on the field or waiting to bat.
Golf, better to be focusing on breath than all the thoughts that run through golfers minds.
The technique can be applied in most situations. While driving or operating any equipment keep your eyes open at all times!
For starters 4x4x5 breath technique: Breathe in deeply for the count of 4 seconds, hold your breath for the count of 4 seconds then release your breath for the count of 5 seconds. The technique can easily be practiced 2-3x's during breaks in sport.
Pick a sport:
Tennis, has a 20 second break between points.
Basketball, players utilize this before free throws or breaks in the game.
Baseball, plenty of opportunities during games whether on the field or waiting to bat.
Golf, better to be focusing on breath than all the thoughts that run through golfers minds.
The technique can be applied in most situations. While driving or operating any equipment keep your eyes open at all times!
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Parental Transitions
I love parents. I love parents for giving their children the opportunity to recognize and develop their athletic talents. Parents frequently are the vehicle for the child athlete to be introduced to sport. Parents most often provide early stage emotional support, encouragement, help the athlete become exposed to teams, coaching, competition and arenas where they develop their skills. It all begins as fun and for the most part stressless. Where parents often get stuck in the process is seeing too clearly the potential of their athletic child without having conversations with the developing athlete about what his or her goals for the future may be.
One of my favorite stories is in the book, "The Life You Imagine." The book is about the New York Yankees baseball star Derek Jeter. One of the stories of Derek is when he was 8 years old he walked into his parents bedroom and told them he wanted to play for the Yankees. Right there and then his parents started talking with him about planning to make his dream a reality.
With his parents over time he created a plan for success. They didn't push him, they guided him, showed him options and helped him make choices. Yes, Derek Jeter started out with immense talent but these other pieces needed to be in place for his long term success.
Some tips for parents are to ask the athlete particularly when they are 11/12 years old, what are the goals? How much soccer, tennis, baseball, basketball, name any sport, does the athlete wish to participate in? Things for a parent to notice, how well balanced is the child athletes life in regards to having time to hang out with their peers socially? Is the child athlete still enjoying the process? Or is it becoming a job? When it takes on the energy of a job many adolescents start to rebel. They let coaches and parents know that the workouts aren't fun anymore. Losing or feeling like all their time needs to be spent practicing during the off season to regain their spot on the high school team isn't fun.
When parents sign athletes up for events or teams because the parent sees it as a good thing towards moving to the next level they miss an opportunity. When the parent talks to the athlete and offers them an opportunity to participate in an event or club sport etc. outside of the regular season and the athlete sees it as an opportunity then the situation works.
It is easy to sit in the bleachers and pick apart a child athletes strengths, weakness, needs. It is much more complex being the developing athlete on the playing field who is expected to win or be successful enough to play varsity sports or win a college scholarship. The transition piece for the parent is to invite the athlete into a discussion as to how he/she wishes to be involved in sport during the coming year. Lay out the choices and options and engage the athlete in a discussion regarding what they hope to achieve and how much time, effort, energy is probably necessary to make it to the next level.
So what is the transition piece for the parent? The parent brings the player to the athletic environment and supports their development. But it is the athletes future, their time, their energy, their performance, their motivation to improve and continue to compete. As the athlete matures he/she needs to be invited to make more choices for the future of their athletic development. This builds a healthier more trustworthy parent/child athlete relationship.
One of my favorite stories is in the book, "The Life You Imagine." The book is about the New York Yankees baseball star Derek Jeter. One of the stories of Derek is when he was 8 years old he walked into his parents bedroom and told them he wanted to play for the Yankees. Right there and then his parents started talking with him about planning to make his dream a reality.
With his parents over time he created a plan for success. They didn't push him, they guided him, showed him options and helped him make choices. Yes, Derek Jeter started out with immense talent but these other pieces needed to be in place for his long term success.
Some tips for parents are to ask the athlete particularly when they are 11/12 years old, what are the goals? How much soccer, tennis, baseball, basketball, name any sport, does the athlete wish to participate in? Things for a parent to notice, how well balanced is the child athletes life in regards to having time to hang out with their peers socially? Is the child athlete still enjoying the process? Or is it becoming a job? When it takes on the energy of a job many adolescents start to rebel. They let coaches and parents know that the workouts aren't fun anymore. Losing or feeling like all their time needs to be spent practicing during the off season to regain their spot on the high school team isn't fun.
When parents sign athletes up for events or teams because the parent sees it as a good thing towards moving to the next level they miss an opportunity. When the parent talks to the athlete and offers them an opportunity to participate in an event or club sport etc. outside of the regular season and the athlete sees it as an opportunity then the situation works.
It is easy to sit in the bleachers and pick apart a child athletes strengths, weakness, needs. It is much more complex being the developing athlete on the playing field who is expected to win or be successful enough to play varsity sports or win a college scholarship. The transition piece for the parent is to invite the athlete into a discussion as to how he/she wishes to be involved in sport during the coming year. Lay out the choices and options and engage the athlete in a discussion regarding what they hope to achieve and how much time, effort, energy is probably necessary to make it to the next level.
So what is the transition piece for the parent? The parent brings the player to the athletic environment and supports their development. But it is the athletes future, their time, their energy, their performance, their motivation to improve and continue to compete. As the athlete matures he/she needs to be invited to make more choices for the future of their athletic development. This builds a healthier more trustworthy parent/child athlete relationship.
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