BUILDING WEAPONS and FIREFIGHTING

The following is from an older interview, but it's worth reviewing.

John: Today's coaches lack a few qualities. What quality do you see as the most important when coaching children under the age of 18?

Kwame: “When coaching young athletes, the emphasis should be on skill-building. If you listen to Pete Sampras in an interview, he didn’t start seriously consider becoming a professional until he was around 16. Even then, he was more focused on “building weapons” (skills) than on winning right away. He will tell you that this is WHY he became so great. So, all of these coaches and organizations that are focusing on winning at all costs and showcasing 11 year olds to professional scouts are completely missing the point. We play sports because sports are fun. Kids should be coached to create competency. If your child decides at 9 years old that he/she wants to be fireman, would you put them in an intensive firefighting training program? No, because this child will likely change their mind 6 times before they are 18. Same thing with sports. There are only 2 reasons that coaches, organizations, and parents would be that focused on winning and “showcasing” these children: Money and Glory. Period. These are not burdens that we want children being saddled with.”

Full interview here.

You can occasionally find some good info, or at least a few good ideas, at the IYCA website, or the IYCA blog.