Can You Over-Sample in Youth Sports?
Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Every month we get interesting emails and messages from our Changing the Game family, and once in a while we get one that is worth throwing to the community. We got an email from a set of parents, both former NCAA Division I athletes, with three young children highly involved in sports. As avid readers
- Published in Specialization, Sports Parenting, Talent Development
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#245: NYT Bestselling Author David Epstein: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (replay)
Friday, 05 November 2021
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher David Epstein (@DaviidEpstein) is the author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, and of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance. He has master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism and has worked as an investigative reporter for ProPublica and a
- Published in Podcast, Specialization
#233 Dr. Jean Cote: Long Term Athlete Development Starts with Immediate Positive Experiences
Sunday, 15 August 2021
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Dr. Jean Côté (@JeanCote46) is professor and Director in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University at Kingston (Canada). His research interests are in the areas of children in sport, coaching, positive youth development, and sport expertise. Dr. Côté has published more than 130 papers on a variety
- Published in Coaching, Parenting, Podcast, Specialization
When Will Youth Sports Actually Serve the Needs of Youth?
Wednesday, 07 March 2018
In late February I was traveling and speaking in Sydney and Perth, Australia, working for a variety of sports organizations including the Football (Soccer) Federation of Australia, Football New South Wales, the Western Australia Department of Sports and Recreation, and the WA Aussie Rules Football Committee. While on site, I got to visit the brand
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Relative Age Effect, Specialization
Winning the Race to the Right Finish Line in Youth Sports
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Kevin McLaughlin, USA Hockey’s Director of Youth Hockey Development, was not looking forward to opening his email in January 2009. He knew it was going to be full of angry posts. He knew he and his colleagues at USA Hockey would be accused of destroying the game and taking the toughness out of the sport.
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
WOC #28 Brett Fischer, PT for the Arizona Cardinals, on injuries, early specialization, and teaching movement before technical skills.
Sunday, 24 September 2017
Brett Fischer used to see Tommy John Surgery in 25 to 28 year old athletes. Now he is seeing it in 13 year olds. What has happened to simple joy of the game and playing for fun when we push our athletes so hard they need surgeries at half the age they used to need
- Published in Podcast, Specialization
WOC #12 Jay Fiedler, Former NFL Quarterback, on Pursuing Your Passion
Saturday, 03 June 2017
After a record setting career as a quarterback at Dartmouth College, Jay Fiedler went on to play for 10 years in the NFL. He was tutored by some of the top names in the world of offensive football, playing under coaches such as Tom Coughlin, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Norv Turner, Chan Gailey, Marc Trestman,
- Published in Podcast, Specialization
Let’s Stop the Early Sport Specialization Madness!
Tuesday, 27 September 2016
“I have a question,” said a mother recently at one of my speaking engagements. “I have an 8-year-old son who loves soccer. But the only soccer team in our town requires that he play all year round, and he still wants to play other sports. What are we to do?” Sound familiar? Across the country,
- Published in Specialization
Does Youth Sports Get the Math All Wrong?
Monday, 14 December 2015
“I did not know there would be math on this test,” is something I say (jokingly) when I get a difficult question at my speaking engagements. Recently, I received an email from a frantic mom, and it got me thinking about math. Yes, math. When it comes to our current sporting environment, I think we often
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization, Talent Development
3 Myths that are Destroying the Youth Sports Experience for our Kids
Saturday, 25 July 2015
Every year, I travel throughout the US, Canada, Asia and Europe, and give well over 100 presentations to parents and coaches. I speak to tens of thousands of people about youth sports, coaching, and athlete development. Every time I do a live event, I get asked the following question: “If you are presenting all this
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Relative Age Effect, Specialization
The 4 Biggest Problems in Youth Sports Today
Friday, 03 April 2015
When you run an organization such as the Changing the Game Project, you hear many youth sports stories from parents, coaches, and players. Some stories are absolutely heartbreaking, others inspiring. Recently I encountered the absurd. Many of us have seen the news about a volleyball player from Washington DC who was taking her playing time
- Published in Family Values, Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
The Adultification of Youth Sports
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
The other day I had a conversation with a coaching colleague about the state of youth sports. I stated that the emphasis on travel sports and playing multiple games per day for young children was hurting kids and damaging sports. “I agree with what you are saying,” he said, “but you are forgetting that youth
- Published in Family Values, Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
The 4th Path: Reinventing US Youth Soccer Player Development
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
When it comes to the development of young soccer players in the United States, many parents and coaches come to that proverbial fork in the road, and are unsure what path to take. Most parents want their child to try many sports, yet are faced with the harsh reality of high participation costs, nearly year-round
- Published in Coaching, Soccer, Specialization
The 10,000 Hour Myth
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
A myth is a false belief or idea that is widely held. One such myth that has enveloped youth sports is the idea that to become an elite athlete all one needs 10,000 hours of sustained, deliberate training. This is a myth in every sense of the word. I recently gave a talk at a
- Published in Deliberate Practice, Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
What About the Single Sport Athlete? Specialization Part II
Monday, 27 January 2014
My article on sport specialization, “Is it Wise to Specialize,” prompted quite a bit of discussion, commentary, and controversy, with people chiming in from all across the globe. Certainly the dynamics of single v multiple sport participation, and its effect upon performance, injury, and burnout, is not a settled issue, and arouses many emotions. It
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization, Sports Parenting
Is it Wise to Specialize?
Monday, 13 January 2014
The greatest difference between our children’s sporting experience and our own is the rise of year round, sport specific organizations that ask – even require – season after season of participation in order to stay in the player development pipeline. The pressure to have your child specialize in a single sport at a young age
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization, Sports Parenting