1. Insist on one day off every week and an off-season every year. Think about this. In 2014 LeBron James earned $72.3 Million (Forbes) in salary and endorsements. The NBA season starts in October and ends in June. It is an incredibly long season. But it is still not year around. One of the best athletes of our time being paid tens of millions of dollars still gets an off-season to rest his body, spend time with his family and hit the weight room. And yet so many 15 and 16 year-old kids are expected to play 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Give the athletes time to recover, time to get stronger and time to be kids.
2. Never, ever, make it about money. Ever. I have many times heard: "I have to play in this tournament because my parents paid a lot for me to be in it." or "If I don't get an athletic scholarship I won't be able to afford college." What a load of garbage. These kids are already competitive kids. Their playing time is dependant on their performance on the field. It is not okay to link their current or financial future to their sports performance at 15 years old. There are an increasing number of adults who cannot handle the pressure of a high intensity, high performance job and you want to put that on a teenager? Instead of dropping thousands of dollars on softball tournaments try investing that money in a college fund. Two problems are solved. And believe it or not there are infinite ways to get better at sports for little or no financial investment at all.
3. Restrict the athletes to one sport at a time but encourage them to play multiple sports. The quickest way to burn a kid out is having them play two sports at a time. Again, lets look at an adult example. Let's say you have one full-time job (Going to school) and two part-time jobs. You work 8 hours a day Monday - Friday at your full-time job and sometime have to work from home evenings and weekends. You then work another 2 - 4 hours a day Monday - Thursday at your 1st part-time job and then another 2 - 4 hours 2 - 3 days a week and all day Sunday. Would you ever know if you were coming or going, what you were supposed to do, or where you were supposed to be? And what about those days when you are scheduled at the same time for two and sometimes all three of those jobs? How do you decide which one you focus on?
Do, however, encourage kids to play more than one sport. It is not out of the question a kid finds one sport they love and wants to play as much as possible. This is where club sports can play a roll. A soccer player could play a high school season in the fall and a club season in the spring or summer still having a solid off-season. But if the kid is an overall athlete and excels at and enjoys playing more than one sport, encourage it. Most high-schools offer affordable and competitive programs at a relatively low price. The programs are also heavily regulated by state athletic associations requiring days off, restricting playing time to a safe level and assuring coaching qualifications. Multiple sports give the athlete a chance to switch gears to avoid burnout, teach new skills and make them better over-all athletes.
4. Stop being their agent and start being their parent. I cannot stress the importance of this. We are talking about children. They have to check in every time they leave the house. They cannot even drive themselves around and yet, I hear, "She is so driven and just wants to play all the time. I cannot stop her." More garbage. Be the parent. Parents need to help kids make responsible choices for their benefit and well-being not so parents can save a buck or live vicariously through their kids. This is not every parent. But it is more than anyone wishes to admit. Parents need to put limits on the time kids play sports just like they do with television, video games or anything else.
Next week I will outline specific gameplans for specific scenarios to help kids start enjoying sports again and still have opportunities to to play multiple sports, play at the next level and be extremely competitive while still following the four rules I outlined. If you have any specific scenarios you would like addressed e mail me at tom@canyonptandf.com.
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