JOHN McMAHON: Let them be children

John McMahon

I HAVE been lucky enough to work with coaches, administrators, and talent identification and development ‘experts’ here in Ireland and in America.

The single biggest concern at present is the early specialisation of our youth athletes.

Early specialisation is quite simply a race to the bottom, to do more, more, more at younger and younger ages, all in the name of “preparing them for the next level.”

But sadly, in trying to “prepare them for the next level” we often simply replicate the physical, cognitive, and psychological load faced by adults. And we forget one very important thing:

Children are not mini adults

During their school life, our children sit at child-sized desks and do age-appropriate work in an age-appropriate environment.

They do this to build a foundation for more advanced learning skills to come. But importantly, our children learn this way to develop an understanding, love and interest for what they are doing.

Children should get the opportunity to experience their childhood, enjoy their sport and find their passion, and as a result stay involved in sport long enough to get good at it.

Those of us in sport need to pay attention. We don’t develop elite adult athletes by forcing them to forgo their childhood. They only get to be a 10-year-old once.

And no matter how much ability they have, they still have a 10-year-old brain, 10-tear-old body, 10-year-old needs and 10-year-old maturity.

Yet on a weekly basis, I hear stories of:

• Children being “developed” in adult-centred environments

• Children doing watered down versions of adult training regimes

• Children not being given playing time in games and in practices

Despite all the evidence of early specialisation and its ineffectiveness some of these above, youth training models are still very prevalent in our coaching psyche.

As coaches, clubs, organisations we need to do better.

Below is some of the main areas of concern that an early specialisation model has on our children:

1.Children who specialise in a single sport account for 50 per cent of overuse injuries in young athletes according to orthopaedic specialists.

2.Children who specialised early in a single sport led to higher rates of adult physical inactivity. Those who commit to one sport at a young age are often the first to quit.

3.Early specialisation in a single sport is one of the strongest predictors of overuse injuries and a playing potential unfulfilled.

4.Children who specialise early are at a far greater risk for burnout due to stress, decreased motivation and lack of enjoyment.

5.Young female athletes who specialise to early have increased risk of anterior knee pain disorders including PFP, Osgood Schlatter and Sinding Larsen-Johansson compared to multi-sport athletes, and may lead to higher rates of future ACL tears.

When all is said and done we need to just let them be children.