Long-term athletic development: Patience, please!
As the director of sports performance for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy for over 15 years, I have been afforded a unique blessing and opportunity to witness firsthand the full breadth of athletic capability while working with preschool-age grassroots soccer players, adult professionals, and all levels in between.
With each passing year, the Academy athletes are becoming increasingly talented at younger ages. This trend has been consistent throughout my tenure with the club, and is largely the result of athletes specializing earlier, and identifying solely with soccer in their early development process (i.e., playing year-round).
It is becoming increasingly rare that the change of season naturally brings about a new sport with different movements, patterns and skills. This is not, however, unique to soccer. All youth sports are becoming more specific and competitive at a younger age.
Achieving mastery earlier may seem ideal, though early success often comes with a price on the back end: Repetitive overload so quick and so young can potentially lead to injury and mental burnout. It truly is the paradox of high performance — in order to become good at any endeavor it must be rehearsed many times over.
With that being said, timing matters, and managing development to peak at an appropriate time in one’s sporting career (high school, collegiately or professionally) is just as critical as the development itself. Passion and commitment to the process for one singular discipline is commendable, but must be gently nurtured with great patience as opposed to quickly accumulated.
Long-term athletic development, regardless of the sport, is truly an ultramarathon. To successfully navigate this delicate process, holistic practices should be put in place to promote general athletic attributes, value quality skill acquisition over quantity, and prioritize periods of designated rest.
Similar to academics, sporting expertise first must be established upon a broad and sturdy base of fundamentals. To put it simply, the stronger the foundation, the greater the peak of high performancecan be.
Unfortunately,too many young athletes are trying to skip steps by only working specifically on sporting technique, while simultaneously overlooking development of basic athletic principles such as speed, power, strength and conditioning. The basic skills must be present first, before growth and specificity can be safely achieved.
To maintain balance and, ultimately, overall health, early development should take careful consideration to fill “athletic gaps” with supplemental tasks that the young athletes are otherwise not having fulfilled by their specific sport.
At the absolute youngest ages, this is best solved with gamified tasks that embed such principles without the athletes even being aware. It is not until the athletes begin to enter their teenage years that more structured athletic development is implemented.
It is also important to note that young athletes are not miniature adults. They are growing and developing — a rather tumultuous process — while trying to acquire both general and specific attributes.
The energy and adaptive resources necessary to grow and become more skillful all at once are significant. Young athletes also comprehend and grasp new motor skills quicker than older athletes. As a result, quality should always be valued over quantity and repetition.
Adequate rest is also necessary for sustainability over the long term, and should be prioritized as it goes hand in hand with seeking quality. A fresh athlete is more likely to remain a healthy athlete, and a little bit goes a long way with youth athletes.
There is beauty in subtlety when it comes to coaching these ages. Often, this requires discipline in deliberately delaying gratification for an even greater tomorrow, which can be easier said than done.
Young athletes (and their parents) can fall prisoner to chasing achievement in the moment. Again, timing matters. Having the wisdom to be patient and seek holistic, healthy development early on will yield good fruit later, at the time when results truly matter.