The Long Game – Building Champions for Life, by Kylie Casey
Let’s talk about something that can be a little complex and sometimes difficult to break down in youth sports.
Development rarely follows a straight path upward. Instead, it’s a journey filled with ups, downs, adjustments, and breakthrough moments.
An athlete’s progress will also include setbacks and plateaus. This means we need to help our athletes understand that patience is part of the growth process. This is not always easy in today’s youth sports environment because everything moves fast. Every season feels important, and many families feel like they are constantly trying to keep up.
But, when it comes to children and development, comparing one athlete to another can be misleading. The most important focus should be who your individual athlete is becoming overtime, all while keeping a love for the game.
Think about something as simple as a growth spurt. Sometimes it may feel like an advantage to be taller, faster, and stronger. Although it could also have an opposite effect. Instead, their body is changing quickly, and the coordination that once felt natural may suddenly feel off. Mechanics might feel different, performance may alter, and confidence might dip.
From the outside, it can look like regression, but instead we can view it as adjusting. Sometimes I think about it like bringing home a newborn baby. You might recognize a similar pattern. A baby starts sleeping through the night, then suddenly there’s a regression. Then sleep improves again. Then another regression happens.
Why?
It is possible that a growth spurt occurred or there was a developmental change. The same concept can apply to young athletes. Development includes moments of progress followed by moments that feel like a step backward. This is all a part of growth.
Youth sports also come with big emotional swings. Confidence, especially at a young age, is still developing. One weekend a player might feel like they’re on top of the world after their performance and the next weekend they cost their team the game and their confidence is gone.
That car ride home can feel very different.
Parents sometimes look for explanations. Did something change this week? Was there a lack of effort or focus? An important reminder is that failure is part of the game too. Failure is part of development. Failure can rock confidence, but just like a physical skill, confidence develops over time as well.
Young athletes need both physical and mental reps. Failure happens at the highest levels of sports and the best athletes in the world still experience failure. A young athlete learning how to navigate those moments is part of the continual development process.
Another important reminder in youth sports is that early success does not always predict long-term success. It’s a common misconception that the best 10-year-old will eventually become the best 18-year-old. Youth sports are full of early bloomers and late developers. Some athletes mature physically sooner than others. Some develop confidence and mental toughness later. Many elite athletes were not the stars when they were eight, nine, or ten years old.
In the end, this brings us back to an important question: What are youth sports really for?
Are we trying to create the next professional athlete at age ten or are we trying to build a champion for life? The athletes who thrive long-term are usually the ones building something deeper than temporary success. They’re developing discipline, resilience, work ethic, confidence, character, and grit.
Every athlete’s journey will look different. The athletes who succeed in the long run are not always the ones who started ahead, but instead are the ones who stay patient, keep working hard, and continue to grow through the challenging seasons.
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