A Common Challenge for Young Athletes

From time to time, I get questions from concerned parents that would pertain to other parents and athletes as well.

*Question from a typical parent*
My daughter is 14, plays soccer and basketball, and currently in 8th grade. In soccer, she plays on a high-level premier team and on the state Olympic Development Program team.

In basketball, she plays for her school and AAU.  She is a straight A student, outgoing and friendly. In sports she plays hard (and has the injuries to prove it — hip, knee, ankle,
shoulder) and is very competitive.

Coaches characterize her as a very good athlete, motivated and committed. Coaches constantly preach/plead to her to take a more active role in the games. She will tell you that she is the best practice player but at game time, it just does not happen consistently.

She often is content with just contributing and not making a mistake and therefore does not play up to her ability. What would you suggest in this situation?

My response:  This is a very common issue with athletes that have fear of failure. Athletes with fear of failure are usually very hard working athletes that want to win badly, but are afraid to make mistakes and lose the game. It’s ironic that athletes who want to win so badly are the most scared to lose or make errors.

This causes athlete to have an avoidance mindset instead of an aggressive mindset. They play tentative and sometimes appear (from an observer’s perspective) like they are not trying or are not aggressive.

Your first step is to identify what the ‘ultimate’ fear is for her. For example, she may be afraid to take charge in a game for the fear of losing the game and then worry about her
teammates not liking her or accepting her (which is a false assumption on her part typically).

Dig in with her and find out what the ultimate fear is and you may unlock her potential.

We all want the best for our kids….. I know I do.  Sometimes we have to do different things to “unlock” the potential that our children have in order for them to be successful.   Make sure you are trying to unlock your childs potential……

Coach

Thoughts……..

In watching my son’s basketball 1:1 session today,  thought I would put together a few thoughts about young people and their involvement or continence in sports in general.   Did you know that seventy-five percent of all young athletes drop out of sports by the time
they are 13 years old.  Why?  Because sports is no longer fun for them. Playing and competing no longer brings them satisfaction or happiness.

You, as a parent, have the power to determine whether your child drops out of sports or stays with it. You, as a parent, have the ability to build your child‘s confidence, ensure he or she feels successful and has fun.  We will have quite a few young athletes come out for track and field this year.  I know that all will not continue with us for whatever reason.  In the often high-stakes youth sports scene, it‘s not always easy to figure out how to raise a confident, happy youth athlete. You face the challenge of coping with our society‘s pressure to win, untrained coaches, other parents‘ attitudes, and the emotional ups-and-downs your child experiences as an athlete. Add to that the financial costs and time commitment. It‘s not surprising many kids feel immense pressure, lose confidence and lack self esteem
in the athletic arena.

The FIRE Track and Field / XCross Country team, places a lot of emphasis on many different areas, but our main focus is to build confidence in these young athletes.  Through confidence, ANYTHING is possible…… Better grades, Better performance, Better relationships, Better focus, and being able to handle situations not only on a track or cross country course, but in life…

A Note from the Head Coach….

My son and kids tend to say these words “I can’t do this” all to often…what does a parent or coach do when these words come out of their mouths?

I meet with comments to the effect of “Coach or dad, I don’t like that event or I can’t do that” from a number of runners in the past.  I understand that too.  We all have our favorite races.   Mine was the 110m High Hurdles.  Our team is filled with coaches and athletes who  prefer running long “all day runners” and that pain is just something they seem to cope well with.  Others love the feeling of power and flying through a track race – 400, 800, 1500, 3000. Others yet like the pace and effort involved with that 5k-10k distance.

Everyone is certainly “made” for different events both mentally and physically. This is not a bad thing at all. Having race preferences is not a bad thing either. In fact, it is quite beneficial because it create focus in training. The flip side of the coin is if we become too focused on solely doing our favorite event we never develop into the best runner we can possibly be. Therefore, our strengths indeed becomes our weaknesses if that is all we focus on.

We need to take lessons from the best in the world to learn how to be the best we can be. If you follow elite sprinters, hurdlers, or marathoners you will find them often jumping into races that are different then what they would normally run on the track. You will find 800 specialists moving down to 400 and up to the 1500/mile.  5000 runners often drop to the mile and move to the 10000.

One of the key practices in becoming the best runner you can be at your chosen specialty is to RACE longer and shorter. Shorter races force you to develop your higher end speed. And the longer races develop strength and endurance. And no, it is not the same as doing practice reps.

In the process you also learn more about tactics, pacing, and mental strategies that will serve you better in your primary race.

To become the most well-rounded runner and ultimately be the best runner you can be at your chosen distance get out and race longer and shorter and get out of your comfort zone… there is method to a coach’s madness.

Hello and welcome to the Coaches Corner!!

Track and Field is a multi-disciplinary sport that requires a great deal of specialized training and coaching.  Specific drills are important to help with the various techniques and the intricate elements of each event.

We have and are developing several areas that cater to track and field.  They are:

• Sprints
• Middle Distance
• Long Distance
• Hurdles
• Discus
• Javelin
• Shot Put
• High Jump
• Long Jump

“Coaches Corner” was created to provide an informational site  for The Fire Youth Track and Field to learn and share tips and highlight the achievements of  youth track athlete ages 5-18.

Through many years of experience and competition, we have learned a great deal about the process of running  unattached ,considering joining a team(lots of good ones to chose from) , joining a team, how to prepare for traveling to a National Championship, assistant training, psychology of  winning, importance of rest….And that’s just the beginning.

We are a family that is enjoying the journey of track  and field  and  our lives together.