There are WAY too many problems with the Youth Sports model in America right now. But in my opinion, these are the 2 biggest issues that can cost an athlete a future healthy relationship with sports, fitness, and competition. Enjoy!

🚩 Early SPECIALIZATION 🚩 

This one is obvious. Kids are specializing in 1 sport FAR too early… Baseball is year-round, Softball is year-round, Soccer is year-round, Basketball is year-round, Hockey is year-round… you get the point. Now more than ever before, families are being forced to commit to 1 sport in fear that their child will be left behind. Play Rec League! Play for the school team! Play for the travel team! Play for another travel team! Be a guest on another travel team! And if you don’t commit, the organization keeps you off the list (UNLESS your kid is an absolute stud... then you have all the power to do what you want).

Ok, so here’s the problem with early specialization… Your child is missing out big time on what TRULY matters: ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT. They are playing 80+ games a year - but not actually getting better. A shortstop may get 6 ground balls per game… a lead-off hitter may get 4 at-bats per game… a guard may get 10 shots per game… a defenseman may touch the puck 4 times per game… so yes, they are playing the sport, but the stimulus most likely isn’t high enough to develop the skills that actually move the needle to make them better. Not to mention, they are missing out on other athletic development opportunities from not being exposed to other things that can help make them more athletic! Most importantly, they are getting smoked both physically & mentally from the same movement patterns over and over and over again, which leads to overuse injuries and burnout. If you want true athletic development for your child, SEEK VARIETY!!! And even more important, surround your kid with real coaches who value development and feel the exact same way I do about this topic.

🚩 Early INTENSIFICATION 🚩 

This one is even MORE detrimental than early specialization. YOUTH sports has turned into mini-PRO sports. Kids are being placed into high stress, high stakes situations far too early. Before they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready. It’s beyond playing a ton of games - The intensity is far too high, far too early… and that leads to the endless pursuit of elite results… and ultimately that snowballs into far too high of expectations. Kids are getting burned out because their passion is now being turned into pressure. Expectations from coaches, parents, and teammates are too high. Why? Because everything in youth sports is about winning rather than developing. Congrats on your U12 championship where you beat a team from California (they must be the best team ever - they’re from California! Right?? And they have a 6’2” kid who throws gas (because he hit puberty earlier than every other kid) who will also be burned out at 16, just like your kid). To be honest, no one actually cares… At least people in positions who potentially hold your kid’s athletic future in their hands, they don’t care. Colleges don’t care. Scouts don’t care. The Red Sox? Dodgers? Yankees? Also do NOT care. Back to my point - Intensity is too high - and it’s stunting your kid’s athletic development. Instead of playing 80+ games, play 40 games, and spend the rest of the time on developing the stuff that actually matters! Get faster, get stronger, move better, improve eye-hand coordination, FOCUS ON FUN WHILE IMPROVING DEVELOPMENT. The main goal is to have so much fun that your kid wants to play next year. Why? MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPMENT!

When I was younger, if we laid down a perfect bunt in practice, we got to sprint past first base, past the foul-pole, up this huge hill to the playground to ride the curly slide. Conditioning, Speed, Fun, Better at bunting. The most simple concept in the world. Every single kid came back year after year to play baseball. We all fell in love with the game.

If you want your kid to thrive in sports, the secret is NOT more games, more teams, and more pressure. The answer is more FUN, more VARIETY, and more real DEVELOPMENT. That’s what keeps them in the game for life.