The myth of the elite young athlete

I recently received an email from my brother-in-law that contained several video links.

“Tell me what you think.” My brother-in-law wrote.

I clicked and opened each link and watched my 8-year-old nephew goaltending a lacrosse goal. The video contained the coach’s commentary, superimposed video drawings, and slow motion point-by-point breakdown of his form.

“Wow! When I played that type of analysis and video work was only on ESPN,” I wrote back. I was shocked at the level of sophistication of the coaching analysis.

In the last 10-15 years, there has been an explosion in youth sports training, travel teams, artificial turf fields, video production, websites, private coaches, and “elite” sports teams. According to the news channel CNBC, youth sport travel is a $7 billion dollar industry.  With the recent interest in forming “elite” youth athletes, parents are left paying for additional training and sacrificing family time to “elite” sports.

Growing up in the 1980’s and 1990’s, we kids played football, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, street hockey, and basketball. Some of us were on recreation teams and others were not. We tried all sorts of sports and leagues. We played because it was fun.

Now, as a father of three children, I cannot believe how much youth sports culture has changed. What was once a time of fun, team building, and exercise is now a billion dollar industry. Families spend the whole weekend carting around their kids to sport games or leagues. They spend 2-4 nights a week at practices. Their kid’s sports are their life.

It is not supposed to be this way.

I once asked a parent why his son was on three teams, had a private coach, and strength conditioning trainer. “We want him to get a full scholarship to a Division I school and hopefully play professionally.” The child’s age? 12-years-old. As I listened to this father explain his son’s weekly regiment, I thought, “Is this what youth sports have become?”

This intense sports training rather than fun and development has led to the myth of the “elite” young athlete.  Parents exhaust their kids into practice and training so that their kid can get on that “elite” team.  The myth of the “elite” young athlete sees the child as a future professional athlete rather than a child who needs affirmation, structure, love, balance, family, friends, and healthy exercise.  A 2014 study conducted by Minnesota University reported the odds of a high school football player making it to the NFL are 1 in 6,000 and 1 in 10,000 for the NBA. That is an extremely narrow job field to prepare for.

The training of the “elite” young athlete creates a high risk for injury.  The Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine examined the “elite” young athlete culture. The 2014 study framed the reality this way: “Such an excessive focus on early intensive training and competition at young ages rather than skill development can lead to overuse injury and burnout.” The study found that these “elite” young athletes are at a high risk for overuse injuries, musculoskeletal problems, and burnout. The Centers for Disease Control found football concussions among 10 to 14-year-olds more than doubled from 4,138 in 2000 to 10,759 in 2010.  There are inherent risks in sports, but at what point will parents realize that children are being over practiced and over trained?

As a former high school lacrosse captain, two-time All-Conference college lacrosse player, and collegiate coach, I value my lacrosse experience. I loved the challenge, the friendships, and team work. I hold records in NCAA lacrosse goaltending. I never had a private coach, was not on a travel team, and did not practice Sundays. I played on one team at a time. My family ate dinner at the table just about every night, we went to church on Sundays, and took family vacations that did not revolve around sports. Lacrosse was a huge part of my life from the age of 12 to 28, but it did not control my life.

There will be parents who say, “My kids love every minute of sports!” I am sure they do. But I have to ask, “When is it enough?”  Every parent wants and hopes for their children to succeed in everything they do, but that’s the problem. Your kids cannot do everything: every sports opportunity, school event, birthday party, club, practice, and weekend game. Families need balance.

As an ordained minister, I teach the concept of Sabbath rest to my congregation. In the Bible, after God created the world, God rested. God created Sabbath as a pattern of rest for our lives. Our culture does not value the concept of rest. We all need balance and rest from the patterns of labor, rigor, and physical exertion. If adults and children do not rest from demanding activity, they burn out.

The priority of the family, family time, and family bonding is losing its importance to the myth of the “elite” young athlete.  The myth propagates the idea that children should be treated and trained as little professional athletes who need to spend countless hours practicing and playing.

Instead of focusing how to get our children to the “elite” youth sports level, let’s teach them what life giving priorities are truly important: family, friends, and fun.

This article originally appeared in Saratoga Mama Magazine, spring 2015.