Whatever happened to that kid?

     This past weekend I had an opportunity to be around some coaching peers in Easton's wrestling room as we were there for a scrimmage. The topic of conversation quickly turned to long term athletic development with our wrestlers. We talked about those kids who dominated youth sports and then never heard of them again as they moved up in class or just stopped competing (70% of young athletes quit before the age of 13. The top three reasons: adults, coaches and parents). This isn't just a wrestling issue, it is a youth sports issue.

     This is caused by the win-at-all costs youth sports environment (the same can be said for the AAU culture in basketball). The coaches at the lower levels are not talent identifiers, they are talent selectors. They choose the most physically developed kids for their team and cut the smaller, less athletic players because they can not help them win now. The cut players get put on lesser teams with lesser coaches and in weaker leagues. Some of these kids persevere, the others wither away. The "elite" kids train, get good coaching, but often rely on what has worked for them in the past when they had a physical advantage over their competition and are not as open to learn. This I have seen on many levels with wrestling. There are moves that work in the youth league that do not work in Junior High. There are moves that work in Junior High but not work well at the High School level. Same for High School to College to International competition. The kids who are able to adapt, display a work ethic, and are excited to learn will continue to improve. But the "elite" kids who aren't open to change and learning are the ones who fall off the map. As their physical advantages mitigate, they are supplanted by the kids who develop a little late, are more technical, coachable and have the grit to persevere because they had to do it the hard way.

     How do we fix it? I believe there are two ways to develop our youth. The first is participation. The number one determinant when choosing a team to play for is actually getting on the field. Getting mat time, field time, track time, etc is a great learning tool. Sitting on the bench, not so much. Choose a team that will allow you to learn through competition. The second, shift the focus from wins and losses and put a focus on improving the root of your game. Continual, daily progress is the only way to sustain long term athletic development. Late bloomers are common in athletics and it important to not rush development. Stop cutting players at such a young age and focus on developing these players (and not just the elite ones). We need to focus on the root of sport. There is too much of a focus on competition without attention to individual detail.

Chris Fluck, CSCS