In my last article I discussed the importance of play for all of us, kids and adults.  I read many articles/blogs throughout the week on fitness, especially what's happening when it comes to youth athletics.  One in particular this past week stood out.  It was a posting from the IYCA (International Youth Conditioning Association) which I am a part of as well about a video showing a golf pro teaching a 5 year old how to swing the club.  It is a 2 minute video that sparked a large amount of feedback from all that viewed it.  I wanted to share my thoughts on this video, but the main purpose is not so much the video but more about what is going on in youth athletics today.  We live in a competitive age where many parents want their kid(s) to be the next Tiger Woods, Lebron James, Tony Lagano(Nascar), Serena Williams, etc...  Sports are wonderful, but it's how kids are being pushed at a young age to be the next superstar is where we need to change how things are being done.

     The golf video is posted on the www.livestrong.com site under fitness, titled, "How to Teach Kids to Play Golf".  Please check it out for yourself at your conveinence.  Now, I don't know anything abot this coach, how he teaches, etc, I only know from what I viewed in on the video. The biggest thing that stood out to me was that the boy is 5 years old! and he starts out by saying, "This segment is on raising a superstar".  Did I say the boy is 5 years old.  Then he asks the boy to say his name as loud as he can because that's how he is going to say his name to his fans when they are clapping. Enstilling confidence is important, but the boy is mearly responding. He doesn't have the intellectual or emotional reasoning to fully understand what the coach is trying to say, especially when he instructs him to end up on his "back toe".  He is 5 years old, how about just letting him swing at the ball and have some fun.  Let him discover on his own.  He was doing just fine before the coach instructed him, and the boy over-compensated to his cue and you could see that the boy truely didn't understand how to make it happen. I'm guilty as well of over-coaching sometimes, that's why it is so important to recognize when you are and to be able to step back and let the person, especially kids, discover on their own. Kids between the ages of 6 and 9 should be given some guidlines, and then turn them loose on the field. 

     Think back to when you were a kid, in that 5 to 9 year old range, asked to perform a certain drill or skill by a coach, parent, etc.  Then you performed it and were told, "don't do it that way", Not like that". Sound familiar?  Kids need to be given general ideas of how to perform an athletic skill and then be left to figure it out. The human body is smarter than us, it will always find the best and most economical way of accomplishing a task.  Let kids develop and progress without the pressure of becoming the next superstar.  Let them grow and develop the love of sports and play.  There is plenty of time for competive athletics, but please, not at such a young age, let kids be kids.