Predicting success in sports is a challenge at any age because so many factors impact long-term performance. When children are young, it is very difficult to determine whether they have the right physical, psychological and sociological make-up to be top-level athletes. Combine this with the unknown outcomes of growth and development through puberty, and trying to accurately predict athletes’ future performance levels can be like playing the lottery.
With this in mind, we can attempt to create a better experience for all involved—kids, parents, coaches, scouts and recruiters—by doing what we can to analyze and predict long-term sports success. By quantifying the athletic talent required for success, we can help parents harness their enthusiasm, focus their expenditures and spend more time enjoying the childhood and youth sports experience. Children have their first experiences in organized sport by age 8 or 9, and participation rates continue to rise through the childhood years. Parents who understand the athletic attributes needed for sports and who know where to source specialized coaching can allow children to enjoy their athletic development as they follow tangible steps to improve their sports abilities in measurable ways.
From a coaching perspective, understanding athletic ability and potential give greater vision in athlete selection and overall team development. Coaches of young athletes may prioritize training that improves athleticism as opposed to focusing on the immediate desire to win. The goals should be to encourage healthy activity for inactive kids, teach life skills, develop a long-term enjoyment of sports and give naturally gifted athletes the tools that will help them perform at an elite level.
Predicting athletic success is challenging. If a child excels at a young age, there is no guarantee that this will carry into later childhood or the teen years. Young athletes exist on a continuum of ability from below-average to exceptional. While some of them will excel, as many as 70% of children will not pursue sports past their teenage years.
Gone are the days of free play with neighborhood friends—they have been replaced with organized sports and scheduled activities to support athletic success. Many athletes are specializing in one sport at very early ages in hopes of a professional career, encouraged by parents who may have specific dreams or plans for their child. Kids who are streamlined into a single sport early in life are robbed of more varied experiences critical to developing overall athleticism. A lower athletic base ultimately limits their sport-specific improvement potential and can lead to burnout. The focus should be on helping young athletes develop skills they will draw on at an older age when they are actually ready to capitalize on sports specialization.
By Marylin Sangdaan