Retaining Youth in Sports: A Philosophical and Practical Approach
Retention in youth sports has been an issue in recent years due to sports specificity at an early age and the involvement of parents in programs that are not professionals in the field. I recently listened to a discussion from one of Ben Akren’s episodes of Mental Monday, hosted by Rudis, concerning youth wrestling and his mindset regarding youth wrestling participation in heavy competition. “Kids are not emotionally stable enough at a young age to compete frequently.” Despite parent excitement and involvement, he also stated the retention year over year with wrestlers being only 59%.
We will explore how one maintains youth participation in sports year after year through a detailed breakdown of my program philosophy for youth sports. Not everyone agrees with my assessment, but my work with children as a teacher for a decade and my leadership skills in the Army have taught me that lack of retention in programs is due to weak leadership and poor programming.
Stoicism
Stoicism is a fascinating philosophy that teaches us how to live with serenity and strength, focusing on what we can control and letting go of what we can't. At its core, Stoicism introduces three key disciplines to guide our journey through life: the Discipline of Desire, the Discipline of Action, and the Discipline of Assent.
The Discipline of Desire is all about wanting the right things. In a world full of temptations and distractions, Stoicism teaches us to focus our desires on virtues and personal growth rather than external rewards or material possessions. This discipline helps us cultivate inner contentment and peace, regardless of our external circumstances.
Next, the Discipline of Action concerns doing the right thing. It's about aligning our actions with our values and principles, ensuring we contribute positively to our community and treat others respectfully and kindly. This discipline encourages us to be mindful of our impact on the world and to strive for excellence in our personal and professional lives.
Finally, the Discipline of Assent teaches us to accept what happens with grace. It's about understanding our thoughts and reactions to events and embracing a positive and constructive mindset. By practicing this discipline, we learn to respond to life's challenges with calmness and resilience, turning obstacles into opportunities for growth.
Together, these disciplines form the heart of Stoicism, offering a timeless guide to living a fulfilling and meaningful life.
How does Stocisim relate to Youth Sports?
Self-control is the building block to personal happiness and accomplishing the goals one sets out to accomplish. Let us look at it from a barebones perspective. If one wants to achieve a goal, it takes a series of steps to accomplish it. We sometimes have to sacrifice unhealthy desires. That might include food, people, and entertainment; all of these things one can control personally are the things one needs to focus on to reach happiness and contentment. One needs to choose to be a champion. A champion is not built from the individuals on the outside.
My earlier explanation of stoicism is complicated for adults because it involves always being conscious of one’s emotions. Children are not rational, and the few who can act rationally when their emotions are heightened are few and far between. We cannot expect children to consent mentally to the sacrifice necessary to become a champion in a sport.
The best feeder programs are predicated on keeping children engaged in the sport till they hit high school, where they have enough control of their frontal lobe to think about what sacrifice means when trying to attain a challenging goal or objective. As Ben Askren asserted, children are not emotionally capable of fully understanding the aggressive nature of wrestling competition at an early age. We must safely introduce those concepts at the proximal physical and emotional development zone, so we do not traumatize the child in the demanding sport of wrestling.
Dan Gable’s Feelings on the Matter
In a recent article interview, “Do Other Sports to Enjoy Wrestling More,” published in WIN Magazine, Dan Gable states, “When an athlete feels burned out, the process is not good. Frankly, nobody should burn out because everything is worthwhile… like getting good grades and doing well in academics, business, and life. When someone is burned out, that means something went wrong.”
The children in a program need to feel like the process is fun because wrestling is a hobby, and it is good to want to be exceptional at it. I love to write and find meaning in honing my craft by reading others' works and learning new ideas to extend my writing prowess. I still read articles on educational practice because educating is my passion, and reaching young people has provided me with financial stability and meaning.
Children must find meaning through fun and building positive relationships with teammates, opponents, and themselves. The way to do this is to eliminate the pressure of competing by teaching kids to control their emotions through breathing techniques and the following structured practice sessions. The structure is essential in teaching a child because it allows them to process information faster. This is why we teach children step by step so that they feel comfortable with the overall process. We turn aggressiveness into games because it teaches them to be competitive but still kind. Jordan Peterson said, “Be a kind man capable of great violence.” That is done through tenants found in Stoic ideals, which will foster a greater understanding of their emotions, allowing them to react with the intensity necessary to be successful at wrestling and life without being a jerk.
Gable, “Many times, it’s because young athletes are competing in just one sport or where coaches and parents are yelling and screaming at them when these athletes are just 12 years old.”
A successful wrestling program cannot just focus on wrestling at early ages; it must incorporate other modalities to keep children engaged for many years and to build other physical attributes that will serve them well at grappling. Gable states, “I remember when I’d be in the wrestling room, I used to kick a soccer ball against the wall — one foot, then the other — to practice on my footwork; my foot sweeps all the time. They were coordination drills… I know the Russians and a lot of foreign wrestlers also played soccer and basketball, but not actually the rules of soccer and basketball. For them, they made those games more physical.”
Lastly, the article cites information recently relayed by the American Academy of Pediatrics announcing that 70 percent of kids drop out of organized sports because of the “professionalization of youth sports.”
What do we do with this information?
We change our philosophy to better foster deeper involvement in physical education in young people by making sports fun and competitive. Words and statistics help us manage our goals appropriately by providing the necessary information to work more efficiently. I want kids to remain in my wrestling program. I do not wish for a 59% retention rate as a business owner or passionate wrestling and combat sports advocate. It is not suitable for the longevity of the sport. We saw this in the Olympics when wrestling was almost removed.
Program Design
5-8 years olds
Students will be introduced to various physical movements and assessed in areas like climbing, jumping, and physical strength. We will incorporate games and activities centered on building muscle and gross motor skills to develop these areas. Student-athletes will be introduced to basic wrestling moves focusing on movement and direction. As children age, they will be more fluid in these movements by regularly performing the actions. At this young age, as children develop physical fitness attributes associated with good health, like muscle and lower body fat, they will find all physical actions simpler. In the same way one develops a child’s reading acquisition by slowly introducing more complex words and syllables, one must do the same with children’s physical progress. USA Wrestling does a fine job showing various games, and many others will keep children engaged in wrestling while also removing the stress. I utilize many of them and more to guide practice. Lastly, and I feel the need to yell this,
I DO NOT RECOMMEND CHILDREN COMPETE IN THIS AGE GROUP!
9-12 years old
The programming standards for this age group are similar to the previous ones but emphasize wrestling movement, direction, and precision. The students compete at this level at recommended events to utilize those times as a form of assessment of skill acquisition. The coach needs to continue to foster elements of fun by gamifying the sport because wrestling is a physical game about who can score the most points by obtaining a dominant position. Pinning a person is one way of winning a match. Gamifying the sport allows children to be less fearful during matches and attacks. Hence why, aggression games are incorporated early and often at young ages.
Parents Involvement
I will no longer allow parents to come into practice regularly to watch their children during instruction. I will provide one day when parents can sit quietly and watch.
The children are better focused when parents are not present, and I also understand the need for parents to see the progress and be involved in their child’s journey. The children seek less parental approval and listen to structure more in the classroom when parents are not around. The open practice serves as a means to show how students progress in the program and allows us to show their development. The journey of sport is for the children competing, not the parents.
- Nicolas Cabrera
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USA Wrestling Bronze Certifed Coach
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“Toughness is the ability to perform at your ‘Ideal Competitive State’ no matter what the competitive circumstances are.”- Mike Chapman (Wrestling Tough)