Training for kids - benefits of multisport exposure

[J Wakefield]

12 minutes ago, AccidentalGenius said:

https://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/a37093725/can-anyone-beat-tadej-pogacar/?utm_campaign=socialflowFBBI&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social-media&fbclid=IwAR2bWBPkhTxUUDm7bpIyrKDMenTRSiHDKWDEAovqVi-z3qk-iYHDXFFMxnY
 

I don’t know how accurate or true any of this is, but it’s interesting. To me anyway.

Some accurate info, more none accurate. 

[leeubok]

1 hour ago, TNT1 said:

That sort of flies in the face of the long term research that was done into what makes New Zealand rugby so successful. What that research found, was that it is total fixation on one sport from an early age is what leads New Zealand rugby to have more success on the international stage (going by the numers, not your feels) than any other country.

I'll find the link and post it.

I believe the same happens with sports like tennis, and probably golf too. Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Ash Barty, they all started playing as soon as they could lift a tennis racket. 

[Jewbacca]

I read a really interesting book about NZ rugby..... It's a little off topic but really worth a read if you are interested;

James Kerr

Legacy

It talks about action, leadership, pressure and turning that into results. I think there is a huge difference between burn out and ability. 

Like John Wakefield says, learning how to train and remain positive and interested is a massive step in the right direction. A lot of kids who are forced to train instead of live often lose their way a bit when the freedom of choice and the sense of 'how much have I missed?!' collide at varsity.

[Dirt De Vil]

1 hour ago, TNT1 said:

So, do you think Tiger would have won all the golf if his dad didn't have him swinging a club when he was 2 already?

Do you think he was a sexual deviant cause his daddy pressured him?

I think he had sex with all those women, cause he could, not cause there is anything wrong with him.

Yes I do think Tiger would have become very close to the same golfer if he started swinging a decade later, with the same daddy and all.

Under the thread titled training for kids did not give sexual deviancy any thought. Tiger's character and morals is not much of interest under this topic imo.

 

[Kingg]

2 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

It really depends what sport, cycling is not that hard to pick up later in life, it just comes down to power. 

There is zero chance a keen 20 year old goes to play in the NHL for Ice Hockey having played only in winters in US or Canada or Russia. We played against Canadian kids that grew up on ice skates and that could dribble a puck at age 4. If you are not in academy at 16 you are not playing NHL. There is just no catching up.

If you an endurance athlete, you can easily switch from running, riding, cross country ski, etc. 

 Agree, I played a feel sport when I was younger (12 going up) both for the school and for clubs such as soccer and running and could have gone far if it wasn't for my parents and school and then took cycling about 3 years ago (now 20).I know there's still a lot more to like but I often fill like I got into it a little bit too late.

[dave303e]

1 hour ago, I FLY said:

Bruce Fordyce always thanked his parents for passing down good genes.

Sometimes it is also a curse, with the expectation of performance

[J Wakefield]

37 minutes ago, dave303e said:

Sometimes it is also a curse, with the expectation of performance

Taylor Phinney comes to mind.

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

As reference that kids who follow structured Training from a young age hardly ever make it past 2nd year U23 and those who do by chance barely go onto being outliers as they were in junior ranks. 
 

as a company we do not introduce or take on athletes under 16yrs old - yes sometimes alittle earlier but then it’s about learning how to train as apposed to “I want my child to have Matt beers or Mikkel Bjerg pgm”

John this lines up 100% with what one of the bigger MTB kids training groups do in Tygerberg.

 

YES, they take in small kids.  But these are taught the very basic riding skills, and taken on easy trail rides.

 

From school age to under 16 they concentrate on proper skill training, and gradually longer rides and more climbs.

 

The structured race training is reserved for the older kids.

 

 

At least that is their "policy".  I know that a couple of primary school sponsored riders (sponsored by daddies bike shop, etc) gets the full race training.  And yes, they lap the other kids .... and half way into high school you dont see them riding anymore.

 

 

With a 10-year old we are obviously watching this unfold ..... 

[Shebeen]

3 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

Would rather put deepheat in my eyes and eat cucumber than listen to Ross. 

ha ha. i really like his style of writing, puts some complex physiology stuff into coherent format for the lay person.

I listen to a lot of podcasts, his stuff with mike finch are average, there are worse out there in terms of production.

 

 

[TNT1]

2 hours ago, Dirt De Vil said:

 

Under the thread titled training for kids did not give sexual deviancy any thought. Tiger's character and morals is not much of interest under this topic imo.

 

That's weird. It's almost universally understood that upbringing forges character. I would think a lot of a pro athlete's ability to withstand the rigours of the sport is how their upbringing taught them how to handle pressure.

I would think the person's character is a direct reflection of the topic at hand.

[rosstucker10]

9 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

Would rather put deepheat in my eyes and eat cucumber than listen to Ross. 

????

Interesting choice of vegetable, though. ????????

also, if your objective is to not LISTEN, you might want to think about putting something in your ears, and not your eyes.

Edited July 23, 2021 by rosstucker10

[Sid the Sloth]

10 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

It really depends what sport, cycling is not that hard to pick up later in life, it just comes down to power. 

There is zero chance a keen 20 year old goes to play in the NHL for Ice Hockey having played only in winters in US or Canada or Russia. We played against Canadian kids that grew up on ice skates and that could dribble a puck at age 4. If you are not in academy at 16 you are not playing NHL. There is just no catching up.

If you an endurance athlete, you can easily switch from running, riding, cross country ski, etc. 

How about rowing?

[Jewbacca]

11 minutes ago, Sid the Sloth said:

How about rowing?

How many people pick up rowing before high school?

I'd guess not many. 13 is already pretty late to pick up a sport. I know some people who started rowing at Varsity and went on to row for SA or GB. It's not massively common but mostly those 'late starters' have huge drive and passion having found a sport worth giving a bash properly after so long OR they could have played anything at a high level because genes.

I was a rower.... I even rowed 'socially' as a member of Poplar, Blackwall and district rowing club in London into my 30s. It's a strange sport. Some people take to it so naturally and others catch crabs forever.... 

Edited July 23, 2021 by Jewbacca

[WR 1.0]

Wasn't Venus and Serena bred specifically for tennis? 

[rudi-h]

Our general intuition is bad with this one, theres's a good book on this, basically echoing the OP

Basically, early specialization is only beneficial in very select few activities / sports.  Golf and Chess are some of them, tennis etc. are not.

 

[rudi-h]

On 7/23/2021 at 10:58 AM, leeubok said:

I believe the same happens with sports like tennis, and probably golf too. Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Ash Barty, they all started playing as soon as they could lift a tennis racket. 

Actually not...  Federer might have fooled around with a tennis racket from age 3, but he took part in dozens of other sports and only really got into tennis around age 17.  He's basically the poster-boy for starting late, even for tennis which is regarded as a sport where motor skill development is fundamental.  Agassi on the other hand was "forced" into tennis from age 5, so both approaches can win you slams if you have the right genes.  Letting kids be kids seems more humane and IMO makes for better humans.  Agassi self-confessed that he hates tennis and in his book he refers to his dad with his tennis-ball throwing machine as a monster, he just didn't know what else to do.