early sport specialization – PARADIGM Sports

The Costs of Going ALL IN

Posted February 1, 2020January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Organization Executive, Parents

The Costs of Going ALL IN

This week we came across an article and W5 Episode that aired last spring highlighting two families where they have gone all in to support their kids in chasing their dreams of playing NCAA on full-ride scholarships, national teams or professionally.

In the first of three-part series, they focused mainly on young hockey players and ended with an interview with the chief executive officer of a marketing research company based in the US that focused on the costs of youth sport participation not only in the US but internationally.

Their findings had my head spinning and although I have always encouraged players to chase their dream whatever they aspire to (regardless if it is sport, music, drama, academics) but what this 3 part series showed is a reflection how so many families are chasing the dream it has lead to youth sports exploding into multi-billion dollar industries primarily in Canada and the USA with no signs that it will slow down anytime soon.

A couple of years back Time Magazine’s front page highlighted that the US Youth Sports industry had then exceeded $15 Billion USD (approx. $20B CDN based on current foreign exchange). The highlight of the article was a young baseball phenom appropriate nicknamed Joey Baseball

The article and spin-off videos highlighted how Joey Erace, then 10 years old, and his family were chasing the dream for him to play MLB. He was playing on multiple travel teams, getting private one on one instruction for pitching ($100/hr), one on one fielding sessions ($100.00/Hr), had his own home batting cage, was getting sponsorship offers, over 24K followers on Instagram and even being asked for autographs from fellow aspiring young kids who were following him.

His life had evolved to baseball, baseball, baseball.

All this at 10 Yrs. Old?

Fast forward to 2019 and the US Youth Sports Industry had grown to over $17 Billion as a result of more and more players and their parents continuing to chase the dream to reach those lofty goals of representing their countries on national teams, getting NCAA scholarships, what is now multi-million salaries in various professional sports and possibly the Olympics.

Coming back to the W5 episodes shared last Spring, the marketing research firm WinterGreen whose chief executive Susan Eustis was interviewed at the tail end of episode one shared that the Canadian Youth Sports Industry in 2010 was $1.2 Billion, had grown to 5.2 Billion mid-way point of the 2000’s but in 2017 had climbed to $7.6B and last reported number for 2018 was a staggering ….

$8.7 BILLION DOLLARS!!!

THAT’S OVER A 400% INCREASE SINCE 2010

Based on the current exchange this is approx. $6.5 B USD.

Compare that to the USA with 9X the population of Canada (327 M vs. 37M) whose last reported number is $17 Billion USD

As a result, Canada’s youth sport participation costs are the HIGHEST cost per capita than any other country in the world.

Highlighted in the episodes were two youth sports players and their families who were all in as either a hockey or soccer family;

Ethan Mcfarland – 14 years old at the time the episodes aired who aspires to get a full-ride Michigan State Scholarship to play NCAA Div 1 hockey and be drafted and play in the NHL.

No different than many kids have growing up in prior generations, playing shinny with their buds on frozen lakes, outdoor ice rinks, stick and puck for hours on end BUT the sad reality is 0.3% of those will reach that level as I have shared out in talks across Canada.

The cost for him to reach that goal is he has abandoned what all the powers that be and sports medicine research has shown is multi-sport participation so he becomes the best athlete he can be.

He also has a modified school course load geared specifically for “elite” athletes as a hybrid to homeschooling so he can make it to all of his shooting, skating, puck control sessions both on and off-ice in addition to sessions with Psychologists, nutritionists, custom skate, stick equipment manufacturers

All the while his parents seem to be nonchalant about the fact to support doing all of this is costing them tens of thousands of dollars a year much like thousands of other kids across Canada that are doing the same to chase the dream.

Probably one of the best data sets that I can provide to hockey parents to reinforce the importance for their kids to avoid this excessive time and financial commitment to focus on hockey, hockey, hockey is the NHL players association was surveyed last year and as Ken Martel (technical director for USA Hockey) shared with me and has now shared with other sports orgs, below is a slide from presentation he did for New Zealand Hockey (yes they play hockey in New Zealand)

Another statistic – Since 2010, there has been a 63% decrease in full-ride scholarships offered to Canadian born players to play in the NCAA which is a direct correlation with the ADM model in the USA, more and more US-born players are being recruited for those scholarships vs. past years seeking Canadian born players.

The other family highlighted was the Nicolazzo family whose three children, Xavier (7 at the time), sister Kiarra (10), and older brother Romero (13). Their Dad Frank coaches both boys teams.

Year-Round Soccer, Soccer, Soccer, every day all year long including indoor session when Canada’s winter kicks in including playing on numerous travel teams costing tens of thousands of dollars every year.

REALITY CHECK – a colleague of mine shared me the soccer statistics which I reciprocated with hockey a few years back regarding NCAA/Professional path of US Soccer Players

As admirable as it is for all three of their children to chase the dream, like Hockey, the reality that they will reach that level is a longshot at best and depends on so many factors for all the stars to align.

The sad reality for both families and their kids who are rolling the dice and going all-in with one sport year-round as early as 7 years old is there is a very strong possibility that one or all of the issues below may happen;

Kids are suffering pressure as early as 9-10 years old W5 highlighted in their episode.

Shouldn’t 9 -10-year-olds be playing a game for the sake of it, not feeling the pressure to reach a lofty goal 10 years or more down the road?

All the research and data shows that these young players may quit (62% in the US are quitting by age 11, 70% by age 13 with similar trends in Canada and many other nations) due to pressure, burnout, not having fun as a result of focusing on winning at all costs chasing the dream because they are not having fun

They may suffer a season-ending, worse yet a potentially career-ending injury like multiple concussions, tears of ulnar, medial, anterior cruciate ligaments

May suffer depression, anxiety IF they make it to the NCAA, pro-level as they were deprived of a normal childhood which has been identified by many NCAA athletic directors is a major issue of new players coming into their programs now vs. a decade ago

Worse case – may consider, or actually do commit suicide as there has been a 56% increase in the suicide rate the last 10 years from 10-24 years of age. If you don’t think this is a reality, I personally know of 3 kids who committed suicide, the third happened to be the brother of one and cousin of two other players I coached so really hit me hard. This stat was shared by Corey Hirsch, advocate for mental health and the Hockey Talks program the day that Tyler Motte shared he is dealing with depression and anxiety issues with amazing support by the Vancouver Canucks. Why? Because 7 years ago Rick Rypien committed suicide as a result of similar mental health issues stemming from the pressure to perform.

All of the above aside, many of the single-sport players I have interacted with as they got to older levels (15+) stopped smiling, stopped laughing, appeared methodical, robotic when they came to training sessions, games, other activities.

Why?

Because they lost that original love for the game they had which many parents argue with me is the reason when they support their kids to play year long, pay for all kinds of development the grind of playing one sport all year long starting as early as many kids do today became a job.

When they originally started down the path did they ask if they could WORK hockey, soccer etc?

No – they asked if they could PLAY hockey, soccer etc.

Last but not least, in the event that you have not been following business news of late, many countries are looming towards another recessionary period so the tens of thousands of dollars that parents are spending each year, much of which via credit facilities including second mortgages, credit cards, lines of credit will put the entire family in harm’s way if one of the dual incomes is lost to downsizing.

Is it really worth taking that risk going all in with one sport?

In lieu of looking at youth sports as a return on investment, we should be looking at all the other benefits it provides, developing character, valuable life lessons, healthy (both physical and mental) lifestyles, friendships, social skills being part of teams, being well rounded and becoming the best ATHLETE they can be.

If at the end of the day they are one of the select few to reach the level of NCAA, National or professional level then that is just icing on the cake.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids ….. where it belongs.

Kids should follow Rogers Path, not Tigers

Posted June 21, 2019January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Organization Executive, Parents

One of the questions that I ask speakers for our Love What You Play online events is if they have any books to recommend for coaches to read to help them become better coaches.

For the last 4 weeks I have been talking to another group of amazing speakers and many of which have shared that a MUST read for every coach and even parents, or anyone involved in youth sports segment is David Epstein’s second book, “Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world”, following up from his other must read “The Sports Gene”

In my interview with John Kessel, Director of Sport Development for USA Volleyball, who has been coaching for over 50 years, the last 3 decades coaching coaches, when I asked him for book recommendations he pulled many from his vast library and the last was Range that he waived in the air like a giddy kid and I countered “You got it (the Book Range) before me!!” (mine was en route).

I was originally made aware of his new book when David debated with Malcolm Gladwell regarding his 10,000 rule that has been a reference point since he wrote Outliers in 2008 where he admitted to David that he was wrong.

During the interview, David shares insight on his new book prior to its release in May and some of the anecdotes to further support his argument put forth initially in the sports gene that early sport specialization (10,000 hours) is the wrong path to follow (thanks largely to the research that David has done to prove otherwise).

Initially, he was going to title the book Roger vs. Tiger and the first chapter of the book focus on the paths that Roger Federer and Tiger Woods took to reach the highest levels in their sports (Roger in Tennis, Tiger in Golf) but as he was doing his research in other sectors found many other examples why being a generalist was a better pathway to go.

There are so many other great nuggets in Range that I thought would be a great reference point for this weeks post, here are just a handful to entice you to order the book on Amazon and read to add to your toolbasket;

#1 Roger vs. Tiger

The story of Tiger Woods path to becoming one of the greatest golfers of all time has become one of the driving reasons why so many kids start to specialize in sports early, going back to when he was on the Bob Hope Show at 2 putting, his smooth swing at 5, starting to win tournaments soon after, the US Amateur and hit the tour with vigor after being a standout at Stanford for their golf team.

His father, Earl, identified early on that Tiger had potential as he himself was a high-level athlete himself, played collegiate baseball as the only black player in the conference but also a member of Army’s elite Green Berets and felt from his early childhood that Tiger “was the chosen one”.

I will never forget watching Tiger play in his first major tournament, the 1997 Masters championship with such a powerful swing and distance on his drives he shattered the record with -19 (a record to this day), winning by 12 strokes over the rest of the field. Although Augusta’s design had not been tweaked since Bobby Jones designed, the Masters’ organizers added distance to as many holes as they could to “Tiger Proof” the course.

Tiger went on to win 15 majors and 67 PGA events (81 total), now second to overall to Sam Snead but it has not been without adversity.

Early in his 30’s, as a result of playing golf as his one and only sport since a young boy, his body fought back, where he suffered multiple back, knee, Achilles injuries multiple surgeries and extensive rehab, the last being the back fusion surgery that he had merely to be pain free not thinking that he would ever return to competitive golf.

But his come back is probably going to be one of the best examples in history of sport how one can overcome adversity against all odds and in the last FedEx Cup of 2018 thousands of people followed him on the fairway as he won his first event in many years, then this Spring winning his 15^th major, the 2019 Masters.

I have shared in past posts his journey and challenges, and although Tiger has accomplished so much, it cost him a marriage due to personal challenges he had, 10+ years of chronic pain where he reached the point where he opted for the fusion surgery merely so he could WALK again pain-free.

David then goes on to share the generalist path that Roger Federer took, the one that all the science supports, the multi-sport path.

Rogers mother was a tennis coach but opted not to coach him and with her husband supported him to sample as many sports as possible growing up. He played squash with his father, tried skiing, wrestling, swimming, skateboarding and played basketball, handball, tennis, table tennis, badminton, and soccer.

Roger did not lean towards tennis as his preferred sport until his late teens and when he decided to do so, and instructors saw he had potential to be really good and wanted him to move up to compete with older players but he refused, as he wanted to stay with his friends (one of the top reasons why kids play sports0

Like Tiger, who was ranked #1 on many occasions over his career, Roger also has been ranked #1 but much later in his career, in his mid-thirties was ranked #1 in the world.

To date, Roger has over 100 wins, including a record 20 grand slam singles titles and in 2019 at the age of 37 years old, he is currently ranked #3 in the world, but many feel he could reach that top plateau again.

Two different paths to greatness, but here are some of the other great nuggets why being a generalist until much later is the optimal path.

#2 Learning: Fast vs. Slow – Academics

In this chapter, one example why it is better for students to space out their learning of subject matter like the traditional model where teachers would focus on a subject for a week at time them move on vs. staggered approach over the course of the school year.

He cites an example where students learning Spanish would be tested the same day vs. tested a month later. EIGHT years later with no studying in between, the latter group retained 280 % more.

The motor skill equivalent is akin to teaching a kid to walk too early, they are going to learn to walk at some point and there is no evidence that rushing it will matter.

“Learning deeply means learning slowly.”

#3 The trouble with too much grit

David shares an anecdote by telling the story of a gifted artist by laying the groundwork first where I kept thinking to myself, who is talking about?

One that grew up in the Netherlands who tried freehand sketch as a boy he destroyed it and refused to try again but in lieu spent hours wandering outside looking at things, tried art school when he was 13 away from home and left at 15, then worked for an art dealership, pursued religious studies, worked in a bookstore, became a teacher but never succeeded.

In his late 20’s he came around full circle and tried watercolors under the guidance of his former boss of the art dealership which was short lived as his mentor stated he started too late.

In his early 30’s he tried oil and canvas and was responsible for launching a new era of art where he did the majority of his paintings in the last two years of his life.

If you are an art expert, you probably figured it out at the Netherlands, and as my daughter graduated from Emily Carr, one of the top Art schools in North America and I shared the story after the fact she nailed it right away.

The artist – Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most famous and influential figures in Western Art.

His entire life consisted for trial and error, had he not done so, had he not had the determination to pursue the various acumens’ he did, the world would have been deprived of one of the greatest artists of all time.

There are numerous other examples that I could cite from the rest of the amazing chapters but will leave you with a couple of takeaways;

#1 – One of the answers I get from parents all the time why they opted to support their kids to specialize early is “They love the sport”

My counter: Do you kids love Chocolate Cake?

Their answer: What did doesn’t?

Me: Would you let them eat the ENTIRE chocolate cake in one sitting?

Them: No.

Me: I rest my case.

#2 – The other is like Tigers Dad, based on advice they have from the “private skills developers” how identified their son has “special” skills (when they are just an early bloomer) and recommend they specialize in one sport as they may be “the next chosen one” and go on to get an NCAA scholarship and play professionally (0.03% do)

My counter: If a teacher told you that your child showed proficiency in one subject in school, say math, would you pull them out of school to focus on that subject only?

Their Answer: No

Me: Why?

Them: Because we want them to become well rounded, be strong in all subject areas, math, science, language, art etc. so they do well on the SAT and get accepted to university.

Me: I rest my case.

Regardless if your child loves or shows proficiency early on and are leading the beehive early (early bloomers) in a sport the various examples from Sports, Art, Music, Science, Business sectors in David’s Book should guide you in helping your child find their optimal path.

Just make sure that you support them to try as many different sports and other activities including free play early so they can choose their path later that they aspire to otherwise they may never find and pursue their true love vs. potentially being deprived of it if they specialized in one sport too early.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids … where it belongs.

Bonus – Download a Free Printable PDF Copy of this blog HERE

Why the 10,000 Hour Rule is a Fallacy

Posted April 6, 2019January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyLeave a commentPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Organization Executive, Parents

It has been over 10 years now since Malcolm Gladwell wrote his national best seller Outliers where he shared Anders Erickson research on a group of concert violinists that practiced 10,000 hours to perfect their craft.

Since that point Malcolm has been challenged by researchers, coaches, and experts in the space including David Epstein who debunked the 10,000 rule in his book The Sports Gene.

Not that I would EVER put myself in the same space as authors of best sellers, but from the time I read Outliers years back I too questioned Malcolm’s argument as have coached for many years and have never believed in the cliché that practice makes perfect nor in the benefits of starting to practice at such an early age and work one sport that is driving early sports specialization.

In lieu … Practice Makes Permanent

If you practice 10,000 hours wrong … you have a real serious bad habit.

Every kid I have coached at the beginning of the season I would tell them .. I would rather you do it slow and RIGHT than fast and WRONG. Too many kids want to rush thru drills so they can get to the end of the practice that coaches will have “fun time” but the entire practice should be fun and if you disguise your drills and they are fun, kids won’t rush thru, cheat the drill and do them right so they do develop correctly in lieu of building bad habits that can’t be reversed later.

Here are the reasons why I have argued that the 10,000 hour rule is a fallacy to reach the highest levels of athletics, earn an NCAA Sports Scholarship or playing professionally (where less that 1% will reach those levels)

#1 – Practice Must be Deliberate AND Unstructured

As Malcolm is more of a historian, than a researcher whose very livelihood revolves around publishing journal articles and books with their scientific data and longitudinal studies, one who was the first to challenge him was the very person whom he did not consult with when he was writing his best seller Outliers, Anders Erickson.

Anders did share in a research study many years back when he looked at concert violinist and the amount of practice that they had to do in order to reach that level on average it took over 10,000 hours of working on their craft.

It was not just the fact that they sat down and practiced daily to accumulate those hours, it was due to how deliberate the practice was, which included working with some of the top music teachers who provided practice plans, feedback and error correction.

As David did with the Sports Gene, he released his counter to Malcolm’s Outliers with his book Peak where he shares insight on the research done on deliberate practice.

What further research has shown is practice must have purpose but the best way to audment the skills is to allow for unstructured free play, where athletest can develop anticipatory skills and adapt. The best analogy is Wayne Gretzky who many argue was the greatest player ever not because of his skill set but he anticipated where the puck was going to be. This is why I have an issue with the term “read and react”, meaning read the play, react to the play BUT due to the speed of hockey and many other sports today you don’t have time to react. In lieu, I have always told my players to read and ACT. Yes, that means at times they may be caught offside, may make mistakes, but in order to play at the highest level, you must be able to make decisions on the fly. This is why every practice must include unstructure free play time where coaches don’t coach, just allow the players to PLAY and develop creativity, reading the game and making decisions without criticism.

#2 – Practice must have key teaching and execution points

Having evaluated many team sports coaches over the years, one of the key shortfalls of their practices is they run drill after drill but the majority of grass roots coaches working with kids in their key development years of motor skill acquisition do not focus on key teaching points for every one of those drills.

This can also go hand in hand with the error correction that must be relayed to players when they are running thru the drill by the coach that is assigned to do so. As more and more sports are implementing their versions of LTAD, many practices including skills stations where players move from one station to the other and more often than not a coach will merely setup the drill for the players to run thru but not share what they are looking for in terms of the skill mechanics nor correct errors.

This is due largely in part to the head coach not communicating with the assistant coaches what the key teaching points are and the importance of stopping the drill to correct errors when they happen.

The feedback must be relayed soon after the skill was done, both positive praise for real effort (great job) and if error correction needed (johnny, in order to accelerate thru the turn you must lead with your inside skate, outside edge so can cross over with your outside skate with speed).

As many coaches neglect to do in practices, they try to correct mistakes in games (both strategic and skills) but games should be the time for the kids to PLAY to develop confidence and try the skills they worked on in games in a safe to fail environment.

#3 – Praise Effort to reinforce the Growth Mindset

As the entire sports world has learned thru the work of Carol Dweck, feedback relayed to athletes in those drills must focus on the growth mindset and encourage kids to try harder variations of the drill even it if means they will make mistakes.

Yes … mistakes … the uglier the better which Karch Kiraly made infamous on his whiteboard for the US National Women’s Volleyball team that he guided to their first EVER international championship and a bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics after reading and implementing the growth mindset with the team.

The only way that kids will develop their skills and creativity is if their practice environment mirrors more what it was like for Gen X whose sports development relayed more on unstructured free play and the opportunity to take risks and learn from them with no adults telling them what to do, how to do it, and criticizing their mistakes.

This criticism is also coming from parents either at home or the ride to/from the facility and even their team mates if coaches do not have a code of conduct to respect their teammates or the late great John Wooden 3rd rule “Never criticize your teammates”

#4 – The Research

One of the top 10 MUST Read books that we recommend to everyone is David Epstein’s book “The Sports Gene” that debunked the 10,000 hour rule and also highlights the benefits of multi-sport participation vs. the pitfalls of early sports specialization with data. Another that I know will be a top recommendation will be his upcoming book Range highlighting how generalization, not specialization, is the optimal pathway to become the best athlete a person can be.

In 2014 a study was done at Princeton University by Brooke Macnamara that looked at the amount of deliberate practice accumulated over time only had a limited impact in high performance or skill acquisition across various domains including music, games, sports, professions, and education.

The highest impact was found on strategic games like Scrabble and Chess, where chances of becoming a grandmaster have a direct correlation on the amount of practice one gets before a certain age and study showed 18% was attributed to deliberate practice.

The second was Music – Violin, and piano @ 21%

The third was Sports – where deliberate practice accounted for 18% of what was required to reach the highest level.

Why?

Because you can practice perfectly until you are blue in face for YEARS but in addition to practice … DNA plays a role … I have seen it firsthand as a parent, both my kids (who have now aged out of youth sports) inherited my wife’s gene for size (she is 5’1 and I am 6’2”) and although both appeared to inherit my multi-sport athletic gene, were unable to advance to higher levels (junior, collegiate) as were told over and over again they were too small.

Kids also need to have the right eating, sleeping habits to provide the nutrition balance for carbs vs. proteins and associated vitamins, rest and recovery to avoid injuries. Many kids today are also addicted to screens, as I shared in a prior post, Why Kids Play Video Games, eSports has evolved to a Billion Dollar industry thanks to games becoming more and more addictive in their nature.

As a result of specialization accelerating travel ball and chasing AAA teams that travel across the country or to other countries where kids play multiple “prospect” tournaments annually they also need parents that either (a) have the financial resources to support the costs or (b) are going deeper and deeper into debt trying to keep up with the jones to do so.

Kids also need to have GREAT coaches, parents, teachers to help them get the great grades (if aspire for NCAA must also do well in school to be a student-athlete) as well as support from others in their network (neighbors, friends other family members)

It takes a village to raise a child.

#5 – Because Malcolm Gladwell acknowledged the very rule he is infamous for was false.

It takes courage to own up to when one made a mistake and I applaud Malcolm (fellow Canadian) for doing so, at the time he wrote the book he based his analysis on what was available at the time, but since that point there has been so much evidence brought forth, not just yours truly opinion well before Outliers became a National Best Seller.

In an interview he recently had with David Epstein for MIT’s Sports Analytics conference, he shares how he and David became friends due to the fact David challenged the rule 5 years ago with his research and expertise in terms of the optimal pathway to reach the top level in sport was developing physical literacy by sampling as many sports and physical activities as possible.

Below is the entire interview he did with David, go to 54 minute mark to hear when he admits the 10,000 hour rule was false when it comes to early specialization.

If you have gotten this point in the blog hopefully, like Malcolm, your opinion has swayed and if you truly aspire for your players, son or daughter to become the best they can be, in lieu of having them work a sport by specializing as early as 7 years old, support them to sample as many sports and other activities (drama, art, science, theatre, music, languages) as possible and have a normal childhood so they can find what they truly will be passionate in doing later in life.

Ask yourself – what is your calling?

Do you know? If so when did you figure it out? Your 20’s – 30’s – 40’s later or still figuring it out?

How then as an adult can we be vulnerable to other adults who are “recommending” to us as coaches or parents for our son or daughter to have them specialize at an early age which will potentially deprive them of finding their true calling later in life.

Too many kids are quitting youth sports before high school or were deselected that potentially could have been late bloomers or played other sports early on only to find the one they became passionate about later on and the list is endless of athletes I could share that did reach NCAA or professional level as they did not burn out, developed all core motor skills or suffered potential career-ending injuries way too early.

Our calling as youth sports coaches is not to make a living (especially as majority are volunteers), or huge profits those that are advocating early sport specialization, but to make a difference by developing youth into adults.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids …. where it belongs

Why Youth Sports need to walk the walk, NOT talk the talk

Posted March 15, 2019January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyLeave a commentPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Organization Executive, Parents

In the last few weeks, there have been so many examples of scandals that have to the forefront revolving around youth/collegiate sports it has led to me shaking my head in disbelief.

As I came across each article, video, a podcast I kept saying to myself, am I missing something, how can all these organizations think they would never be called out in today’s age of social media?

How can all those involved in leadership roles with sports organizations, universities think nothing about talking the talk, but are not walking the walk?

They thought nothing of sweeping issues under the rug in lieu of owning up to them and doing the right thing showing honesty and integrity were core values they not just wrote down in policies, best practices, KPI’s, mission statement but they adhered to them EVEN WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKING, the true test of integrity.

As I was raised by my single parent mother and her mother with Scottish and Irish Heritage, the one thing that I learned from both was the importance of integrity, regardless if someone was watching, always do the right thing even when it may mean you have to deal with repercussions.

Perfect example, while still in Montreal was playing pickup baseball in the street and I got a hold of a pitch and broke a neighbors window. I immediately went to them and apologized and offered to pay for the damages out of my allowance. Some of my buddies said to me, what are you doing, run, decades later suspect they may not appreciate the value of integrity.

It is one of the very reasons why I love the game of golf, you play the ball where it is played, and the greatest amateur of all time, Bobby Jones, lost out on the 1925 US Open Major Championship as he called a penalty on himself as the ball moved when was lined up his club although no one else saw it.

Below is the dictionary definition of Integrity:

Perhaps I am old school, but I still (naively) believe in the concept of a man’s word meaning just that, a man’s word. Shaking a hand with someone and honouring that commitment.

Early on in my youth coaching tenure I had a 7 year old player tell me that “you did not honour your promise” when we ran out of time during a practice and not have a game to end it and to this day I tell all coaches, if you say something, you better deliver or the trust you have worked on developing with your players will be lost for the remainder of the season and then some.

Unfortunately, I wonder why every day why so many people today think nothing of not adhering to the very same values.

Some of the examples that come to the top of my mind why youth sports need to walk the walk, NOT just talk the talk:

#1 – Operation Varsity Blues:

A number of NCAA DIV I and Ivy league schools have had criminal charges filed by the FBI brought forth for bribes to coaches, administrators for acceptance into their programs from $200,000 to over $6.5 Million Dollars (USD) ! Check out this article for 30 Fast Facts about the college admission scandal

#2 – Sexual Abuse/Harassment:

All of the sexual abuse and harassment scandals that have come to light the last couple of years, in particular, USA Gymnastics who continued to try and hide evidence well after the allegations had come forward leading to the USOC to initiate removing their sanctions as a national governing body.

As a result of the CBC three-part series where 222 coaches were convicted of abusing over 600 victims, Kirsty Duncan, Federal Minister of Sport, the COC/CPC and others committed to not just talking the talk, but walking the walk by coming up with a harmonized code of conduct for all sports organizations that WILL hold them accountable to ensure that no other kids are victims of a system that requires a drastic shift in culture.

Hopefully, this leads to further action in terms of implementing a third party reporting and review organization that is totally impartial so athletes have can report instances of abuse without fear as was tabled by all those present I talked to at one of the Safe Sport Summits held in Vancouver earlier this week.

#3 – Minor Hockey Organizations Harassment

All the recent harassment and abuse allegations brought forth in recent news that they did their own internal investigations and either extended short suspensions or nothing at all as a result of their internal investigation. Do they then wonder why they have seen such a huge decrease in their membership or just write it off as a bad year (after year, after year)?

#4 – Junior Hockey Clubs – Spring Camp Invites

One of my favorite examples of complete disregard for integrity and transparency.

Junior Hockey Clubs that are infamous for hosting Spring/Summer prospect camps, inviting 60 players, up to 30 goalies (yes one camp one my former goalies went to had 34 goalies vying for 2 spots) which many argue is a cash grab, not a real opportunity for the players invited to earn a spot on those teams.

As my son has been invited to so many camps over the years we both lost track, even now, after he aged out of Junior level I still get the odd invite as we ended up on “a List” of prospect players going back to when he played Bantam A1 at 14 years old.

Ironically even after he quit hockey we still receive invites and the reason why I recommend to any parents that go thru the same is to be selective which camps you go to and ideally confirm that someone at the team saw your child at a game, tournament before you accept the invitation so it is fact legitimate vs. mass mail out to fill the camps.

There is nothing more humorous then getting an email saying “Dear Prospect” from a Junior Team in Ontario or Eastern USA that is “guaranteeing a spot on the team” sight unseen.

There is also nothing more frustrating as a parent when you are sitting beside the coaches and scouting staff when they are supposed to be evaluating ALL the players in the first game at the camp and they are sitting in a bar, drinking, ordering meals, joking and then talking about their roster where they only have 2 spots to fill (of the 60 players invited to the camp)

Translation: Junior teams lack integrity and merely host the camps to start building their bank account as camps can equate to approx. 15K of revenue of which only 1/3 goes to ice and practice jerseys players/goalies receive for attending.

#5 – Private Non-Sanctioned Sports Organizations

All the private sports organizations that are “selling” early sports specialization to vulnerable parents “guaranteeing” if they spend thousands of dollars for the son or daughter to specialize as early as 6-7 years old they will get an NCAA full ride scholarship or play professionally.

A perfect example is one of many private non-sanctioned hockey organizations that are popping up all over Canada that are recruiting 6-8-year-olds.

Below is screenshot from the most recent one that I was made aware of that started up in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver, HPL Hockey (for High-performance league) who are recruiting 6-8-year-old kids to participate in winter ice, games to prep them for spring hockey.

The very fact that all these kids had their picture taken on the ice WITHOUT helmets and suspect the non-certified coach also (if pic showed) goes against the Hockey Canada Safety requirements so that in itself should be a major red flag for parents.

Did every one of those parents sign a waiver so their kids could be pictured for the ENTIRE WORLD to see online?

When all the science/data shows that early specialization is NOT the right path to become the best athlete you can be, in lieu long term athletic development as it takes YEARS, every time I see another one of these pop up I shake my head.

It’s a SCAM, they are just in it for the money not having the best interests of the kids at heart and suspect majority in this picture will quit hockey by 13 as a result of “working” hockey vs. “playing” hockey seasonally. If you truly believe the fact they are doing so for the kids, then I have some great swampland in Florida would be interested in talking to you about to give you a GREAT Deal.

There are so many other examples I can cite, but as I share with all stakeholders I work with, if sports organizations do not have integrity and honesty as the basis for their core values and not only talk the talk (policies, procedures, mission statements) but WALK THE WALK (full transparency, accountability, enforcement, discipline) their memberships will just continue to decline as a result.

Coaches at all sports organizations, the very catalysts for the change that we need to bring the game back to the kids also must follow suit, I can’t tell you how many parents or fellow coaches have shared with me that the coach stated in his initial parent/team meeting that they were going to focus on player development, be positive, fun and the first opportunity they have to show their true colours run short benches to win games at all costs, scream at kids or officials for making mistakes and so on.

Both Board members and coaches of sports organizations need to adhere to core values of integrity and honesty and be transparent and accountable not just talking the talk, but WALK THE WALK.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids … where it belongs.

What (winning at all costs) rep sports are really doing to kids

Posted August 20, 2018January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyLeave a commentPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Parents

Last week I shared out the article that I contributed to in Today’s Parents Summer Edition, “What rep sports are really doing to kids” that was written by Courtey Shea and digital edition was released on Aug. 10th.

I thought it would be good to share some insight on how the article came to fruition and some of the key takeaways that I thought Courteney did a great job highlighting.

The title itself resonated with me, but as you will note I added: “winning at all costs” to the title of this weeks post as it is that tipping point that is taking the rep or recreational youth sports experience away from kids where it belongs.

Courteney references the terms “professionalism, adultification, specialization” going hand in hand with competitive (rep) sports which is something that I started to see with both my kids that played in the rep streams in Hockey and Softball which completely differed from my rep or club experience in several sports I played. Then it was all about the spirit of the competition, playing with players of like skill level and truly loving what you played, now it is adults competing with other adults thru kids.

This is why the likes of the example she cited to start the article, the U8 AAA baseball team that had 70 kids try out and 58 were released after three days of tryouts.

Really?

Shouldn’t 7-year-old still be playing T-Ball per Baseball Canada’s LTAD model? Then learn to play in Tadpole 8-9 years old with a pitching machine for 1/2 the games, then allowing the kids to pitch with rotating pitchers adhering to max pitch counts with age-appropriate throwing distances thereafter?

Last summer the co-op student that worked with me was one of those AAA caliber baseball players going back to his early childhood, he said the hardest thing that he had to deal with early on was when he was the last release of the Little League World Series team when he was 12 years old. This year, the Whalley Little League program has qualified to represent Canada, a program that I know several kids have moved to for optimal skills and overall development. What many don’t know, is Whalley is the equivalent of New York’s Harlem, it is had the long-term reputation as not being the greatest place to live or work, but year after year their baseball program field very competitive teams.

Even the parent coach of the Leaside Leafs, Jesse Harrison, is quoted:

In terms of my contributions, a couple of clarification points I would like to share;

The reference to Jordan Spieth was a disconnect with myself and Courteney as the interview and subsequent verification coordinator was months back, Jordan did not focus on golf until he graduated from high school, 18 years old, vs. when he entered (at 13). When he was 12 (grade 6) he told his parents he wanted to focus on golf and they refused as both were multi-sport athletes and knew the benefits, so he continued to play golf in addition to football (fall), basketball (winter), baseball (summer) each year. Football he was a quarterback, Baseball he was a pitcher and basketball he was the point guard, the most skilled positions in the respective sports.

The reason Jordan Speith became the 23 Million Man at 22 years old is that is is an amazing ATHLETE, not just a great golfer who won the Fedex Cup and at one point ranked #1 golfer in the world.

2. In terms of the introduction to my background, yes, I played football, in fact I played on a team that won provincials (equivalent to state) while playing receiver/running back, cornerback and on all special teams so I rarely was off the field, but I also won provincials in Hockey, a Gold Medal in Rugby, tournaments in baseball, basketball on the various organized teams I played for. I also self-taught myself to golf, ski, was a member of first aid ski patrol for a few years and numerous other free play activities like biking, running, fishing, beach volleyball, tackle frisbee, British bulldog and so on.

Like Jordan, I was a good overall athlete, and even though I focused on sports in my late teens, I chose two, Football in the fall, Rugby in the Spring and played both into my 20’s until knee injuries and concussions took their toll (albeit the concussions were not from sports, is another story in itself)

This is why I am such an advocate for multi-sport participation, kids should sample as many sports and activities as you can in their youth from 5 to late teens (16-17 yrs old) before they choose the sport THEY LOVE.

Specializing in one sport before that make it work, leads to overuse injuries, and more often than not will lead to hanging up those skates, cleats, shoes or what have you for good vs. being active well beyond high school.

” I would really like to stress the fact that multi-sport athleticism is critical for the development of the child”

It is really difficult when writers, journalists, news anchors reach out to tell the whole story, especially when they are reaching out to numerous others but I thought Courteney nailed it out of the park to give insight to parents of young children to promote being active in as many sports as possible and buck the current trends of specializing too early.

The proof is in the pudding in terms of paybacks if you aspire for your son or daughter to play at the highest level possible, to do so, they must be the best ATHLETE possible, not the best hockey, soccer, baseball, basketball player.

Every high-level coach that I know from AAA youth sports to professional, collegiate will tell you the same thing, they recruit great athletes who are great people with GREAT PARENTS (not the vocal minority who are acting up in the stands). Kids that specialize early are also deprived from being normal kids sampling not only various sports but music, drama, art, dance, literature and learning various group dynamics by being on multiple sports teams with different coaches, players, parents etc.

So as I end every talk that I do when I am talking about specialization;

Do you know what you are going to do in life?

Most of us don’t figure it out until we are in our 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s IF we ever do.

How then can you be the adult either recommending or accepting the recommendation from another to tell a 7-year-old kid they are going to specialize in one sport over 9 months of the year, in most cases 12 months of the year?

Deprive them of a normal childhood of just being a kid, trying as many things as possible before they find what they LOVE later in life.

Please don’t cave into the marketing, recruitment policies and buck the trends.

Say NO to Early Sport Specialization.

Rep sports are not supposed to be year-round sports, the term rep means they are teams to represent their communities to compete with teams in other communities to permit players of like skill, whether it be A, AA, AAA level.

I also could not agree more with Jesse’s quote, we really need to eliminate the word elite when it comes to referencing KIDS.

Elite should only be referenced for Olympians or Accomplished Professional athletes.

Other than that, they are just early bloomers or just good overall athletes continuing to work on their craft.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids … where it belongs.