Train to Play

How do you convince kids to train?

The issue that i struggle with is that the only way you get better is practice. Kids need to play and experience competition but at some point they have to put in the time to improve their game.

You don't become a world class chef just having dinner parties, you cook for yourself and on your own experimenting. How many penalty kicks do soccer players practice vs how many they get in a game? The latest research suggests that success is directly correlated to deliberate practice. Top performers spend many more hours of practice then their average counterparts.

The issue becomes for kids especially in smaller ponds (athletic communities) that the same 1%-10% of the population can have relative success in any sport by showing up. Most coaches, players, and supporters aren't interested in the long term development of athlete as much as they are the short term experience of the athlete or team in the context of their sport. As a result kids spend time moving from sport to sport playing and don't see the incentive to train.

Why would an athlete spend hours on their own in the summer moving form average shooter to good shooter to try to earn more playing time on the basketball court, when they can play in a soccer league and be an average player. In larger centres this is less of an issue because the depth of athletes is such that those who do not spend as much time training cannot fill out roster spots. They very best athletes continue to be the best, while the the second tier and bench players are sport trained athletes as opposed to average athletes.

Simply put the only way you get better is to practice, but how do we convince kids to practice when they can just play something else instead.