Important Lessons Learned Working With Youth Athletes

I arrived in New Zealand on the 29th December, and the weeks have flown by since starting my internship at the Athlete Factory in early January. At the Athlete Factory a large proportion of our work is focused on the education of youth athletes on how to move correctly, putting them in a good position to not just continue their sporting life, but also life in general. With youth athletes I have learned there are some similarities between training adults, but also some very distinct differences. The general movement capabilities we are trying to teach the youth are the same as those we want older athletes to perform, and the younger we can engrain these motor patterns the better. These include the fundamental movements described in my previous post. However, there are many differences we must be aware of when training in a youth environment; factors such as peak height velocity and maturational stage (chronological and biological), importance of variety in training methods to develop a vast range of movement capabilities and motor skills. It is also important to understand how to interact both as a coach with athletes and how to promote inter-athlete interaction, fostering a motivational climate.

1. Don't interrupt athletes instantly on incorrect form

Initially in my coaching I was very quick to jump on errors in technique and form, providing multiple cues in the hope of guiding athletes to correct form. However, with time and guidance from other coaches I have learnt that often it is best to let the athlete work it out for themselves. Obviously if an athlete is at danger then we must step in immediately, but for situation where there is no immediate danger, giving the athlete some time allows them internal understanding of the exercise. If after a few attempts the athlete is still performing the exercise incorrectly then we as coaches can step in and provide cues that will help achieve the outcome we are looking for. By constantly stepping in and not allowing time for discovery the youth athlete can quickly become frustrated that they are unable to produce the movement we are looking for.

2. Don't throw every cue you have at once

Providing too much feedback is the same as providing no feedback at all. If we throw all of our cues at the athlete at once the information is likely to go in one ear and out of the other, particularly with our youth athlete who is less able to tune in to their senses or understand how to control particular muscles. We should aim to provide our athletes with one cue at a time, I have found that in general providing external cues works better with younger athletes, where they don't yet have the knowledge of the human anatomy and how to control their limbs. If an athlete is performing the exercise incorrectly provide them one piece of information which you believe will help them the most towards producing the correct movement; then step back and allow them to try again. By slowly providing information we as coaches can gradually get the result we are looking for whilst allowing the athlete to discover new ways to move and how correct movement feels.

3. Change exercises or drills to prevent frustration

Frustration on behalf of both the athlete and the coach. Youth athletes can quickly become frustrated if they are unable to do something in the correct way, particularly if we as coaches are persistent in trying to get them to do it how we want it. As coaches we must understand the emotions of our athlete and when it is appropriate to simply move away from an exercise if the athlete doesn't seem to improving. By doing this we can free the athletes mind allowing them to invest their energy into another drill before returning to the initial exercise at another time.

4. Positive feedback & personal interest from the coach create motivation

Everybody wants their athletes to be motivated, that is the ideal. However, the chances of having every athlete motivated for every session we take is highly unlikely. As such, it is up to us as coaches to create motivation in our athletes. Motivation can be inspired by as simple things as taking an interest in our athlete; taking an interest in more than just their involvement in the session we have designed, but asking questions regarding their hobbies or what they got up to at the weekend. Not only does this personal interest create a sense of relatedness in our athletes, but it also provides the coach with more information regarding the group they are coaching. Another simple way to develop motivation in our athletes is by providing them with positive feedback (this is particularly relevant for youth athletes) as it lets them know when they are doing something correct and leads to an internal emotion of satisfaction.

5. Friendly competition promotes engagement

Remembering back to primary school, just about everything was a competition with friends. Every lunchtime would consist of who was the fastest, or in class there would be competitions for the best handwriting and so on. It is human nature to seek out competition and challenge ourselves. Hence, it is important to set challenges to our youth athletes to help them progress and create a greater drive to do well. Yet, not every individual thrives off challenge, and if we use competition in the wrong manner then it can lead to a hit on self-confidence which can lead to no longer wanting to participate. By understanding the youth athletes we are working with we can use friendly competition and games to maintain engagement and build self-efficacy.

Summary

Whilst there are many other factors that should be accounted for when working with youth athletes I hope that my lessons learned may be of relevance to other coaches out there working in a youth environment. Be patient, and know that we are promoting life long development both psychologically and physiologically setting up athletes for the future. The younger that we can introduce children to fundamental movement skills and continue childhood play (which has declined significantly since the rise in technology) the less problems we will have to correct in the future, from both a health and performance standpoint. Find ways to promote autonomy, competence and relatedness; remembering always that an engaged coach will foster engaged athletes.

#HigherPerformance #YouthDevelopment #Coaching #Sport #Motivation