Solution: Your athletes are never too old, or too talented, to answer the question “Are you enjoying yourself out there?” Ask it! Chances are, the more they enjoy themselves, the better they play, the more they play, and the harder they will work. Adults rarely do voluntary activities such as exercise or community service work that they do not derive enjoyment from. If your young athletes are not having fun, they will eventually walk away, regardless of talent or how good their team or coach is. They listed eighty-one characteristics of fun, and winning (#48), playing tournaments (#63) and practicing with private trainers (#66) did not finish high on the list. The children in the George Washington study defined fun as trying their best, being treated respectfully by coaches, parents and teammates, and getting playing time. In a 2014 study for George Washington University, researcher Amanda Visik interviewed numerous youth athletes and asked them why they played sports, and 9 out of 10 said the #1 reason they played was it was fun! The #1 reason kids quit is because sports is no longer fun. I hope you will look at each one of these scenarios and ask yourself “Is this my child?” If the answer is yes, then it is never too late to act and make a change. I believe there are five main reasons kids walk away from sports, and they all boil down to one common denominator: they cause kids to have a poor state of mind when it comes to sports. It is also crucial that we have open lines of communication with our athletes, so we can spot some of the red flags and right the ship before it’s too late. If you are a parent or a coach, I believe it is critical that we have a good understanding of why kids play, and why they quit. We don’t simply lose the kids who cannot make varsity we lose many of the best athletes on our teams. Many of these athletes, our most dedicated and talented ones, burnout and drop out as well. Sadly, in our current state of youth sports, kids and families are asked to do more and more at younger and younger ages, especially the kids who show early aptitude in a sport. These things are true and contribute to a part of the dropout rate, but they are not the entire picture. They say it’s an age where school, jobs and other interests take precedence. Whenever I mention this sad statistic, people come out of the wood work saying that it’s only the kids who aren’t good enough to play that quit. They love their kids they just don’t always love them in a helpful way.Īs I have stated here many times, 70% of children are dropping out of organized sports by the age of 13. It is a tale about well-intentioned parents whom want nothing but the best for their children. It’s like it’s more important to him than it is to me.” I can’t play when he is around, and he insists on coming to every game, every road trip, you name it. He loves me and I know he only wants the best for me, but he just can’t stop coaching me, in the car, and from the sideline each and every game. My mind went through all the reasons this might be happening: burnout, other interests, team dynamics, I was too hard on her, the gamut. “I just can’t take it anymore coach,” a talented but underperforming player named Kate told me a few years back.
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