Professional PLL
06:00 PM
Jul 19
Phi
Den
What kind of youth sports parent will I be?
As much as I dread the day I join the caravan of SUVs careening out of our neighborhood, I realize it’s inevitable. My son will be 4 in June.
Will I volunteer to coach? If I do, regardless of the sport, I will put to use everything I’ve absorbed from the Lacrosse Athlete Development Model. It has made me think back to when my friend and I coached 10- to 12-year-olds in the unduly cutthroat Maryland ranks. We were fresh out of college and shared so many laughs with those kids, often at the expense of overcharged coaches on the other side.
But while we may have gotten the “fun and kid-centered” part right, we really sold those players short on physical literacy, small-sided and free play (a lot of those laughs came while standing in line for a complex drill or waiting to get into a full-field scrimmage), coach training, designing for development (why did we let anyone play with long poles?) and multi-sport participation.
I will do better next time, should the opportunity arise. And I will ignore the part of me that wants to micro-manage every one of my son’s movements. If he’s anything like me, his athletic potential won’t begin to surface until he’s 12. He’ll look like he has two left feet out there, but as long as he’s laughing, I’ll be good.
I also will resist the urge to say yes to every opportunity that arises. He needs time to wander in the woods, play pick-up whatever in the court and even to be bored. Boredom breeds creativity and mindfulness.
And if he has no interest in sports, I’ll respect that too. If he never grows out of his “Star Wars” phase, then count me in for the dork fest. Is there a development model for Jedi masters?