more spring training
By jewel on February 27, 2012 | Filed Under parenting
We talked to Jennifer Hood, a Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) specialist and owner of Jump! Gymnastics to find out what’s developmentally appropriate for the 8-12 age group and found her guidance very helpful in navigating sports with our children, so we wanted to include the rest of the interview here:
Q. How much practice is appropriate?
A. We hear many parents say “For goodness sakes, can’t they just play a game once a week? Do they really need to practice?” Actually, at this stage, 70% of time should be spent in practice and no more than 30% in competition. Why? Games and competitions are more about showcasing than learning (although as long as they stay fun for the child they provide motivation to practice). Consider how many times your child might swing a bat or touch the ball during a baseball game versus how many more opportunities they have during practice. Practice provides the golden opportunity for skill acquisition – if your child is playing a 1.5 hour game a week on average, then 3.5 hours of practice would be developmentally appropriate. Keep in mind the minimum recommendation for physical activity is 30 minutes a day, or 3.5 hours a week. The maximum? Let your kid be the guide. Some kids need to be active for most of their non-school waking moments. But if it’s no longer fun, positive and inclusive then it’s too much.
Q. Specialist vs. All-rounder?
A. At this age, parents start facing pressures to let their child specialize. Keep in mind that early specialization can be detrimental to later stages of athlete development, can increase the likelihood of injury and burnout, and may prevent your child from developing skills they can transfer to other sports as their interests change. At this stage ideally a child would play 2-3 different sports throughout the year. If your child loves an early specialization sport like competitive gymnastics or ballet it may not be practical to do other organized sports, but make sure you get lots of family swimming, bike riding and hiking in to give them a broader base. Summer camps also provide great opportunities to explore new sports.
Q. How much should we push the reluctant child?
A. The best way to ensure your child stays active for life is having fun; Only you will know the difference between your child just not feeling like it on a particular day, and really loathing it. If it’s the former – they are at the age where it’s appropriate to start teaching them that their team depends on them. If it’s the latter, then why push it? Try another sport – we know one family who tried 3-4 team sports before finally ending up with capoeira, where their child has been extremely happy. If it’s something like swimming that is really an essential skill, then work with your child to see if you can come to an agreement: take a break for a while, try a different pool, private lessons, or do regular family swims, for example.
Q. Should the coach be scary?
A. There is no room in your family’s life for coaches who yell at or belittle children in the guise of ‘motivating’ them, or twist the rules in the name of winning. Even if your child seems to thrive under the competitive pressure it can be very damaging. Depending on how seriously it’s impacting your child, you can work with the coach and the league to fix the problem, or pull your child out. Never forget, sport needs to be fun for your child. And remember, scary coaches are in the minority – there are thousands of dedicated volunteer coaches across Canada introducing our children to sport in a fun and supportive way. They deserve our thanks!
Q. How can we learn more?
A. Activeforlife.ca is a great resource – it does a particularly good job of showing the link between fundamental movement skills and specific sports. Canadian Sport for Life has a publication called “Developing Physical Literacy”, which is a guide giving parents of children aged 1-12 a roadmap to long-term wellness in activity and sport. Although a child’s interest in a particular sport is the most important consideration, parents might also find SportFit’s online questionnaire a useful tool to suggest sports that fit well with their child’s profile.
