A deep dive on 18 things sports should teach your kids before they turn 18.
My daughter starts her first organized sport practice this week.
If she spends the next 16 years only concerned with how many goals she scores, how many games she wins, how many trophies she collects, or how many scholarships she accumulates, I will have failed her.
The challenges, lessons, people, wins, and losses from her athletic career are an opportunity to help her bring to fruition the person that God intends for her to be.
Here are 18 things I hope she truly learns and internalizes:
- You get to decide how you show up in the world.
- There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
- When you feel like you want to quit, everyone else feels the same way. Most of them will quit. Pushing through those times is what allows you to separate yourself.
- Trying really hard is cool. Your peers might laugh at you. You might be labeled a “try-hard”. The people who matter, though, will admire your consistent effort.
- Exercise and training are fun and enjoyable.
- Failure is an invaluable learning experience. Actively avoiding failure will limit your potential.
- Good people come from all different walks of life.
- There’s a direct relationship between how hard you work at something and how much you improve.
- Everyone has unique gifts and skillsets- identify and lean into yours.
- Comparison is the thief of joy.
- Competition is healthy. Being kind and competitive are not mutually exclusive.
- There’s a difference between complacency and satisfaction. Always be satisfied, never be complacent.
- Showing up everyday, regardless of how you feel, is a cheat code.
- Sometimes you have to do what’s best for the team, against your own personal interests.
- Sometimes you have to do what’s best for you, despite what those around you are saying.
- Your performance on the field does not dictate your self worth.
- Having a plan beats not having a plan. But, the most beautifully designed plan executed half-hazardly pales in comparison to a mediocre plan executed with elite intensity.
- Pain is an unavoidable element of a well-lived life.
A quick thought on how I need your input.
I need your help.
I want to make this newsletter a complete resource for sports parents to help their athlete get the most out of their athletic career from ages of 0 to 18 years old.
That includes physical development (speed, agility, strength, mobility, etc.), injury rehab, recruiting, nutrition, understanding travel sports, camps/combines, personal development, and more. The youth sports world is crazy, confusing, and changing by the moment.
This is where you come in. I want to know what the biggest problems that you face as a youth sport parent are. What questions do you have or what problems do you face?
Please click here or respond to this email to let me know!
A couple of important things…
- This newsletter is completely free. I spend many hours each week researching, writing, and illustrating (okay, maybe the drawings don’t take that long). The best way you can support it and allow it continue is to share it with people you know. You can just send them to gtperformance.co and they can subscribe there!
- Everything in these newsletters and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or you athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.
Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about athlete development!
Be >,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS