There appears to be an interesting trend developing in the world of amateur sports, not just on a local level, but on both a provincial and national scale as well.
It strikes me that across a whole variety of different sporting realms, there is an ever-increasing tendency to fully immerse young, talented children into a level of training geared towards developing elite athletes.This is not a completely new phenomena. To this day, I clearly recall the gist of a lecture provided by then double Olympic gold medallist Alex Baumann to our fourth year Sports Administration class back in the mid-1980s. The essence of his dissertation was a candid discussion of both the good and bad of years of swim training, often at the expense of anything resembling a normal childhood.
Given the fact that I clearly enjoy covering local sports for a living, I would be only too happy to support any process through which athletic excellence can be garnered, what with all of the ancillary benefits that can be provided to youth through sport.However, I find myself, more often than not, eager to throw an important caveat into this entire debate. To be sure, revelling at the accomplishments and dedication to training of Olympic hopefuls such as Devon Kershaw, Tessa Bonhomme, Meagan Duhamel, Caroline Ehrhardt, Rebecca Johnston and countless others, forms a big part of the attraction in publicizing their feats.
There is a certain amount of community pride and chest-thumping that occurs any time one of our own grabs the spotlight at a national or international setting, whether we are talking about sports or any number of other domains.While the reality remains that far more young athletes will fall short of their wildest dreams, in spite of putting forth a level of effort that cannot help but to be admired, it’s been said many times over that the journey provides far more benefit than the ultimate destination.
There is much to be gained through the invaluable life lessons, social interaction and life-long friendships that are often times a huge part of the package of involvement in sport. So why, then, do I find myself cringing when the sporting accomplishments of eight, nine and ten-year-old athletes are brought to my attention?I suppose, above all else, it’s a concern over the potential of a lack of perspective, a failure to be grounded in the reality of what that particular feat means in the grand scheme of things that leads to my apprehension.
While hockey is definitely not the only sport prone to possible delusions of grandeur, it is probably more visible than any other in northern Ontario.As recently as just one generation ago, elite hockey players might find their summers dotted with perhaps one hockey school sojourn along the way, maybe even a quick conditioning camp foray to get the game legs back before the start of tryouts.
These days, a very lengthy hockey season gives way to spring hockey, then summer hockey, then hockey camps and finally conditioning camp (God knows why, at this point, any extra conditioning would be necessary) before the cycle begins once again.
As much as that sounds like a condemnation of the process, the fact is that for elite level athletes, that cycle represents a typical season of competition.
I’ve heard the arguments on both sides of this coin — some will hearken back to days gone by, when summers allowed for relaxation and fun, and even the great Wayne Gretzky took time away from the ice for a few, short months.
The reality remains that far more young athletes will fall short of their wildest dreams, in spite of putting forth a level of effort that cannot help but to be admired.Others still will point out that if the child truly enjoys the sport — any sport — more than anything else in the world, then where is the harm in allowing them year-round access to their passion?
The fact is that there is truth in both of these statements, which is part of what causes the average parent of a not-so-average sporting talent, endless internal debate about how much exposure to the sport at a young age is too much.
To my knowledge, there is no scientific answer to this question, largely because we are dealing in hypotheticals. Would John Tavares still have turned out to be the top-rated NHL prospect even if he had foregone the opportunity of playing up a year, almost since his introduction to hockey?
Is it possible that in his attempts to make sure he took advantage of every possible competitive opportunity, forcing the OHL to rewrite their rules in the process, that Tavares might have actually done himself a disservice, succumbing to the over-exposure that was trumpeted about during the recent draft?
The truth is that we won’t ever know whether Tavares, and countless other athletes who strive for excellence, suffer more harm than good through the various routes they opt to travel.For every example of the athlete who excelled because of a heavy childhood commitment to sport, one can find an equal number of peewee-aged phenoms who reach the beer leagues at exactly the same time as their more recreational counterparts.
And perhaps, therein lies the one bit of advice I might offer — make sure your child knows they are loved far more for the person they are than the athlete they are. Almost always, they are likely to be a person a lot longer than they will ever be an athlete.
Randy Pascal is the voice of Eastlink Sports and the founder of SudburySports.com.
