16 Gift Ideas For Your Youth Athlete This Holiday Season.
Being mindful of how easy it is to race in and through the holiday season is a wasted opportunity. Here are some thoughts on how to avoid this.
Welcome to edition 182 of The Physical Movement.
This is a reflective post from someone in his 50’s with a son in college. A post around the holiday season and what it represents, and should represent. A focus on what is important and not so important. As one gets older, we get more reflective. Maybe cause there is more time behind us than ahead? Maybe because there is a lot of suffering in the world. My parents when there were my age would often talk about how everything moved so fast compared to years gone by. I now know what they mean.
The holiday season is coming quickly. Not sure when it officially starts. In North America, we start to hear Christmas music right after American Thanksgiving (end of November). That is a bit early for me.
I find the holiday season a great time for reflection. We are empty nesters, we don’t party much anymore, we have more time to think. Sometimes that is good, sometimes, well sometimes that is good!
Maybe that has to do with considering decaf coffee once in a while. The dynamic of the holiday season hits its peak in terms of “hectic” when the kids are under 10 years old. It starts to change as they get into teenage years, a different dynamic again when they come home for the holidays from college and then again more change as their family goes through the cycle we just lived.
What a blessing that is by the way, the cycle I just described is truly a gifted one.
During the frantic years, the hustle and bustle can become overwhelming. The regular demands of day-to-day life are tough enough with managing schedules daycare then school and work and so on. The holiday season adds on the ramping up time around gift giving, shopping, social visits and gatherings and the increased demands of the holiday youth sport schedule.
That’s right, the dreaded holiday tournaments!
You experienced this?
A tournament schedule either right before or after Christmas taking your family out into the world during one of the busier travel times of the year.
Who’s idea was that anyway?
I don’t remember that years ago. This is a by product of the “maximizing competition and exposure” culture and there is something wrong with it.
Years ago (I know, I sound like that older guy who sits in the rocking chair reflecting on the good ole’ days), I remember the holidays as long days on the outdoor rink or ball hockey in the street. Yes, times have changed, but there were no tournaments over the holidays.
With all this in mind, and in thinking of you, here are 16 gift ideas for your youth athlete. Some can be wrapped and placed under the tree, some into a stocking, some well, they will make you feel good.
Give the gift….
1. Of time. We live in a time of rushing around and often forget that time is a gift ….and while your young person may not always value that the way we like, the initiative comes to us. Going for skate, a ski, a swim, a walk, playing ball hockey, watching a show..there are hundreds of examples and many of the below include time in the gift.
2. Of being a role model. We are constantly being watched by kids. They pick up on everything. What we do, when we do it, who we do it with. You think returning those 96 beer cans has zero effect on your kid? Think again.
Coming home from work and plopping on the couch?
Yelling when we are frustrated and taking it out on those in the house ?
Being 40lbs overweight?
Smoking?
Constant fast food?
Simple, positive choices have an impact. What we do, what we eat and drink, who we hang out with, how much we are around all play a role.
Many of the below include role modelling examples that can help overcome getting caught up in daily pressures.
3. Of physical activity. How important is regular physical activity in your house? So many houses seem to compartmentalize the sport with other aspects of day to day lives. A space to work on physical strength, endurance, balance, power, coordination in the house is powerful. The entire family using this area teaches physical activity as
By the way, this does only mean a gym area in the house, it could also mean space for mini sticks when they are younger or ping pong (see idea #13 below), or walks together, or any of a hundred activities that can be done outside. Regular physical activity. What a gift!
4. Of going to see a show. There is more to life that just youth sport. Seeing a play, concert, even a movie in the theater is a fun event that can help with diversifying the topic du jour.
5. Going to see a local game. This checks the boxes of time together. Most communities have some pretty good elite level competitions that fly under the radar. Seeing the major leaguers is great, but division 2 college, collegiate or junior hockey here in Canada if that is your sport, semi pro basketball, baseball, football, soccer are showcase a very high level of skill and some very dedicated athletes who also work for a living. There are ski events, golf competitions, bowling, fencing, volleyball, amateur wrestling. Regardless of the sport, they are all around us and usually have easy access.
6. Finding a good strength and conditioning coach. I am super partial to this one. A good strength and conditioning coach becomes a very important part of learning and development. I say “good” because a bad one can do the opposite and derail progress.
A good one works with athletes of all ages, has the credibility and stability of being in the community or this environment for some time, becomes a trusted confident for your athlete. They often have facilities that are hubs for positivity and continuous improvement not to mention they will help your athlete build their body armour. It was a game changer in our house when we found the right one.
And this also checks the boxes around role models, physical activity and time spent. Yes, time spent. Parents, find a facility and coach that also coaches adults. Moving well does not get easier as we get older, and this is a great example for your kids while taking care of yourself. Once we found a good coach and facility, the entire family was there. To this day one of the best investments we have made. Life skills. Our son loves to train because of this experience. He also learned a ton about his body and the requirements to play at higher levels.
A previous edition of The Physical Movement dug into this topic in detail.
7. Of money management. Equipment is needed for most sports, and too often we fall prey to getting our kids the what they need without including them in the buying process. As they get older, having your athlete understand the cost of things is very valuable. Missing this opportunity is unfortunate as you can connect the financial side to something of value to them.
8. Of time management. Connecting playing sport as a privilege rather than a right sets the table with the young athlete to work towards getting the opportunity to play.
Getting school work done first and as they get older managing a part time job teaches not only time management skills but priority management.
Especially into the teenage years if playing is not fun it becomes less important, and when less important for them then they are willing to push other things ahead of playing.
This is fine of course, but as a parent we want them to find something they are passionate about yes?
Art, music, drama, sport? Using that something as a tool of reinforce time management is a great gift to provide.
9. Of discipline. Disciplined means holding oneself to inner and outer standards with control and moderation. We will do a weekly feature on this shortly, but teaching discipline has been a long standing foundational piece to martial arts. Not always found in youth sport.
Youth sport provides structure, has rules, has built in consequences and provides opportunities for problem solving and rewards good behavior.
For this to be taught, and learned, we need to be aware of it as coaches and parents.
It would also help if we exhibited some self restraint in many of the activities around youth sport.
10. Of letting go of outcomes. The outcome of most competitions rely on multiple variables out of control. Stop focusing on how many goals scored and wins accumulated. Focus on the process. The preparation. The sacrifice, the opportunity to play. The fun. Wins will come hopefully, but outcome driven focus tends to make kids want to quit.
11. Of a learning from a proven track record. Biographies and inspiring stories are all around us. One of the most powerful messages around sport is how many have persevered to accomplish great things. The mindset of continuous improvement is a powerful skill to develop. Books are great for this. Today, we have audio books and many have movies to go along with them.
I love sharing the old school athletic stories with the younger generation.
· The Nolan Ryan Story
· The Michael Jordan movies. There are a whole slew of them, but the Last Dance was very fun to watch with my son.
· On the book side: Searching for Bobby Orr with Stephen Brunt is one I have read a few times and probably my favorite.
Even if your young athlete is not a reader, audio books make a great gift. Podcasts are another great way to learn about those who have been there before.
12. Of learning about the game they enjoy. Video games are a great tool here in the sport they love. While many of us older folk shrug our shoulders or poo poo video games, there are a lot of lessons on rules and strategy for the young person to learn from in a way they will enjoy.
13. Of the history of their favorite sport. Learning about the greats, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr, Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Russ Jackson, Hank Aaron, Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens, Muhamed Ali…what many had to go through in their journey. Stories of great teams coming together, the Bulls dynasty. Stories of great rivalries Yankees-Red Sox, Canada-Russia 1972.
14. Of a ping pong table.
Time together, physically active, hand eye coordinate, competitive component, inclusive and non screen time all add up to good old fashioned fun.
15. Of a board game. These used to be a staple. Not so much anymore. We recently got a crokinole board and we plug in the tunes for a good old fashioned laugh fest. If you are not sure what that is, look it up. Your welcome!
16. Of giving. In a time of consumerism, giving back is good for the soul.
a. Donations to the local shelter. For many years, father son time in our house included getting basic essentials for the local women’s shelter. We went, picked them up at the drug store. Boxed them up and dropped them off. Tooth brushes and paste and other personal hygiene items along with some toys for the kids.
b. Volunteer time at the soup kitchen
c. Donations to a worthy cause.
Have a great holiday season. Enjoy the gifts with your young athlete and your family!