23 Thoughts for 2023!
Fuel for a positive and healthy year to come!
Thanks for spending some time with The Physical Movement as we usher in a new year. I am pleased to share 23 thoughts to power us up for a positive and health 2023.
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.
Welcome to edition 185 of The Physical Movement.
1. Enjoy the journey. Maybe because I am getting closer to 60 and my son is in college. Maybe because of the pandemic. Maybe because I have had some colleagues and friends pass away suddenly recently (in my age bracket). Or, Maybe because overall mortality is up 10% in Canada in the last 3 years. Regardless, life if precious. Time is fleeting. Enjoy the journey and take nothing for granted.
2. In October I wrote about how much progress was still needed around the issue of concussion awareness. In the last week, I read an article about the same player from that article having another one, and continued to play after hitting his head, no concussion protocol kicked in. The official “excuse” from the league being that “he did not exhibit concussion like symptoms”. This has been a pet peeve of mine for some time. When an athlete hits there head, or gets in in the head, there is head trauma. That should trigger protocol, not just if exhibits symptoms. Let’s not hesitate to step in when we see someone get hit in the noggin.
3. In the day and age of taking on more and more and more, who are the guardians for the volume of work our young athletes are subjecting their bodies to? Parents? Coaches? The word guardian comes to mind, someone who has the best interest of our athletes in mind. Someone who has the credibility and stones to step in and say time to “back off” or do something different. The participation rate will continue to go down if we don’t watch out for too much volume with our athletes.
4. Our top read article in 2022, was on some data on the benefits young athletes being exposed to multiple sports. Let’s keep sharing that message.
5. It’s a fine line between stepping in as a coach/parent at every turn and letting lessons be learned during competition. This is a line we need to straddle, and not hesitate to step in when something does not seem right. We get reminders too often that too many people hesitate to step in when things don’t look right. There is not ever an excuse for an adult yelling at a child, demeaning them in any way.
6. In the same vain, teaching our young athletes that its ok to speak up only comes from the most secure adults around.
Are we doing enough to encourage speaking up when something looks/feels wrong?
Are we teaching them how? We covered the topic here.
7. In November, I wrote about the officials crisis in youth sport. This is a direct result of adult negative interference and creating a toxic play environment. Let the officials do their job before there is no more officials left. They are an integral part of maintaining a neutral play environment.
8. The best thing we can do with our young people is introduce them to a good strength and conditioning coach as young as possible. Moving well is the precursor to good health and enjoying physical activity. A good strength and conditioning coach will outline this before ever loading up exercises. In September 2020, we called a good S&C coach the young athlete’s secret weapon.
9. Keeping up with the Joneses is hurting youth sport. Comparison is the thief of joy and runs rampant in our society unfortunately, youth sport is not exempt from this trend. I will write about this in weeks to come.
10. Don’t fall into the travel elite team trap. Make no mistake, it is not for everyone. In fact some will say no one is “elite” under 14 years old.
11. Why do we insist on fuelling up our young athletes with crap and wondering why they don’t pay attention well, or gain weight during times of the year when not so active?
12. It’s ironic that the same parents that are pushing scholarships and the promised land of pro sports for their kids, are the same ones that never, ever encourage the discipline required for diligent practice, self care, nutrition, rest and positive mental health habits in their kids.
These requirements are shared by most who are able to get to this college level. Discipline endures, motivation does not. Remembering the requirements for progress may help in keeping the journey positive.
13. Head on a swivel is a great term to describe the need for increased awareness on the presence of online predators. If you have not watched the Manti Te’o story with your young athlete yet on Netflix, do it! In August, we covered the topic.
14. This article should be shared with anyone who supports the “play with pain” or “play through soreness” philosophy in youth sport. If one of the top doctors of the last 50 years says we are missing the boat, we should list yes?
15. Youth sport will likely not improve much unless there is an outcry. Too many are making too much money. A good starting point to improvement is understanding the business of youth sport.
16. Like it or not, adults in and around youth sport are role models. Perhaps it is time we held each other to a higher standard. Our communication skills and how active we are, our own health choices make a difference. This article from 2 years ago covers the topic.
17. The 4 pillars of creating a memorable youth sport experience are personal responsibility, alignment of purpose, reinforcing positive standards, and strong communication skills.
18. We stop bullying by broadening the focus beyond children, widening the scope of awareness beyond parents, make anti-bullying practice a priority, expose all forms of bullying as abnormal and unacceptable.
19. Teaching resilience is a skill that is critical for our youth. How many coaches guides have a section on handling things that don’t go as planned?
20. Ending the cycle of abuse in sport looks like this.
21. The road to strong mental health starts with a strong identity beyond youth sport. In July, we covered the topic of our youth losing their identity around youth sport. This is one of unhealthiest by products of a young life wrapped around sport at the expense of balance.
22. Please don’t make the mistake of confusing athletic performance with body fat assessment.
23. Did I mention life is fleeting? Please enjoy every day.