Recently, a client of mine from my CrossFit gym came to me for advice. Her son was very gifted at swimming. He would happily attend swimming lessons and advanced training sessions twice or even three times a week. So, the natural inclination of his parent was to enter him into a swim meet or to start looking into triathlons and other competitions. His response was simple… “No thanks!”
My client was really frustrated and dismayed at her son. She took his response as being a sign of laziness.
I read an article featuring my CrossFit trainer, Todd Widman. This was his response to a similar situation:
“I think we do kids a disservice by forcing them into competition mode. If they want to practice football and not get involved in competition, that’s awesome. To me that shows a maturity level in a child well beyond anything that I ever had as a child.”
“The worst case scenario is if they don’t like competing”, explained Widman. “It ruins their interest in the sport and potentially their relationship with you”.
We are constantly bombarded with the images of mega-star sports people, so children are naturally going to feel pressure. There are definitely positives to competing: teamwork, persistence, the want to improve and physical fitness/health. But, there are some equally powerful and damaging negative effects that pushing children against their will to compete and specialise will entail: injuries through overuse, muscular/ligament imbalance and burnout are amongst many other bad effects.
There is a concept called GPP (General Physical Preparedness) which revolves around general, broad and inclusive fitness. Fun is the specialisation.
GPP builds a person’s ability for basic movement and it has to be fun. Actions may include: running, rolling, jumping, walking, pushing and pulling… Competition can then evolve from a solid base of GPP.
As a child develops, they may also develop a higher degree of GPP. This would essentially mean mastering elemental movements. Then, when they reach an age where competition becomes a more natural progression, the choice of sports and activities will have broadened due to their increased GPP.
Teenagers and competition often go hand-in-hand. At secondary school, children are mature enough to understand winning and losing, failing and succeeding.
In an article by author Hilary Achauer for The CrossFit Journal, she references a 2001 paper on “Organised Sports for Children and Preadolescents” which examines the pressures that sport places on children.
Achauer states, “Organised sports must have reasonable goals for children and preadolescents, including acquisition of basic motor skills, increasing physical activity, learning about social skills and sportsmanship, and having fun.”
The conclusion that I came to for my client was to help her realise the competitive element was more about her than her son. It focused more on her wants rather than his enjoyment. A month or so later, when my client had relented, her son came to her and asked if he could indeed compete in a meet. In response to her question, “why now?” he simply stated, “I feel ready now! Besides, you’ve stopped asking!”
I won’t tell you my client’s comments as they’re not fit for publication! The point is: keep activity fun and keep it on our children’s terms. Not ours.
George Dixon-Spain CF-L2
Owner and Coach at CrossFit ASG, Southport.
“Look Good, Perform Great & Feel Fantastic”
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