The Young Athlete’s Journey – Transitions In Youth Sport

Young athletes have a great deal of pressure on them. School, work, relationships are just some of the major changes that young people go through all at the same time. These changes can affect people in different ways and some cope with it better than others.

Sport is another added pressure to young people. Moving up through the age groups and into senior sport is a big change in peoples lives and some deal with the changes better than others.

Part of a coach’s role is to assist players in coping with these changes and pressures of life. Coaches are in a position to have a radical and everlasting impact on young people’s lives. Therefore, in youth sports especially, coaches should not only be trying to develop better sportspeople but also better people.

To assist young athletes with these pressures and to guide them through change, coaches first have to understand what they are going through. We have all been there before, but it is easy to forget how difficult a time it was during our lives. Once coaches understand what their athletes are dealing with, we can offer them the support and resources they require to transition through these challenging times.

“Sport is and should remain a great school of life that supports young people in their personal development. It teaches respect for others and also for oneself.”

Richard Attias

The button below links to an article by Rebecca Chidley which discusses these challenges that young athletes experience. It also discusses how coaches can assist their athletes during these times. The most important factor to remember is everyone is different and coaches cannot treat everyone the same and expect the same results. Some athletes will cope better than others and it is the coach’s role to find different ways to assist everyone.

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