Team Sports and Consistent Performance

Often I hear team sport athletes talk about how difficult it is to perform their skill set in competition on a consistent basis. I have frequently witnessed many of them (team sport athletes, and even entire teams) ride a wave of inconsistency playing well one night and completely opposite the next.

It is during this up and down performance rollercoaster that I find myself asking questions like, What if?, How come?, Why is that so? and Is there a better way? As a former athlete, coach, and teacher, it is simply part of my nature to ask such questions.

So what is it that seems to make it difficult for many team sport athletes to achieve the consistency that eludes them? In order to try and answer that question it might be best to take a look at sports where consistency is king.

Process Over Outcome: Has America Forgotten?

The first half of this post’s title takes direct aim at something I have spent a good deal of time referencing in many of my articles pertaining to youth sports. What I would like to do here is step back from that environment for a moment, taking a look at this idea of process over outcome, and the loss thereof, as it relates to the “big picture” – our society as a whole. Before I go ahead with my rant on this topic, it might be a good idea to define these two terms as they pertain to the relationship I am about to draw between them and what I see as a shift in American ideals.

More on Youth Sport Specialization

It is common practice for me to routinely surf the internet for articles regarding youth sports issues. The title of this blog certainly supports that activity and diligence in this endeavor provides much food for thought as I contemplate what next to post. This week I came across two articles on two different websites that discuss their viewpoint on sports specialization, a topic I most assuredly have an interest in. The first, Should my child specialize? by Juliet Cassell, discusses several of the same concerns and/or risks I listed in my previous 3-part article on the same subject, Specialization in Youth Sports Good or Bad?. Ms. Cassell’s article has good references and support for the points listed and is most definitely worth the read.

Perspective in Youth Sports Today

As a teacher, former coach, National Champion, and two-time All-American (and father of two Division I scholarship athletes), I have been genuinely saddened by the loss of perspective in sports, especially youth sports, and the lack of understanding about how athletic success is achieved. What our young sports enthusiasts should be learning by going through this process and what they are learning are two different things.