youth athlete

In this week’s episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, Ironman Master Coach Matt Dixon takes a closer look at youth sports and the development of young athletes.

With his experience as a parent, as well as a coach to world-class professional endurance athletes, executives, and amateurs alike for over 15 years, and using his own background in competitive swimming and triathlons, Matt examines the importance of sports for social and physical development in kids and examines the role parents and coaches play in helping to create meaningful experiences.

"This is sport. The journey of becoming. That is much more powerful and more important than the outcomes." - Matt Dixon

Matt maps out the discussion in a way that applies not only to parents, coaches, and young athletes but also to adult athletes looking to draw insights for their own development journey.

This episode covers the role of sports for kids ages 8 to 18 and suggests a healthy route for developing an athletic foundation. It also provides insight into how we can assist our young athletes in moving beyond outcomes or results, to help them develop athletically, while also establishing essential values and character traits that will last well beyond their playing days.

"The sporting journey can be a crucible from which we can apply so many of the experiences into almost anything that we do in the rest of our lives. And that becomes really powerful." - Matt Dixon

There are trends and challenges in youth sports that interfere with the positive lessons and experiences that organized sports have to offer. From parents who put too much pressure on their kids, to coaches who prioritize winning over development, these issues can create an environment where young athletes don’t reach their full potential or lose their love of the game altogether. Matt examines some of the most common problems in youth sports today and offers suggestions on how they can be addressed.

For parents and coaches looking to create an environment where young athletes can excel both on the field and off of it, Matt proposes certain habits they should foster to develop a performance culture and encourage a positive athletic journey.

"Remember that you are tasked with building an athlete. And in order to do that, you need to ensure that they have passion, they fall in love, they have a strong structure, a really varied skill set, that then when things are important to get focused, they are best equipped and they are fresh mentally. And so you are building an athlete well ahead of developing a runner, developing a swimmer, turning a baseball player into a pitcher." - Matt Dixon

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 07:39 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

07:46 - 11:36 - Matt's Newsings

11:44 - 01:17:53 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 269: Developing Youth in Sport: Observations and Opportunities for Improvement

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PODCAST - Episode 47: Child's Play - FUNdamental Lessons from Youth Development in Sport

PODCAST - Episode 95: Youth Development in Sport - Performance Anxiety, Specialization, and the Journey

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The Five W's Podcast

What Works for Who in What Context and Why

The podcast explores a biopsychosocial approach to athlete development, Each episode explores a unique perspective on the topic from the viewpoint of academia, athletes, coaches, practitioners, psychologists, researchers, S&C and sports scientists, and seeks to be relevant to anyone interested in athlete development. 

DEFINITION OF TERMS

(My current working definitions):

BioPsychoSocial:  A recognition that athletic and sporting performance depends on the interaction of a large number of interconnected factors; Bio (Physical), Psycho (Psychological) and Social (Socio-Environmental) and the practitioners deliberate planning, implementation, practice and reflection of all three aspects combining to provide optimised individual learning opportunities for athletes and coaches.  

Psychosocial:  The understanding and appreciation of how psychological (e.g., pedagogical / andragogical strategies, motivation, coach-athlete relationship) and socio-environmental (session design, social interaction, leadership) factors underpin physical (bio) performance

This podcast is a form of knowledge exchange for my Doctoral studies which I am currently undertaking at Leeds Beckett University, so I do want to highlight their contribution to my skills, knowledge and experience as well as a HUGE thank to my supervisory team Professor Kevin Till and Dr Tom Mitchell, as well as all the other lecturers within the Carnegie School of Sport that have and continue to support me on my research-practitioner journey.