Parents Multiple Sports

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Our countries strategy is, win lots of medals for swimming.

Free swimming lessons for babies from 6 weeks to 12 months. Then make every parent feel super guilty if they don’t put their kids in swimming lessons from there after and make it compulsory for all kids at school to learn swimming and pit lots of money into it.

And play other sports once a week.
 
I would actually say this is exactly what the US does... not general training... the US does different high intensity sports at different times of the year.

So yes... you could potentially have zero off season.

LTAD is something that I would love for the US to understand better... not going to happen anytime soon though. As a whole the US understand "winning" first... secondly the US understands getting a medal even if you are a loser.

We are actually incorporating weight training into our program not only because it help... but because it is different movements too.

Hearing what is done in different countries is very interesting too me.

Here is an old thread... it's open again if you want to post in it...

Thanks for putting in words what I meant. What US youth sports do is *very* different from European youth training programs.
 
As to literature - difficult question. There are detailed training programs for track and weightlfting and so on for different age groups which are taught in coaches' education (which is mandatory here if you want to get public funding) but I do not know of any translations...
 
As to literature - difficult question. There are detailed training programs for track and weightlfting and so on for different age groups which are taught in coaches' education (which is mandatory here if you want to get public funding) but I do not know of any translations...
I find your contributions, as well as Aussie Coaches, to be really interesting. It's great to learn about how other countries go about developing their athletes, and I wish more coaches were open to learning other methods.
 
There is a long list of multi sport athletes that played at a very high level. Of course it can be done.

Deion Saunders ran track in college, played professional Baseball and Footbal. He actually played in a Super Bowl and a World Series.
If your argument for why it works is "one of the best athletes in human history did it," well... not super convincing.

This kid: https://247sports.com/player/nyckoles-harbor-46114050/

Is being recruited by every major NCAA D1 Football team (and possibly going to Michigan) while training to go to the Olympics as a sprinter. Does that describe the level of athleticism of the average one level a year club gym kid? Probably not.

In reality, Harbor is going to end up being just a better than average football player and a mediocre sprinter, when he could have been a top 3 NFL draft pick if he focused on football.
 
If your argument for why it works is "one of the best athletes in human history did it," well... not super convincing.

This kid: https://247sports.com/player/nyckoles-harbor-46114050/

Is being recruited by every major NCAA D1 Football team (and possibly going to Michigan) while training to go to the Olympics as a sprinter. Does that describe the level of athleticism of the average one level a year club gym kid? Probably not.

In reality, Harbor is going to end up being just a better than average football player and a mediocre sprinter, when he could have been a top 3 NFL draft pick if he focused on football.
And also, I'd bet my life savings that Deon Sanders, Bo Jackson, and all the other elite multi sport athletes were on the best designer steroids that money could buy back then.
 
If your argument for why it works is "one of the best athletes in human history did it," well... not super convincing.

This kid: https://247sports.com/player/nyckoles-harbor-46114050/

Is being recruited by every major NCAA D1 Football team (and possibly going to Michigan) while training to go to the Olympics as a sprinter. Does that describe the level of athleticism of the average one level a year club gym kid? Probably not.

In reality, Harbor is going to end up being just a better than average football player and a mediocre sprinter, when he could have been a top 3 NFL draft pick if he focused on football.
That’s entirely his choice.

Playing multiple sports is possible at a high level, in high school and at at any level.
How high they achieve is based on the talent they have and the work they choose to put in. And having freaking coaches open to the possibilities and giving the athlete the opportunity. If one of Deion or Bo’s coaches/teams shut them down they would of been one sport athletes. Jim Brown was very successful college football and lacrosse college. Not many people know how successful he was at lacrosse but he was. It can be done.

The problem is people like yourself that think if you don’t go top whatever in a draft, make it the Olympics or play NCAA Div 1. You are a- unsuccessful and B-wasting your time.

OP the answer is yes, if your child wants to do gymnastics and another sport it can be done. She can do it. Hopefully she has coaches who will support it and make it happen for her.

I personally know optional gymnasts, L7, 8 and 9 and Xcel. Who are doing or who have done gymnastics and

Diving, soccer, cheer, basketball, lacrosse, HS gymnastics and track at the HS varsity level. many of them qualify to HS sectionals, some to HS states.

1 competed Div 1 track in college, 1 competed Div 1 diving in college. These 2 were L9/10 gymnasts. They did at some point exclusively transition to their HS/coll sport but did do both for a time during HS. Since graduate.

Another is currently diving at a D3 school and doing college club gymnasts.

One is a HS senior being actively recruited for college track. She was L8 and did both gymnastics until her the middle of her junior year, when she made the choice to concentrate on track.

My L8 daughter and her L9 friend and teammates intend to continue their HS sports and get their senior plaques at USAG states next year. My daughters feels her other L8 HS friend will be making this year her last at gym. My daughter just feels her heart isn’t into gymnastics any more.

Mine is happily competing L8 at club. Using the L9 skills she has at HS gymnastics. And looking forward to varsity lacrosse in spring. She would like to compete gymnastics in college at the club level. And she is pondering trying for a walk on type situation in lacrosse at a Div 3 school ( I don’t see her getting that far). But she would much rather do club gymnastics and absolutely will be the third factor for her on the list for college choices after area of study and location. Her parents put cost higher up on the list :)

Yes it is absolutely possible your kid can do both.

to add, the dude I dated in HS was a 4 letter varsity starter. State track champion and record holder for quite some time on the relay team, football and baseball
 
And also, I'd bet my life savings that Deon Sanders, Bo Jackson, and all the other elite multi sport athletes were on the best designer steroids that money could buy back then.
You don’t know that. And the list is very long and goes way back, both males and females, being multi sport athletes at the collegiate level and beyond. I’m sure many did not need steroids to make them successful at multiple sport. what they really needed and had was people who also believed and gave them opportunity.
 
In reality, Harbor is going to end up being just a better than average football player and a mediocre sprinter, when he could have been a top 3 NFL draft pick if he focused on football.
And you don’t know that either. If colleges are looking at him in HS he’s is yrs away from an NFL draft
 
This will not work. Track is itense, 5 times a week is a lot at this age. She will underperform in both sports and increase her injury risk. As a track coach I would not allow this. Perhaps she can do some recreational gymnastics for one or two hours a week just for fun. That would actually be beneficial for track. But 2 full blown 4-hour (!!) practices - no way.
I am so glad that our gym is low hours. LSS has competed on the school track team for the past 2 years (8th grade in middle school and 9th grade for the high school). She has also competed in gymnastics at the same time.
She is a sprinter and hurdler. She also does relays. In gym, she is getting ready to move up to Xcel Platinum (after tomorrow's meet).
During track season, we pick her up from track practice and drive her to gym. Last year, I coached her at gym most days. Since she was getting 1-on-1 coaching, she was only there for a little over an hour (3 days a week unless there's a track meet on a gym day) so she could get her numbers on the events.
This definitely did not cause her to under-perform in either sport last year. She placed at YMCA Nationals on vault and her track 4x400 relay team went farther than any girls team from her school had ever done before and she had the 2nd fastest time for her team of 4 on her leg of the race. The fastest split was less than a second faster than her.
 

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