For example, parents have asked me if it's ok for their son to be training with weights. He was already working out with his dad, squatting 150 pounds, dead lifting 100 and using relatively heavy weight in other exercises. When I was told the youngster was 7 years old, I was shocked. Other parents have brought me youngsters 12 years old whom they wanted me to improve physically so they could compete with 16 - 18 year olds in sports such as tennis.

Numerous such scenarios are being played out every day in this country. This push toward early specialization in a sport means that a youngster must begin specialized training when he or she is 4 or 5 years old. In some cases even younger. There are instances of youngsters 5 - 7 years old who have run marathons.

Specialization Unwise

Is such early specialization the way to produce future champions? No! Athletes with early success usually don't become champions in later years. Ironically, this trend started with the erroneous belief that this was the secret of the Soviet success in sport.

The push towards specialization has been going on for at least a decade. Examples of this push are evident in my biomechanics classes at Cal State-Fullerton. In these classes I use examples from different sports to explain various technique concepts. However, many of the students know nothing about the sports I'm describing. Most of them are familiar with only one or two sports. In fact, it's getting so bad that players on the same team do not even know what other players do. For example, when I asked a football player what someone at a different position did, he shrugged his meaty shoulders.

There are several reasons why youngsters who specialize too early never achieve success as adults.

1. The intensity of the physical exertion needed to play on an adult level is very high and the youngster's body is incapable of handling these stresses. Because of this, in time, there is a breakdown in the muscular-skeletal system and injuries occur. This is a fact. Injuries are inescapable. They will occur.

2. The mental and emotional stress is very high, and youngsters from 7 - 16 do not have the psychological capabilities to handle it. When continued for a long time, they become classic cases of burnout. In many cases, their bodies become depleted to such an extent that over fatigue and over training occur. This results in sickness and injury.

Many youngsters are burned out by the time they 16 or 17. In fact, numerous high school athletes do not play college sports because they're already tired of the game.

What then is the best way to train youngsters? There is really a simple solution. Keep in mind that you must train the youngster to be able to do more than what the best athletes are doing today when he or she reaches the age where most athletes in that sport become world record holders or Olympic champions. To do this you must develop in the youngster the ability to learn the skills and physical abilities that will be needed on this level. Merely training to be as good as the best today will not assure you of success 10 - 15 years down the road, and in order to bring the youngster to higher levels, you must develop in him or her the necessary co-ordination and physical skills in the earliest years.

Variety

For this to occur, the youngster must be exposed to a wide variety of sports. In the very earliest years each sport can help develop different qualities in the athlete. For example, soccer can develop good eye -foot co-ordination, the ability to accelerate and stop quickly, the ability to kick a ball in various ways and help develop the cardiovascular system. Bodybuilding should be done in the early years, starting with ages 9 - 11. However, especially in the early years, heavy weights should never be lifted and many callisthenic exercises should be included.

The key to the training at this time is merely to learn how to do the exercises. As a result, however, youngsters also gain some strength and co-ordination. In essence, in the early years it is necessary to develop the youngster to be an all round athlete. He or she must learn high levels of skill and develop all physical qualities. It is immaterial how successful the youngster is in winning.

However, in our culture today it is almost impossible to escape early competition. We actually do our youngsters a disservice by exposing them to competition.

Coaching

One reason for the lack of good teaching in the early years is that most coaches are not educated in the sport. They do not know the correct things that must be taught at this age. In fact, 90% of all youth coaches have little or no experience in the sport. And the colleges and universities do not prepare future coaches for youth. You can find many articles that state, for example, how a gym should be well supervised to ensure the safety of the youngsters when lifting weights. However, how many trainers in a gym know how to work with youngsters? Very few!

It is important to understand, that training for youngsters is much different than it is for adults. Because you are a high level trainer in one age bracket does not mean that you are an excellent trainer in another age bracket. When there is instruction, it is of the 'watch how I do it' type. There is little verbal instruction to help the youngster develop his mental capabilities to understand what he is doing and why he is doing it to achieve a particular effect. Even worse, is that all the skills of the game are taught in one week and the rest of the season devoted to playing. In these situations only the early maturing and gifted children succeed. Many who mature late and many with great potential become mentally defeated, and in time, give up sport. This is a tremendous waste of potential.

What is especially sad is that a reversal of this trend is not in sight. But we must turn the whole process around. Money well spent on youth will produce much greater rewards in the future.