One thing that is consistent within the models and principles of long-term athletic development is exposure to a diversity of experiences in fundamental movements and sport skills that leads to confidence and competency of general athletic development.
So here’s an idea .. how about a multi-sport camp? (P.S., it is not a novel idea…we were doing it in the 198os)
The advertisement would read something like …
Now Enrolling ... Multi-sport Fundamentals Camp
No uniforms. Must wear favorite t-shirt and sweats/shorts. Bring your Pizza Hut water jug (or you can drink out of the hose at your own risk).
Accepting athletes (if you have a body, you’re an athlete) of all ages and abilities, especially those who have been cut from “travel teams” because of the relative age effect or being a late bloomer. Especially like those with a Mamba mentality for fun and enjoyment of movement no matter the desired outcome – whether it be physical, mental, emotional, and/or social.
Camp schedule:
Fundamental movement skill warm up; may include obstacle course, tag or free play on the playground or in the ‘Athletic Skills Garden’
Multi-stations, multi-skill practice (not over-coached; coaches watch and listen, say little)
Small-sided games with lots of reps (kids can make rules and officiate themselves)
Fundamental movement skills including strength development (Learn to Move; Learn to Lift)
Lessons in nutrition & sleep, how to think positively and be a good person
This format actually follows our recent work, led by Professor Kevin Till of Leeds Beckett University, on what is called ‘RAMPAGE’. RAMPAGE is a fully aligned coaching session framework built around the following components: raise, activate, mobilize, prepare, activity, games, evaluate (RAMPAGE) that targets a range of physical, technical, tactical and psycho-social related goals important for youth athletic development rather than just standalone areas (e.g., technical only). The RAMP part of it is taken from a popular dynamic warm-up and the Activity and Games part of it is standard to best practices in practice or training session design and often seen by coaches as the main part of the overall session. The final Evaluation part of the session can be used for cool-down activities while reviewing and evaluating the session. This can also be a good time to integrate lessons on recovery (nutrition and sleep), mental skills, and character development; however, these aspects should be threaded throughout a practice or training session. To learn more about RAMPAGE, check out this overview of LTADchat on YouTube.
The other crazy thing is that this is soooo do-able. Walk to your local elementary school playground. Does it look like this? Ball fields, basketball hoop, a little blacktop, and a playground? Just add kids, qualified coaches, creativity, RAMPAGE, supportive parents, and a fun but challenging environment!
The Athletic Skills Garden
Speaking of playgrounds, check out these ‘Athletic Skills Gardens’ (i.e., playgrounds) from René Wormhoudt of the Ajax Football Club in Amsterdam.
2-4-1 Sports
The proposed format above is also quite similar to that used by Steve Boyle with 2-4-1 Sports . Why 2-4-1? Because life’s 2 short 4 just 1 sport!
Tell your neighbors
Now, the sad thing is that my colleagues and others who “get it” are the ones who like a tweet or are reading this blog.
Instead, this message needs to get out of the echo chamber and convince folks like my neighbor, who believes his 10-year old FOGO (for those who do not know LAX this is a highly specialized position; a FOGO is a ‘Face Off Get Off’ player who basically faces off, gets the ball to a teammate, and then gets off the field) needs to “be seen” at the showcase tournament in Atlanta despite the $flight, $hotel, $food, $registration fees, $photos, $t-shirts, etc. I told him about my camp idea – he’s not interested. He said “that’s kid’s stuff”. I said, “Exactly!”.
Remember, Rome was not built in a day and re-imagining youth sports will not either.