Since childhood, many young children dream of emulating their sports heroes: Federer, Woods, Jordan, Bolt, Serina or Venus. Regardless of what they aspire to be, these children have an innate sense of desire to achieve excellence in the field of sports, that deep desire that evokes the intense inner burning sensations that make you feel alive.

Your child may be gifted with all the talent, have all the focus, dedication, and confidence, have parents who provide all the necessary resources to help them become number 1, but if they don’t have the passion, they will fall short. of that true champion status.

As a parent, you can give your “little sports star in the making” the right start in life by providing a solid foundation for him to grow and develop on. The old saying backed by scientific research states that in order to produce a champion or become elite in his chosen profession, he must engage in 10,000 hours or 10 years of purposeful practice. Purposeful practice is defined as practice that requires focus and dedication, and more importantly, having access to the right training systems and sometimes even having access to the right coach. You only have to examine the history and education of today’s top athletes to see how accurate those statements are. Tiger started with a dedicated father and a golf club before the age of 3, Serina and Venus were once again lucky to have a dedicated father and started training before the age of 4.

Having the right training systems means accessing programs that cover the following guidelines:

1. Always provide age-appropriate, variable, challenging but fun activities.
2. Ensuring programs are safe, injury prevention is a priority
3. Teach locomotion skills: running and jumping
4. Teach skills other than locomotion: twisting, turning, and balance.
5. Teach manipulative kills: throwing, catching and kicking
6. Teach movement awareness skills
7. teach explosive speed
8. teach agility
9. teach speed
10. Teach mental toughness, focus, poise, confidence, humility.

Once children/teens have mastered the art of hours of purposeful practice, their learning will take off and their knowledge will increase. Empowered with skills and knowledge, their performances improve and they are well on their way to becoming champions.

The skills and standards required to be a professional athlete in the 21st century are constantly increasing, as training systems evolve, techniques improve, for today’s rising sports stars it is imperative that the beginnings of their programs training programs are scientifically based, measurable and comprehensive. significant.