I will die on this hill. I will argue till I’m blue in the face. I will produce the data.
Participation in youth sports/activities is as important as many of the classes my kids take at school. Maybe more important.
A couple decades ago, too many school districts cut vocational programs to chase test scores and push the idea that “everyone must go to college.”
Big mistake.
Not every student needs calculus, but every community needs plumbers, electricians, and mechanics.
A school principal that has a sports program that is highly successful should support that program in every way. Then take the non successful programs and figure out how to make them successful. They often ignore the smaller programs. They need to support all of the kids.
HS sports:
Lifting with your team 2x/wk in the off-season doesn’t always guarantee you will win a title. It just increases your likelihood of success.
But not training with your team 2x/wk in the off-season almost always guarantee that you will not win a title. It wildly decreases your chances of success.
High school sports are fun. Kids should play for that reason alone. Problem is lots of club coaches tell kids not to compete for their high school so there’s more time to showcase & “get seen”. And kids end up being the ones missing out on the experience.
~ via @Nick_Buonocore
$1,200 on a “so-called” national tournament for 14 minute of wrestling…no problem.
$500 on a week-long camp with 30 hours of wrestling and 40 matches worth of live wrestling…no way too expensive.
There’s a long-standing narrative that football players lose size and strength if they wrestle. @yjmcknight data says otherwise. Football players who wrestled this winter returned to spring football and tested extremely well.
Take advantage of this. Learn from the best.