If you haven't already browsed this, I think you might find interesting the elite swimming (my sport) coach David Hemmings' substack. He has some brilliant reflections on his time as an age group coach that resonate with your work: https://substack.com/@beyondtheblocks1st
"Obsession over outcomes is the most direct path to improvement, but it comes with some downsides that shift us toward avoidance. The slow path takes a longer, indirect route. It helps improve our performance not by focusing on the results themselves but by supporting the foundation that ultimately leads to better performance."
This is so excellent and it's something I've seen personally in my own development as an youth/amateur/now adult athlete.
Starting out as a competitive equestrian when I was a young teen, the emphasis was on evaluation and judge's scores. It's hard when the sport you do is based on how well someone thought you did it. (a la figure skating, snow boarding, ect. There's technical scoring, but a large component is determined by personal preference and opinion).
And I had great success. 10x World and Reserve World Champion, #1 youth rider in the country. I loved it, I had so much fun. But there was pressure... a lot of pressure, uncertainty, doubting of abilities.
What I've learned now is that growing up in that environment for over a decade (in addition to family dynamics) has created a tendency for me to be a very approval-seeking adult, not just in sports but also in life.
What I've learned now as a competitive triathlete (with the help of my very smart coach) is that going into a competition with curiosity and without expectation, focusing on the factors I can control, and executing the plan to the best of my ability on the day, actually helps me have better performances!
Such an interesting article. It makes sense how you put it. We have such a large population we don't have to worry about keeping everyone in the game. The Norwegians want to keep as many kids playing for as long as possible which develop great athletes.
Light bulb moment when I read this while reflecting on the program I coach and why it has been growing. It's not because of wins, it's because we've turned a hard sport on paper to enjoy into a hard sport we found a way for them to enjoy and at times they don't even realize the kind of work we are putting in on that particular day.
This is a good follow up to another one of Steve's Article back in fall 2025! I always tell this to my wife kinda as a joke...I exercise A LOT, above average many people, but I see some kids training, participating in classes and spending more time in structured classes way more than I do!!!
We do need to re-think youth sports but that sounds like a long journey. Personally, I think there are pockets of opportunities for specific sports or activities that do not have the over-emphasis today such as soccer, basketball, lacrosse, etc. Norway is unique for its geography - much more concentrated for kids to do a variety of activities during all seasons. Also remember that most communities are connected by cross country ski trails so easy access.
I love this!! It’s honestly such a breath of fresh air compared to the high-pressure grind we usually see in youth sports. It’s wild how much we get in our own way by obsessing over scores and travel teams before kids even hit high school. We just need to let them have fun and find their own fire without any authority accidentally smothering it
There's a lot to like and, perhaps, adopt, but I don't agree with all of it.
One thing that quickly comes to mind is if Steve has a child or grandchild that ends up being an elite runner, it's not because he or she received a trophy at some age. It has a lot more to do with Steve's DNA that was inherited. We can't discount the Viking ancestry in Norway.
Another good point a friend reminded me of is that in Europe, in various sports, they make sure high quality coaches are working with youth. They consider it critical to their sports model. Barcelona, Bayern Munich, etc. don't see the youth coach positions as throw aways or fillers. They understand how vital it is for the youth with potential to be shaped by good coaches at early ages. Of course, they have millions of dollars invested in development and need a return on some of them.
As for not keeping score at early ages, having coached my kids in young leagues, the most competitive kids know the score, whether it's officially being kept or not.
Our travel sports model has discouraged the late bloomers and it's the late bloomers who sometimes surpass the rest. At early ages, kids are labeled not good enough, which is idiotic. Pre-puberty results don't matter.
Just a quick comment::of course kids know the score. The point of that rule is for adults. To downplay the score so it’s not adults going crazy. So that it’s more like football at recess. Kids know who won. But the downplaying keeping score and publishing results minimizes parents going nuts on the results and creating u8 rankings and BS that you see in the US.
So this is not what research says at all. I can tell you as a former phenom who was #1 in the country as a high schooler. I didn’t specialize until nearly 15. And I “quit” my sport in 5th grade to try another one.
Sure, in certain very narrow fields like chess, it’s the case. But in most sports and skills, it backfires to go all in too early. Again, it’s right there in the article you are replying to, a study of 6,000 athletes found the opposite of what you’re suggesting.
In fact, that’s what researcher Ellen Winner found when she studied crazy prodigies. Even when they had to specialize, if parents were overly controlling or pushing it, it tended to lead to burnout and worse performance. Kids had to be the driver, yes they needed support. But that support was driving them to practice and getting out of the way. As she called it, kids had a “rage to master,” and that rage was easy to put out by parents obsessed with winning and control.
Please read the article. They punch above their weight in summer sports too, including triathlon, track, beach volleyball, and a number of other sports.
If you haven't already browsed this, I think you might find interesting the elite swimming (my sport) coach David Hemmings' substack. He has some brilliant reflections on his time as an age group coach that resonate with your work: https://substack.com/@beyondtheblocks1st
Specifically, this article is what I as a coach found the most thought provoking: https://open.substack.com/pub/beyondtheblocks1/p/what-id-do-differently-as-a-young?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer
god i wish i was Norwegian
"Obsession over outcomes is the most direct path to improvement, but it comes with some downsides that shift us toward avoidance. The slow path takes a longer, indirect route. It helps improve our performance not by focusing on the results themselves but by supporting the foundation that ultimately leads to better performance."
This is so excellent and it's something I've seen personally in my own development as an youth/amateur/now adult athlete.
Starting out as a competitive equestrian when I was a young teen, the emphasis was on evaluation and judge's scores. It's hard when the sport you do is based on how well someone thought you did it. (a la figure skating, snow boarding, ect. There's technical scoring, but a large component is determined by personal preference and opinion).
And I had great success. 10x World and Reserve World Champion, #1 youth rider in the country. I loved it, I had so much fun. But there was pressure... a lot of pressure, uncertainty, doubting of abilities.
What I've learned now is that growing up in that environment for over a decade (in addition to family dynamics) has created a tendency for me to be a very approval-seeking adult, not just in sports but also in life.
What I've learned now as a competitive triathlete (with the help of my very smart coach) is that going into a competition with curiosity and without expectation, focusing on the factors I can control, and executing the plan to the best of my ability on the day, actually helps me have better performances!
Such an interesting article. It makes sense how you put it. We have such a large population we don't have to worry about keeping everyone in the game. The Norwegians want to keep as many kids playing for as long as possible which develop great athletes.
Light bulb moment when I read this while reflecting on the program I coach and why it has been growing. It's not because of wins, it's because we've turned a hard sport on paper to enjoy into a hard sport we found a way for them to enjoy and at times they don't even realize the kind of work we are putting in on that particular day.
This is a good follow up to another one of Steve's Article back in fall 2025! I always tell this to my wife kinda as a joke...I exercise A LOT, above average many people, but I see some kids training, participating in classes and spending more time in structured classes way more than I do!!!
We do need to re-think youth sports but that sounds like a long journey. Personally, I think there are pockets of opportunities for specific sports or activities that do not have the over-emphasis today such as soccer, basketball, lacrosse, etc. Norway is unique for its geography - much more concentrated for kids to do a variety of activities during all seasons. Also remember that most communities are connected by cross country ski trails so easy access.
I love this!! It’s honestly such a breath of fresh air compared to the high-pressure grind we usually see in youth sports. It’s wild how much we get in our own way by obsessing over scores and travel teams before kids even hit high school. We just need to let them have fun and find their own fire without any authority accidentally smothering it
There's a lot to like and, perhaps, adopt, but I don't agree with all of it.
One thing that quickly comes to mind is if Steve has a child or grandchild that ends up being an elite runner, it's not because he or she received a trophy at some age. It has a lot more to do with Steve's DNA that was inherited. We can't discount the Viking ancestry in Norway.
Another good point a friend reminded me of is that in Europe, in various sports, they make sure high quality coaches are working with youth. They consider it critical to their sports model. Barcelona, Bayern Munich, etc. don't see the youth coach positions as throw aways or fillers. They understand how vital it is for the youth with potential to be shaped by good coaches at early ages. Of course, they have millions of dollars invested in development and need a return on some of them.
As for not keeping score at early ages, having coached my kids in young leagues, the most competitive kids know the score, whether it's officially being kept or not.
Our travel sports model has discouraged the late bloomers and it's the late bloomers who sometimes surpass the rest. At early ages, kids are labeled not good enough, which is idiotic. Pre-puberty results don't matter.
Just a quick comment::of course kids know the score. The point of that rule is for adults. To downplay the score so it’s not adults going crazy. So that it’s more like football at recess. Kids know who won. But the downplaying keeping score and publishing results minimizes parents going nuts on the results and creating u8 rankings and BS that you see in the US.
So this is not what research says at all. I can tell you as a former phenom who was #1 in the country as a high schooler. I didn’t specialize until nearly 15. And I “quit” my sport in 5th grade to try another one.
Sure, in certain very narrow fields like chess, it’s the case. But in most sports and skills, it backfires to go all in too early. Again, it’s right there in the article you are replying to, a study of 6,000 athletes found the opposite of what you’re suggesting.
In fact, that’s what researcher Ellen Winner found when she studied crazy prodigies. Even when they had to specialize, if parents were overly controlling or pushing it, it tended to lead to burnout and worse performance. Kids had to be the driver, yes they needed support. But that support was driving them to practice and getting out of the way. As she called it, kids had a “rage to master,” and that rage was easy to put out by parents obsessed with winning and control.
Please read the article. They punch above their weight in summer sports too, including triathlon, track, beach volleyball, and a number of other sports.