Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? In a way. But the debate about how professional sports and professional athletes impact youth players oftentimes centers on how kids should not imitate their favorite players. The debate about whether professional athletes are role models and whether they embrace that moniker is ongoing and seems most often debated in the media when athletes misstep on and off the playing field.
But perhaps lost in the debate about role models is the idea that in fact professional sports and professional athletes can play a valuable role in our kids’ sports endeavors – if we harness the “goodness” and leverage the life lessons that sports at any level bring forward.
Each week on ResponsibleSports.com we ask the Responsible Sports Community, "What Would You Do?" in response to a youth sports scenario. And kids imitating professionals was a recent topic. An eight-year old soccer player witnessed his favorite player execute a beautiful bicycle kick to score the winning goal. He then approached his parents about wanting to learn the kick himself. The discussion on Responsible Sports was terrific and brought to light so many of the issues that we as parents face when these situations emerge.
This is a great example of how professional athletes can inspire our kids to set a goal and work towards that goal in the spirit of mastery. Professionals in any sport play their respective games at the top level and as a result have phenomenal skills. They have perfected their skills over years and years of practice. And they reached the professional level by committing to a mastery of their sport and creating a series of goals with corresponding plans to reach that mastery.
- Just this past weekend we heard about professional golfer, Phil Mickelson, who was spending hours on the putting green the morning of a tournament in an effort to learn and perfect a new stroke.
- We remember throughout the 2009 NBA Playoffs that Orlando Magic center, Dwight Howard, struggled at the free-throw line. He was quoted saying “…since the Playoffs started, I’ve been going back to the gym at night to work on my free throws and get up some extra shots. And so far, I’ve been able to see the benefits of putting in all the extra work.”
These professional athletes set a goal for themselves – a better foul shot percentage; an ability to sink a putt from a longer distance. And then, together with their coaches and trainers, they made a plan to reach their goal by practicing the skill set required.
Youth athletes can find enormous success each season by doing just this: determining what their goals are for the season. You can help by making sure they are things they can control. There may be new skills they want to acquire or existing skills they want to improve upon. Discuss and establish these goals with your kids. (Check out this activity from our friends at Positive Coaching Alliance to facilitate the discussion.) Then, together with the coach, encourage your child to make a plan for how they will meet these goals. Give them an opportunity to measure progress and success along the way, too.
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then perhaps it’s time to not talk about “role models” so much as it is time to talk about imitating a commitment to game mastery. If we, as parents and coaches, continue to encourage the principles we’ve learned from the ELM Tree of Mastery, our kids will be happier, more self-confident, and better prepared to reach the goals ahead of them… in sports and in life.
More on Goal-setting for the upcoming fall season:
More on the “ELM Tree of Mastery”:
Have more to share with the Responsible Sports Community on this topic? Write us at
team@responsiblesports.com!
