Navigating youth sports: What coaches say

The Eagle’s Joanna Chadwick e-mailed area high school and college coaches a list of questions regarding athletics and what should concern parents and athletes.

▪ College scholarships — Should parents be thinking long-term? What are some pitfalls? Are recruiting services necessary?

▪ Multiple sports — Should athletes play multiple sports? Should they specialize? What age is the the best time for multiple sports or specializing?

▪ Coaches — What should parents look for in youth coaches?

▪ Personal trainers — Is this a good area for parents to spend money? Is it necessary?

▪ Elementary school athletes — What’s the best path to take at this age, regardless of sport? (YMCA only? Personal trainer? High-level teams?)

What parents should be concerned about

“Knowing and being realistic with what your child is capable of is crucial in knowing where they fall in recruiting. Ask a lot of questions. Be realistic.” — John Cherne, Kapaun boys basketball coach

“I think kids should be allowed to be kids. Play, play as many sports as they can and have fun. The time will come for training, usually in middle school (depending on whether he’s ready for it) and definitely as an incoming freshman.” — Mike Lee, Andover football coach

“Burnout and injury. I think too many parents try to push their kids into sports that they may not really want to play but do it because their parents want them to. … I’ve seen so many young players with great potential try to do it all — volleyball, club volleyball, basketball, MAYB summer ball, track and AAU summer track, softball, summer softball. By their time their child gets to a recruiting age, they have nagging injuries.” — Sara Walkup, Cheney volleyball coach

“I think whatever the athlete does, it should be because it is what the athlete wants, not the parents. I have seen parents invest a lot of money on club teams, lessons, trainers, etc. — only for the athlete to get burned out and not play in college or only play a year or two.” — Christy Weve, Derby softball coach

“I don’t think you have any idea about a kid as far as their intent or desire to get better until middle school. If you’re trying to assess a child’s passion and love for a sport at 8, that’s a mistake.” — Joe Auer, Heights boys basketball and golf coach

“Parents need to be in the supportive role. When the child is going through the process of skill development, there will be many ups and downs. They absolutley need somebody at home to support them through the highs and lows.” — Tom McCurdy, Wichita State women’s golf coach

Focus on college scholarships

“Colleges think that they can take great athletes and turn them into freaks. If a kid is undersized or not fast enough they won’t give the kids the time of day. It’s just the cruelty of the process. I have seen great kids have to go the JUCO route first before someone will take a chance because they were not fast enough or tall enough. Playing NAIA or Div 2 is not a slap in the face. There is a 99-percent chance a person’s child will not play professional sports, so why does it matter where they go play anyway? As long as their education is paid for should be the No. 1 priority.” — Steve Martin, Northwest football coach

“Personally, I think parents should be more concerned about their child’s opportunity to earn academic money over athletic money. Ther is more academic money available than money for a college’s particular sport.” — Chad Christensen, Maize South baseball coach

“I think the most important element begs another question — can parents truly be honest about their child’s ability? Are they willing to trust the coach who tells them that their son/daughter is not a Division I athlete?” — Monty Lewis, Friends football coach

“I think that anymore, yes, parents definitely need to start thinking about that by the time their child is a freshman in high school. I think by that point, you should know where your child stands in relation to other players their age at their school and in comparison to other athletes outside of your school.” — Shelby Kraus, Derby volleyball coach

“My initial thought is that when the time comes (freshman/sophomore year) to start looking at colleges, if the child is on track to get attention from college coaches or if the child has a desire to pursue college athletics, then the parents should get more involved and assist wih the process. Until that point, I don’t think a college athletic scholarship should be in the mind of anybody in the house.” — WSU’s McCurdy

One sport vs. multiple sports

“I don’t believe in specializing. I’m not saying that it doesn’t produce the wanted/needed outcome. I just don’t believe in it.… A student should be involved in multiple sports even if they recognize that they are better in a single sport. I believe that they run the risk of missing out on some great opportunities to enjoy life.” — Friends’ Lewis

“I don’t know many high school kids that look back after high school and say, ‘man I wished I had not played such and such a sport.’ But there are plenty that look back and regret nto playing.” — Brett Flory, Derby boys basketball coach

“I tell high school athletes that if you get to your junior year and D-I coaches are knocking on your door daily, then focus on one sport if you want. But until then, continuing to play multiple sports is important.” — James Cole, East girls basketball coach

“The first thing a college coach, when recruiting my athletes, wants to know is are they in other sports. Being a competitor is what matters the most. If a kid competes in two or more sports, it shows they love competition.” — Northwest’s Martin

“We think multiple sports are beneficial. The athletes don’t burn out, and they work different parts of their body, avoiding overuse and injury.” — Teri Larson, former softball, volleyball coach at Maize and Maize South

“Absolutely athletes should do multi sports. I did it and would never change a thing. And I still got a scholarship (to Wichita State) for VB without having ever specialized. College coaches see the advantage to it. Guaranteed.” — Cheney’s Walkup

“The largest majority of kids out there would see benefit from playing a second or possibly a third sport. It’s an additional opportunity to develop leadership skills.” — Joe Jackson, East boys basketball coach

“There is always crossover experiences that you gain from one sport that can help in another sport. The physical and mental skills for each sport are not the same and each sport’s skills fill in the gaps that person has from other sports.” — WSU’s McCurdy

What should parents look for in youth coaches?

“Coaches who teach the correct fundamentals and help the kids learn to have fun in their respective game.” — Cheney’s Walkup

“Some people at the youth level are in it for the money and their own personal gratification. Some people are in it because they care about kids and want to help them develop. Parents need to be astute judges of the motivation and character of the people they send their kids to train with or play for.” — Derby’s Flory

“Youth coaches should be teaching the fundamentals of the sport they are participating in. Academies want your money. I’m not saying there is not good coaches at academies, but they want to make money first.” — Jon McLean, Buhler girls basketball coach

“For my kids I just wanted a coach that knew when to be tough on them but also knew when to give them a hug.” — Friends’ Lewis

“I would make sure and look for a positive coach that knows the game. Ask about coaches —what they teach, how they teach and what your child is going to learn from them. Do your research.” — Steve Lienhard, Kapaun baseball coach

Personal trainers

“We offer so many opportunities at Derby for weight training and conditioning that I don’t believe a personal trainer is necessary.” — Derby’s Kraus

“This to me is a personal preference. I have had volleyball players that took one-on-one lessons for one summer, and I did see huge improvements. But again, the athlete has to want it. Sometimes it is the parent that wants it more than the kid.” — Cheney’s Walkup

“Whoever the parents choose to use as a trainer, that trainer needs to communicate with the coach that overtraining does not occur. It’s the only thing I care about. I do not want a kid to get hurt because two grownups can’t communicate.” — Northwest’s Martin

“It depends on the circumstances. Some weight programs in high school are run primarily by the football coaching staff. That means girls are doing some things not beneficial for them, and in fact, hurting them. We would love to see more programs for girls only and not coed weight training.” — Larson

“I believe in personal trainers, if they are truly invested in the person’s growth and development. Areas of strength and conditioning are very important and need to be addressed early on.” — Newman’s Spence

Recruiting services

“If you want to pay for it, it’s an option. Definitely not necessary.” — Cheney’s Walkup

“I don’t see the use. I send out film on my kids once a week using Hudl. It is easy; it’s a click of the button. A parent can do the same thing. A parent can do anything a database can. Send e-mails out to recruiting coordinators. Send film directly to them.” — Northwest’s Martin

“Be careful of how much money you are spending on them. As a longtime college head coach, I get way too many e-mails from service I’ve never heard of.… The better a player/prospect is, the fewer recruiting services he/she will need.” — Newman’s Spence

Tips for elementary-age athletes

“Places that put fundamentals above winning are where I would put my money as a parent. I’m interested in the long run, not how many games my child won at the age of 8.” — Maize South’s Christensen

“As a parent, become familiar with what is acceptable practices in training, conduct, treatment of your child. National research has over half of student-athletes dropping out by the time they are 13-15 years old in sports.” — Kapaun’s Cherne

“Don’t burn them out! Period. Let them play what they want to. Don’t shove a sport down their throat.” — Northwest’s Martin

“Skill development, coordination development, body movement development should be the focus.… Allow the kids to be kids and experience all sports and physical activities.” — Newman’s Spence

“The bottom line is this for any elementary and middle school athlete: how much do you love the sport or sports? How important is it to work to get better? There is really no special secret. It will take a lot of time and hard work to improve.” — Buhler’s McLean

“I see no need for personal trainers or even the high level teams yet. I suppose the high level teams may come into play at the middle school level to some degree. But I still think kids need to be kids. Keep them active, keep them interested. Build their love of sports when they are young.” — Friends’ Lewis

This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Navigating youth sports: What coaches say."