Fysiikkavalmennus

PROVIDING ACADEMY

ATHLETES WITH APPROPRIATE Developing youth athletes is complex, dynamic, non-linear, and often unpredictable. Many academies and development pathways do their upmost to ensure that the time spent in academies is as smooth as possible – attempting to maximise the support offered to athletes to minimise the impact of potentially stressful and/or CHALLENGES challenging situations.

However, is this the optimal way to prepare youth athletes for the rigours of elite sport and future growth?

PREPARING YOUTH ATHLETES

There is growing evidence that challenging experiences are important and facilitate growth and development via the deployment of several important pyschobehavioural skills.

Some important developmental challenges can be anticipated, and proactively prepared for by academies, coaches, parents, and even athletes to help get the most out of such challenges.

For example, the transition from the specialisation to the investment stage (attending a sports academy like VRUA) requires athletes to engage in intensive, sport-specific programmes. This is often accompanied with changes in the athlete’s training (e.g., coaching, new location, and school) and competition level increasing. TRANSITION AS OPPORTUNITY

Athletes at the beginning of their athletic journey will often have a shallow reservoir of experience to draw on to help them manage some of the challenges they may encounter. This points to the importance of understanding the interpretation of challenge from the perspective of youth athletes at key moments on the pathway.

This transition, which of course varies even at the same academy across sports (alpine skiing, freeskiing and snowboarding) presents several challenges: selection to academy and junior national team, change in status, increased levels of competition, different coaches.

These situations can act as opportunities and catalysts for development, if the youth athlete is prepared for and supported through.

Photographer: Antti Harju @korpikustaa

ALL DEPENDS ON THE ATHLETE

However, these challenges can (and often do…) also potentially derail an athlete if they haven’t developed the required skillset or have the necessary social support to cope effectively with the changes in their environment. Coaches and personnel must also consider the importance of the scale and individuality of challenging experiences that can support youth development in sport. Although some challenges may, at face value, appear mundane and ordinary, an athlete’s interpretation of these events may be a defining factor and requires consideration.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Youth athletes perceive these as the biggest challenges: • The transition to a higher level of competition (this could be attending an academy or FIS races/competitions with a higher calibre of athlete to compete against) • Lack of competition experience at an international level – feeling of being behind the skills at this level and lacking belief to perform

Photographer: Antti Harju @korpikustaa

• Training monotony – training often too similar and in the same locations • Training and facilities not adequate to progress • High school workload and various other domains and lack of understanding from some teachers • Pressure from outside (friends, family, sponsors) • Severe injuries and loss of time from training and competition • Critique on social media • Pressure to demonstrate worth

NAVIGATING CHALLENGES

A common theme from the potential stressors listed above are related to experiences or situations that require an athlete to step up in performance or something that potentially takes them away from this advancement (injury or academic pressures).

We must also appreciate the individual nature of the challenges and an individual’s response. Given the individual interpretation of experiences and challenges, a uniform approach to a group is likely to be ineffective or limited. THE ROLE OF SUPPORT

To overcome challenges, youth athletes will often employ pyschobehavioural skills –they will strive and be persistent. The deployment of these skills across the course of a difficult situation appears to be influenced by prior challenging experiences on the pathway.

Additionally, youth athletes will often recognize the positive impact a diverse social support can offer in overcoming and embracing challenge. In these situations the multifaceted role of a development coach is often influential, as are friends and family.

However, if this support is not coherent, it can be problematic whereby a youth athlete is receiving different advice from several people.

APPROPRIATE CHALLENGES NEEDED

Athletes are likely to flourish if they encounter appropriate challenges and the right support from their coaches and social networks at the right time, in the right context and by the right means for both their wellbeing and development.

As indicated above, the picture is more complicated than “challenge equals development”. However, youth athletes can be encouraged to act on opportunities available to them and coaches should make every effort to ensure appropriate challenge is provided.

HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF CHALLENGES

Finally, academy coaches and practitioners can play a critical role in supporting youth athletes to interpret, deconstruct, and then make sense of challenges. In this context, practitioners should consider the individual needs, individual interpretation, and the scale (i.e., difficulty) of the challenge if they are to optimise the experience for youth athletes.

Coaches may benefit from more systematically identifying the potential of, and preparation for, difficult challenges by supporting the teaching, development, and refinement of skills through periodised challenge (i.e., least to most difficult).

In addition to this, review and feedback processes could be embedded into academy pathways – with both coaches and athletes improving how they deliver, perceive, consume, and act on feedback.

Jonathan McPhail

Sport Science Specialist - Freeski and Snowboard Finnish Olympic Training Center Vuokatti-Ruka University of Jyväskylä - PhD Candidate Sport Sciences jonathan.mcphail@edukmo.fi