The Concepts of Multilateral Development
By Brian Grasso
Children are not little adults.
This statement's basic message is, in a word, obvious. We
wouldn't expect our ten year old daughter to find a full time job
and we won't be surprised if making the mortgage payment on time
isn't the first concern our fifteen year old has when he wakes up
in the morning. Why then in the sporting world do we expect young
athletes to train, compete, think and react like adults? Young
athletes are exposed to conditioning programs that are often well
beyond their structural and neurological abilities and taught to
emulate elite sporting stars in their mental approach to the
game. Is this the way to produce world-class athletes, or are
there different concepts that we need to learn, understand and
implement?
Without question the most mismanaged collection of athletes in
North America are young athletes. They are encouraged to emulate
professional sporting starts, criticized for efforts that 'don't
measure up' and are often guided by well-intentioned yet largely
uneducated coaches who don't understand the concepts involved with
developmental athletics. Young athletes ARE NOT little adults;
they have very specific and crucial physical laws associated with
their development. Children go through such tumultuous changes
physically, physiologically and emotionally as they ascend in age
that it only makes logical sense that coaches, trainers and youth
sporting officials understand these age-related issues and learn
how to program for them.
Athletic development refers to the slow progression or development
of an athlete over several years of training. Within this long-
term approach or scope exists a term on which the foundation of
athletic development resides: Multilateral Development.
Multilateral development is a simple concept which essentially
relates to the need for young athletes to be exposed to as much
athletic stimulus as possible as they mature. From a practical
standpoint, this means that under no circumstances should young
athletes become specialists in any one sport. The whole point of
multilateral development is to generate as much athleticism as
possible.
Physiologically speaking, the central nervous system
encased in young athletes should be thought of as a malleable
sponge that is able to learn, comprehend and recount at an
unbelievable rate. Limiting this ability by specializing at a
young age is counterproductive to optimal athletic development.
Herein lies the common misnomer with respect to youth sports in
North America. It is a fairly universal theory among many coaches
and trainers that to become an elite or world-class competitor,
one must engage in years of specialized training. While this
statement isn't wrong, the key point is that this specialization
cannot begin at too young an age. In fact, between the ages of 6 -
14, athletes should be focused primarily on developing
fundamental proficiency in as many athletic skills as possible.
Running, jumping, throwing, lateral movement, spatial orientation -
the list is long and endless. The fundamental components of ANY
sport are based on movement ability and associated physical
properties, such as summation of forces and neuromuscular
sequencing. Athletes must progressively master the science of
movement as children.
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