Youth Sports: What we have done wrong and how to fix it with Luis Fernando Llosa

Luis Fernando Llosa is a Peruvian-Ukrainian-American writer, editor, speaker, investigative reporter, youth sports consultant, and full-time father-coach of his five kids. He started his journalism career at Fortune Magazine in 1995, then moved to Money Magazine in 1996. After three years there, he found he was always looking for the people in the stories and realized the best opportunities for the long-form writing he wanted to pursue were in sports. As a reporter for Sports Illustrated, he had his big breakthrough working on the Danny Almonte Little League baseball age scandal. That was his introduction to “youth sports gone awry." He went on to investigate supplement and steroid use in major league baseball, world champion boxing, the Olympics, and wrestling. When he began talking to the parents of children who had committed suicide while cycling off of steroids, Luis became passionate about the influence of coaches, parents, and professional players on youth athletes.

In this episode, Mathew and Luis discuss the good, bad, and dangerous aspects of youth sports. A child's relationship with sports will shape the rest of their lives. Luis tells us about the importance of being mindful of the sports environments we put children in, the red and green flags to look out for, and the importance of understanding your own sports biography. He also outlines new-school vs. old-school coaching techniques and ways to improve children's relationships with sports while improving their skills holistically and sustainably.

Each person has their own sports biography. Whether you were a star athlete, perpetually on the bench, or avoided organized events like the plague, each parent and coach brings their baggage to the game. Luis stresses that adults must make peace with their history before entering youth sports with their children to avoid projections of expectations, successes, or mistakes. Ego-driven coaching leads youth coaches to be in it to win it at all costs, but there is a new wave of coaches who are reflecting on their roles in kids' lives.

A Good coach utilizes creativity for themselves and their players. Luis says a coach must work on themselves and understand that failure to connect with an athlete does not indicate something is wrong with the kid, but rather that the coach needs to figure out new ways to do their job to get through to them. Coaches have to develop social-emotional intelligence to be able to coach kids with ADHD, social anxiety, hyperaggression, or other neurodivergent tendencies.

Before considering who the coach is, parents must decide when to enter organized sports and how to pursue age-appropriate development. It is counterintuitive, but putting kids in command-oriented organized sports too early can choke off their potential for the creativity that makes a great athlete. Specialization is limiting. If a child is athletic, they will develop better by playing multiple sports. The greats like Wayne Gretzky and Pelé learned on the streets. Luis tells us he has seen the harmful long-term effects of pushing young athletes and implores parents and coaches to hold off on hard training until an appropriate age. He says two ways to improve physical longevity for young athletes are signing them up for a complementary sport during at least one off-season a year and taking time to rest each day and week.

Children need freedom to learn, and amazing things can happen in chaos. However, ego-driven coaches and parents often hesitate to give up control regarding young athletes' training. A coach's role changes throughout different age ranges, but they need to bring general structure, balance, and safety. Luis tells us that free play is essential for ages 3 to 12, as it teaches flexibility, adaptability, and how to deal with other kids socially. These skills stay with kids throughout their entire lives and make them better adults, no matter what path they choose to pursue. Luis says organized sports shouldn't happen until age 11, and even then, it's not the typical league structure with uniforms and championships. For this age, coaching is about demonstrating movement, teaching game skills, creating dynamic practice structures, and providing technical advice. At any age, all coaches need to practice positivity. When pointing out one thing done wrong, make sure to point out three things done right and leave the other issues for the next day.

Luis ends the show with three things parents can be mindful of to help their young athletes:

• Take a good look at the coach: Are they ego-driven? Do they coach through negativity or use anger as a tool? Are you afraid of them?
• Analyze your own sports biography and mindset: Are you coaching your kids for the right reasons? Why did you put them in sports? Are you too hands-off or living vicariously?
• Evaluate the social climate of the team: How do the kids treat each other? How do the parents treat each other and the other kids? Do other coaches or parents organize social activities and include everyone?

You can hear more from Luis through his work with Whole Child Sports or by checking out his books: Beyond Winning: Smart Parenting in a Toxic Sports Environment and Emotionally Resilient Tweens and Teens

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What is wrong with youth sports today, and what can be done about it?
• Free play and creativity are more beneficial than training and organized sports.
• Institutional changes that could improve youth sports and coaching practices 

Follow the podcast: 

• Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
• Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
• Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 

Resources:

• Whole Child Sports
• LuisFernandoLlosa.com
• Books

Connect with Mathew Blades: 

• Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
• Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
• Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
• Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/

Additional Credits:

LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson