Maybe your kid isn’t elite? Maybe he’s just 11? Maybe?
“Travel organizations call themselves elite.
Insinuating they only house elite platers.
But when they get ‘elite’ players they spend the majority of their time upselling additional lessons, instruction, & showcases.
And people believe they have the best interest of the kids.”
-Ray Zingler on X
Elite:
“The choice part.”
“The best of class.”
“The socially superior part of society.”
Those are the top 3 definitions of elite according to Webster.
If they’re so elite, then why do they have to push more specificity on top of the abundance they’re already subjected to?
They’re already better than everybody else, right?
Could it be that maybe they aren’t elite?
And maybe they’re just 11?
And maybe leaving the word out might lead to an ego crisis for dads?
God forbid we refer to who they actually are, BEGINNERS.
Children, in the initial stages of development.
11u Development Focused Beginner Alpha Cats doesn’t sound nearly as badass as 11u Hyper Mega Elite Gold Grizzly Bears.
The whole thing is a sham.
We just choose to pretend like it’s not because putting forth the leg work to shift the narrative is far more difficult than just submitting to the broken one.
Our kids today do not have the general capacities to keep up with the specific demands placed upon them.
Much less maximize the specific skillsets they are trying to.
This isn’t my opinion.
This is how things work physiologically.
And just because you think YOU can get away without the foundation and general capacity (if you think you can, you can’t) and dramatically less than 1% of people have their sports potential come naturally to them regardless of what they do, does not justify maintaining the current anti-development youth sports model we use in America.
I don’t care if “this path has worked for you” or you know 34 people “it’s been fine” for.
When you look at how things are from a global perspective, an unbiased lens, and you take emotion out of the equation…
How we go about treating and developing our athletes is upside down. inside out, and bass ackwards.
And having your kids travel ball organization, throw in some “speed & agility” classes to their price sheet to make you think they focus on “general training” isn’t doing anything for them outside of stealing from your wallet and your kid’s development, even further.
Kid’s MUST prioritize REAL, GENERAL, FOUNDATIONAL development if they want a snowballs chance in hell of reaching their maximized potential in their specific domain of choice.
