The problem is that they lack the strength, speed, power, & capacity to bring maximized value to their IQ’s.
“Most kids playing the abundance of sport that they do, don’t have Sport IQ problems.
They have strength, speed, power, & capacity problems that void the majority of the value in their Sport IQ.
Want to bring value to your Sport IQ?
Strength & Speed train like a maniac.”
-Ray Zingler on X
I’m not implying that all kids are Sport IQ geniuses, however, when they are subjected to their often single sports, 12 months per year, for years, they are going to pick up on a few things.
Which, is obviously a good thing, right?
But here’s the “problem” with that.
Most kids in the modern era don’t have Sport IQ problems.
Their issues don’t stem from a lack of technical and tactical “know how” (however, they could improve these things even further by watching more sports and less TikTok).
The problem many kids have is that they lack the strength, speed, power, & capacity to make their High IQ’s meaningful.
It’s why those multi-sport athletes (who, yes, are few and far between in today’s world) can often jump into any sport, despite the “lack of IQ” and earn a starting spot over the kid who knows everything he needs to know about bunt coverages or defensive slides.
The sad part is that we’ve bred this lack of athleticism into our kids.
We don’t call it like it is in America, but what we (think) we’re doing with the early onset specialization is creating “super-athletes” but what we’re actually doing, as Fred Duncan put it, is, “creating a bunch of good players, but AVERAGE athletes.”
And when you look at truly elite athletes (no, not what some random average dad names his 14u team) do you see a bunch of “good players & average athletes?”
No.
You see GREAT players who are GREAT athletes.
So, there is a disconnect here, right?
We must start prioritizing athletic development over sport specifics.
You don’t have to like that, right?
But you can’t get around it if you or your kid want to be their best.
That’s how it works.
The structural integrity of a building, hinges on what? The windows? The décor?
No.
The quality of its foundation.
If you truly want to become better at your sports, you must prioritize becoming a better athlete, generally.
And the more athletic you are, the more effectively you will nourish the specific desires and demands in your sport(s) of choice.
Much like everything in America is backwards, the same is true for youth sports development.
Go the other way.
