Little Athletics is not a good pathway for Track and Field excellence
Recently there has been a lot of discussion about problems in Track and Field. From sponsorship to simply numbers competing. There also have been suggestions that Athletics Australia does not provide a pathway for kids that do Little Athletics. So much has changed since the 60’s prior to when Little Athletic started.
We don’t have University systems such as collegiate track and field in the US. We don’t have systems with the armed services and police force such as exist in many countries. We do not have clubs aligned to big sports clubs such as in Europe. Senior clubs in Australia are a throwback to the 50’s. Funded and run by total well meaning amateurs.
So why do I think Little Athletics is flawed as a pathway for Senor Track and Field. Before I start I want to emohasise that from a physical point of view it is great that kids are running around on weekends with little athletics. But that is not the point of this article. How come thousands of kids and parents are involved in Little Athletics and these parents and kids drop out later? Is it simply Athletic Australia’s fault. No.
From a mulitalteral development perspective Athletics is not the best pursuit for kids to do prior to puberty. It involves closed skills, unilateral loadings and winning and losing at an individual level. There is no decision making and no team interplay. Much research has shown that multilateral development is the key for prepubertal kids and also games are best pursued to develop decision making skills, aerobic fitness and speed and have fun. Sports such as swinning and gymnastics are great for strength. And so on. This stuff is all out there.
Also up till 15 or 16 there are massive differences in development and maturation so who wins one year may simply be an average senior athlete. Average age for senior athletics for excellence is always approximately 25. So if your child wins an under 11 title it may be 8/12 years before any real performances start happening. 2009 now so wait till 2016 to make a semifinal of the under 19’s in senir aths!!
Parents have a huge involvement at this age and often with great intentions ( health and fitness) but soemtimes for not so noble reasons. That is they become involved in the whole win/loss cycle.
My memories of the best talents coming through were young footballers or hockey players who turned up at the track and ran 11 5 secs for 100m with no formal training off a base of multilateral devleopment.
i will continue this discussion but simply starting Athletics too early is flawed. It is a simple sport that requires massive dedication and should be grabbing kids from other sports at 14,15,16,17 and so on.
Councils need to get behind senior clubs and now is the time to pay coaches at the many tracks to help these kids that want to do Athletics as a choice at 15 etc and not because their parents took themt o Little Aths at 10.
How ugly is it for a kid who won medals at 10/11 and 12 in athletics to be beaten at a school sports at 15 by a kid who only has played soccer. Now that kid is bound to give up and also of course any involvement of parents in athletics is over given the excitiement of seeing little johnny is over.
All food for thought eh!
Ciao
loris bertolacci 
What you have written in your latest post regarding Little Aths/Track & Field is so true. I can personally relate to this while at high school but what I experienced and observed would bring tears to the eyes of many junior athletes & parents. Not only were sprinters, runners, jumpers and throwers beaten by the soccer player or footballer but I would also extend this to the kids who hung around in groups and I would almost consider them anti-sport/fitness. They actually loathed any physical exertion……but would come out on a school sports day just after finishing a cigarette with their mates behind the school toilets and run 100m in 11secs, 200m in 23secs,challenge the record in longjump and throw a shotput further than those that had a years training under their belts.
I just experienced it again on the weekend where the regional little aths competitions were held throughout the state and listening to the dialogue going on between parents and children. Unfortunately there were numerous title holders that were psychologically battered from pillar to post and many a parents dream was washed away with their childs tears….but the important statistic will be how many of these kids will find the fortitude to rise through to senior ranks and ultimately to represent our country?? Judging by the conversations on the weekend not many!!