Competitive athletes take the game seriously, train on and off the court and compete to win and continue their career. Most athletes progress naturally from the Developmental to Competitive level around fourteen to sixteen years old. However, if an athlete is too competitive too early, he peaks, stunts his basketball development and hinders his athletic enjoyment. Elite athletes arise mainly toward the end of high school, though some players blossom early; elite athletes possess college and professional potential and ability. They manifest similar characteristics to the competitive athlete, but their overall talent exceeds their peers. Elite athletes require special nurturing to maximize their ability.

The current state of basketball development in the United States overemphasizes competitive characteristics and ignores developmental and recreational characteristics. Even the development of elite athletes suffers from the lack of preparation and gradual development before athletes train to win. Children are not miniature adults; however, the current youth sports system imposes adult training protocols on youths, ignoring the important physiological development stages each child enters and passes through during childhood. Instead of appreciating the needs of young athletes, the sports society is in hyper-drive, as adidas offers exposure camps for ten year olds so national ranking services like Hoop Scoop Online can rank the top 4^th graders in the country.

The hyper-competitive atmosphere hampers elite player development from the player’s initial participation with an organized team or league. Typically, a child joins a sports team or league because he demonstrates an affinity and an aptitude for the sport in an informal environment, whether shooting baskets in his front yard or playing basketball at recess. The child’s interest is motivated by play, moving around, fun and friends. However, once on a formal team, many of these motivations disappear, as coaches teach players to work hard, instilling the great American virtue; work and fun are incompatible in most coaches’ eyes.

When players move to formal teams, whether school teams, recreation leagues or AAU/club teams, two problems occur: (1) The game changes from a player-directed, informal, fun environment to an adult-centered, competition-based atmosphere centered on game preparation; and (2) Basketball-specific activities replace general games like tag, chasing the dog and riding bikes.

The shift from play to competition and general to sport-specific hinders athletic development on two levels: (1) At the recreation level-players interested in fun and exercise- play is lost and fun disappears; practice is work and running (the most basic movement skill and foundation for almost all sports) is associated with punishment. In games, some kids do not play much or at all and one star dominates the ball. Coaches implore players to run the play, a euphemism for “do exactly what I say with no deviation or thinking on your part or you are going to sit on the bench.” For many children, the experience differs from the joy experienced playing basketball on the playground or in the neighborhood, and they quit formal basketball. Some return to the innocence of games in their neighborhood, but some dislike the experience so greatly they quit sports altogether. Sports sociologist Jay Coakley (Sport in Society) reports that twelve is the peak age for sports participation. By thirteen years old, most athletes specialize in one sport (thus lowering participation figures) or quit and seek another after-school activity.

(2) The immediate competitive play emphasis, termed the “Peak by Friday” mentality by Dr. Istvan Balyi, ignores important preparation and development stages which lead to better performance and overall ability as the athlete grows. For purposes of developing elite players, the early competition and focus on winning inhibits well-rounded skill development. Peak by Friday coaches do not have time to insure players move correctly, learn to run and jump with proper form or perform dynamic warm-up activities because they have too much to do to prepare for the next game. However, how many teams struggle because a player is out with an ACL injury or an overuse injury like shin splints, tendonitis or plantar fasciitis? How many players develop poor shooting mechanics to compensate for poor general movement skills? How many teams perform optimally in a certain defense if the players are not as fast, quick or agile as possible? An athlete with poorly developed general athletic ability never reaches his/her peak because every sport-specific skill builds upon a general athletic skill, whether manipulative (throwing), loco motor (running), non-loco motor (balancing) or movement awareness (visual awareness).

The pre-professional environment inhibits elite and non-elite athletes. The sport loses athletes because sport is too competitive before the athlete is developmentally ready for the competition and many athletes progress with poorly developed movement skills which eventually stalls the athlete’s development and causes the athlete to reach a premature peak and plateau, as opposed to continuing to develop and improve throughout the duration of the athlete’s career. A student cannot progress and excel in more rigorous studies without the ability to read and write; similarly, general movement skills provide the foundation for any sport, and an athlete is unprepared for more rigorous training without these skills.

The irony of the United States youth basketball player is so many players and parents exist in an atmosphere with one eye firmly fixed on the future, yet nobody appropriately plans or organizes long term athlete development (LTAD). Playing basketball is no longer an end; it is merely a vehicle to a college scholarship. The 'ship, in many circles, is the impetus, not a reward for the talented player. No longer is the journey the destination; now, one must reach a tangible destination (worth six figures) to justify play. While other countries organize and embrace LTAD plans, United States basketball exists in a vacuum, with players going season to season, team to team and coach to coach with eyes fixed on the prize, but no plan to get there. Nowhere is the future so omnipresent in players' minds, yet nowhere is less emphasis given to the path to the desired destination. The entire American basketball system epitomizes John Wooden’s refrain: “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

In the European club system, players progress from age group to age group, eventually to the professional level; many clubs feature reserve teams or lower division adult teams for players too old for the youth programs but not good enough for the top team. Most players develop within one club from youth to the professional level; if the player is unable to make the professional side, he may transfer to another club; or, if supremely talented, he may transfer to a more prestigious domestic club, transfer to a team in a better league (from Slovenia to Spain for instance) or even enter the NBA draft. The process builds to a peak in the player’s early twenties when he is playing professionally.

The American model achieves maximum results in high school; many talented girls peak around their sophomore year of high school, while many boys peak before they matriculate to college. I followed a talented AAU team from 8^th to 12^th grade; of the seven players, three quit before their senior year of high school, one verballed to a Division I school, one received interest from NAIA schools but decided not to play, one is a high school senior and one is unknown: for all but one player, the peak of her career was 8^th or 9^th grade. Training to win at a premature age leads to the early peak as players rush the developmental process.

Our priorities differ from European clubs. European clubs exist to perform and produce a product which draws fans, sponsors and ultimately money; the best method to insure consistent performance is to develop one’s own players through the youth program. In the United States, coaches gain little through a long term approach, as a player is likely to play with a new coach during the next season. Many recreation leagues draft new teams for each season; AAU teams operate on a season-to-season basis, except for the rare few; high school players typically play for three coaches (Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity) in four years. Not until college is there significant continuity. If a youth coach prepares a player for continued development and success, but loses his games, he is judged by his win-loss record; if the player eventually earns a scholarship or plays professionally, the youth coach sees no reward or gets no credit. We evaluate coaches solely on won/loss record, so coaches speed the development curve to win at their level.

In the USA, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) crowns an u-9 National Champion; in Canada, basketball players do not start 5-on-5 competition until 12 years of age; in Italy, “junior teams start at age six, but can’t play in competitions until age 10. Once you reach age 12, you can play for real,” says Enrico Castorina (Kravitz). Research suggests nine year olds play a wide array of activities to challenge and develop multilateral skills in a fun, playful atmosphere (think recess, kickball, dodgeball, tag, etc) rather than compete for national championships.

“This is the narrow approach applied to children’s sports, in which the only scope of training is achieving quick results, irrespective of what may happen in the future of the young athlete. In their attempt to achieve the fast results, coaches expose children to highly specific and intensive training without taking the time to build a good base. This is like trying to build a high rise building on a poor foundation. Obviously, such a construction error will result in the collapse of the building. Likewise, encouraging athletes to narrowly focus on their development in one sport before they are ready physically and psychologically often leads to problems,” (Bompa).

According to NCAA statistics, 1-3% of high school basketball players play NCAA basketball. Parents, players and coaches see these facts, and the competitive nature of youth sports, and believe the best opportunity to secure one of the coveted scholarships is to start playing before other kids, to specialize in basketball before other kids, to use a personal trainer more often than other kids, to go to more camps than other kids. An entire childhood is spent competing against a statistic in order to procure a college scholarship; unfortunately, for many players reared in this environment, the last thing they want is to play another four years of overly structured basketball which dominates their entire life and takes on the commitment level and pressure of a full-time job.

Instead of forfeiting childhood in the pursuit of the elusive free ride, these statistics should humble parents. While every child should be encouraged to dream big and pursue his/her dream, the dream should be the child’s own; when parents of eight year olds call to set-up personal training appointments, I doubt the child is behind the dream, sitting at the dinner table asking his parents for a personal trainer so he can step-up his game at recess. Rather than embark on a single-minded mission to get a college scholarship, parents, coaches and players should embrace the fun and life lessons of sports and appreciate the opportunity to play. In the process of focusing on the fun and learning inherent in the challenge of the activity, athletes develop better and broader skills. If the player has a happy confluence of work ethic, genetics, opportunity and skills, he/she may conquer the scholarship quest; however, if not, the athlete will lead a happier childhood with a greater appreciation for sports and a more well-rounded set of athletic skills.