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This needs more context, otherwise you're just throwing out a very broad opinion. A 12 year old that 'excels' at a sport is definitely not weight lifting, doing

by mym1990 4y ago

This needs more context, otherwise you're just throwing out a very broad opinion. A 12 year old that 'excels' at a sport is definitely not weight lifting, doing plyos, etc... A 15 year old might just be getting into some of those things. Everything you might be doing in the gym is in support of the task you're trying to accomplish, not the other way around, so I really doubt that the gym is 'the bare minimum' for most athletes.

alistairSH 4y ago
Sorry, I was thinking about the author’s statement about specificity… if you want to improve your racquetball game, don’t practice squash. And my own experience studying economics and computer science. The math I was required to take (2 semesters calculus, 1 statistics, and 1 discrete math) was in support of the task I was trying to accomplish (basic competence in those subjects). None at a level I would have considered “advanced” beyond the scope of my degree. Friends that studied history or philosophy did even less math than that - many didn’t take any in college (after testing out based on AP exams or similar).
- trashtester 4y ago
  I studied particle physics. The math requirements were similar to what you're listing, though I dabbled slighlty beyond that. Today, I wish I'd done a lot more math and statistics before focusing on exclusively physics, even if it'd cost me another 1-3 semesters. I was spending way too much time trying to re-invent the wheel (statistics) in the experimental part, and particle physics really assumed quite a bit more math than what was listed as prerequisites, simply because the university didn't want to delay progression. (To compensate, the bar at the exam was set pretty low.)
ABeeSea 4y ago
I don’t know how much you know about the current state of high level youth sports, but there are many 12 year olds absolutely doing those things. The world of AAU basketball and youth football camps is insane. AAU basketball literally has leader boards ranking the top 6th and 7th graders in the country. And goes all the way down to 3rd grade.
- mym1990 4y ago
  Okay, my statement was a bit reductive, of course different sports will prescribe different development paths for juniors, but generally speaking, if you're overloading a 12 year old that still has a lot of growing to do, it will end up very poorly(either injury, stunted growth, or burnout). I did not say anything about juniors being prohibited from competing, healthy competition has immense benefits early on.
  - SamReidHughes 4y ago
    Lifting weights and working out as a child doesn't stunt growth.
- SyzygistSix 4y ago
  That sounds horrific. And I'm all for kids playing team sports. Key word being playing. It helped me learn teamwork and good sportsmanship, which is supposed to be the point.
  - alistairSH 4y ago
    Yeah, it's pretty crazy. When my son was playing youth sports, many of his peers started doing speed/coordination training with a coach in 6th/7th grade. This was usually 1-2x/week and applicable to most sports. Focus was more on first-step speed, running form, and full body movements (jumps, "suicide" sprints/shuttle runs, etc). I thought it was pretty crazy at the time, still do, but at least it was generic. These days, neighbors have kids in with pitching coaches at age 8, playing travel league baseball 3+ nights/week, plus 2-3 games/weekend. 9 months of the year. That is REALLY crazy to me. How about some swim team, or soccer, or anything else? Back when I was in high school (mid-90s), the best athletes were all multi-sport athletes. Football/basketball/track-field was a common combo. No idea if that's true today, but I suspect there's a lot more single-sport athletes at the prep level, which is kinda sad.
    - mym1990 4y ago
      I know Roger Federer and Nadal were both soccer players until late, and chose to specialize in tennis later down the road. I bet there is some survivorship bias, but a non-negligible number of kids end up hating a sport because of the insane schedules these days and parent oversight. My sister played tennis from the age of 9 until the end of college, and I am not sure she wants to pick up a tennis racquet ever again. I started playing tennis in college, and I am absolutely in love with it, and will be for the rest of my life.

alistairSH 4y ago

Sorry, I was thinking about the author’s statement about specificity… if you want to improve your racquetball game, don’t practice squash. And my own experience studying economics and computer science. The math I was required to take (2 semesters calculus, 1 statistics, and 1 discrete math) was in support of the task I was trying to accomplish (basic competence in those subjects). None at a level I would have considered “advanced” beyond the scope of my degree. Friends that studied history or philosophy did even less math than that - many didn’t take any in college (after testing out based on AP exams or similar).

trashtester 4y ago
I studied particle physics. The math requirements were similar to what you're listing, though I dabbled slighlty beyond that. Today, I wish I'd done a lot more math and statistics before focusing on exclusively physics, even if it'd cost me another 1-3 semesters. I was spending way too much time trying to re-invent the wheel (statistics) in the experimental part, and particle physics really assumed quite a bit more math than what was listed as prerequisites, simply because the university didn't want to delay progression. (To compensate, the bar at the exam was set pretty low.)

ABeeSea 4y ago

I don’t know how much you know about the current state of high level youth sports, but there are many 12 year olds absolutely doing those things. The world of AAU basketball and youth football camps is insane. AAU basketball literally has leader boards ranking the top 6th and 7th graders in the country. And goes all the way down to 3rd grade.

mym1990 4y ago
Okay, my statement was a bit reductive, of course different sports will prescribe different development paths for juniors, but generally speaking, if you're overloading a 12 year old that still has a lot of growing to do, it will end up very poorly(either injury, stunted growth, or burnout). I did not say anything about juniors being prohibited from competing, healthy competition has immense benefits early on.
- SamReidHughes 4y ago
  Lifting weights and working out as a child doesn't stunt growth.
SyzygistSix 4y ago
That sounds horrific. And I'm all for kids playing team sports. Key word being playing. It helped me learn teamwork and good sportsmanship, which is supposed to be the point.
- alistairSH 4y ago
  Yeah, it's pretty crazy. When my son was playing youth sports, many of his peers started doing speed/coordination training with a coach in 6th/7th grade. This was usually 1-2x/week and applicable to most sports. Focus was more on first-step speed, running form, and full body movements (jumps, "suicide" sprints/shuttle runs, etc). I thought it was pretty crazy at the time, still do, but at least it was generic. These days, neighbors have kids in with pitching coaches at age 8, playing travel league baseball 3+ nights/week, plus 2-3 games/weekend. 9 months of the year. That is REALLY crazy to me. How about some swim team, or soccer, or anything else? Back when I was in high school (mid-90s), the best athletes were all multi-sport athletes. Football/basketball/track-field was a common combo. No idea if that's true today, but I suspect there's a lot more single-sport athletes at the prep level, which is kinda sad.
  - mym1990 4y ago
    I know Roger Federer and Nadal were both soccer players until late, and chose to specialize in tennis later down the road. I bet there is some survivorship bias, but a non-negligible number of kids end up hating a sport because of the insane schedules these days and parent oversight. My sister played tennis from the age of 9 until the end of college, and I am not sure she wants to pick up a tennis racquet ever again. I started playing tennis in college, and I am absolutely in love with it, and will be for the rest of my life.