Growing up I played all different sports;different one each season and then some. There were a few kids who would play different sports each season as well as play one all year round (esp. hockey). It seems that nowadays the trend is to pick one sport and play it all year round and golf (weather permitting or $ permitting see: current Top Jr whose dad is ceo of a certain MA golf company but son goes to "school" in Fla) seems to be one in which this is especially true.
Do you think this specialization in golf has lead (no pun intended) to alot of the young guns on tour, who are really the first generation of this trend, to be very technically oriented and not "play the game" oriented? I know I have taken things from other sports and applied it to golf. Good trend or bad?
It looks like specialization in youth sports has made some marked differences in how early kids acquire skills. I can speak from experience in youth soccer. I was a Regional Olympic Development Program Coach for North Texas State Soccer for more than 10 years. The kids that were selected to play in State, Regional, and National teams were almost universally, kids that played ONLY soccer. They played year around, on the best club teams, and focused on soccer to the exclusion of most other activities. If the kids wanted to participate at the highest level, they really didn't have a choice. If the kids were not training or playing, other kids would take their places. I have seen many 11 year old players that have the skills of the 16 year old players I coached just a few years ago. The complete immersion some of these kids get in their sports at younger and younger ages is getting almost silly. But the competition for the top levels is what drives the whole thing.
What many people overlook is the huge financial rewards for talented student/athletes. On my State Teams, every player was recruited by major universities. Many received athletic scholarships worth close to 80K. For some of my players, those scholarships were the only way they could afford a college education. The parents of these kids are WELL aware of the money being offered to these kids, and they help drive the system towards more specialization.
For better or worse, I see the trend moving even more towards specialization. I see specialized coaches, trainers, therapists, nutritionists, and even psychological professionals reaping the benefits of supporting and profiting from youth sports and their parents. I can see golf being even more competitive than most other sports due to the inherent costs of golf and the individual nature of it's competition.
The kids are becoming very technically adept at earlier ages. Whether they become successful professionals still seems to be a question of heart. The most technical player is not necessarily the most successful player.
