The "Elite" confusion

Is My Kiddo the Next Messi? Navigating the 'Elite' Labyrinth

Hello Soccer Parents,

If you've been around youth sports for any amount of time, you've probably come across the term "elite" athlete. If you've wondered how your rising soccer star fits into this concept, you're in the right place. In part one of our comprehensive Soccer Sidelines series, we're going to demystify the term 'elite' in the world of youth soccer.

1. "Elite, Schmelite": Understanding the Term

In sports, 'elite' is often used as an adjective that comes loaded with connotations of exceptional skill, high performance, and professional competition. However, it's not a one-size-fits-all term. Depending on who you ask, an elite player in the realm of soccer could be an Olympic medalist, a regional tournament's top scorer, or even someone who's been seriously playing for just a couple of years. The spectrum of 'elite' is wide and varied, presenting a diverse and vibrant landscape of athletes that your kiddo may well fit into, perhaps even in a way you hadn't previously considered.

2. "All Roads Lead to Elite": Why Study Elite Athletes?

You might be wondering why there's so much focus on elite athletes in the first place. Well, researchers typically study these high-performing individuals because of necessity (the study requires high-performance skill levels), for exploratory purposes (the research aims to investigate certain phenomena in the context of high-level sports), or simply because the individuals exhibit superior abilities compared to their peers.

However, it's important to keep in mind that being considered 'elite' can come with its own quirks. Some elite athletes have been found to demonstrate unconventional—even sometimes dysfunctional—behaviors. This isn’t a cause for alarm though! It's just another example of the rich tapestry of individual differences that makes the world of sports so fascinating.

3. "The Soccer Whiz Kid Spectrum": The Diversity of 'Elite' in Soccer

Here's the important takeaway: just because your child might not fit a traditional "elite" mold, it doesn't mean they don't have unique skills, talents, or potential. In fact, only a small fraction of the studies reviewed in our reference research conclusively defined what "expertise" in sports really means. This shows that there's a lot more to learn about what makes a young soccer player truly shine on the pitch.

In our next post, we'll leave the labyrinth of 'elite' behind and journey from neighborhood leagues to the grandeur of the FIFA World Cup. So, lace up your soccer boots and join us on the pitch!

-Coach Trav

Sources:

1. Baker, J., & Young, B. (2014). 20 years later: Deliberate practice and the development of expertise in sport. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1), 135-157.

2. Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363.

3. Swann, C., Moran, A., & Piggott, D. (2015). Defining elite athletes: Issues in the study of expert performance in sport psychology. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 16, 3-14