My eldest son- when he was nine years old- confidently announced to me one day that he would attend the University of Colorado. “Why Colorado?”, I asked. “So I can play quarterback on the football team in the fall and train for skier cross in the winter- Then I can play football AND go to the Olympics”
(One athlete has actually done just that; Jeremy Bloom played football for the University of Colorado and skied in the Olympic Games; he also briefly played in the NFL). Those are big dreams for sure and like any parent, I want to be supportive so I’m not going to tell my kid he can’t do that, but I got to thinking, what would it take to do that? Lots of kids dream of being professional athletes but what is the difference between a lot of kids and the few who actually make it as professional athletes, and what role does a parent play- if any- in the athlete’s development?
The 10,000 hour rule
The fight is won or lost far away from any witnesses. It is won behind the scenes, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. -Muhammad Ali
What it takes for an athlete to succeed is what’s known as the 10,000 hour rule. Essentially it’s the affirmation that what your parents and coaches told you is correct- practice makes perfect. Anders Ericsson is a psychology professor at Florida State University and he’s an expert on what it takes to become an expert. Ericsson’s research has been chronicled in bestsellers like Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s Super Freakonomics and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Ericsson’s research indicates that it takes about 10,000 hours of training to become “expert” at anything from music to surgery, insurance sales, and virtually every sport. The crux of his argument is that talent is overrated and deliberate practice is what creates better performance, 10,000 or more hours of it creates great performances. If you’re doing the math in your head, that’s six hours a day, six days a week for just over five years. This level of commitment is probably why so few people become elite athletes or highly successful in their industry. If asked “do you really want to be the best in the world?” just about anyone would reply yes! But when considering the time, energy and effort required, few would be up to the task.
One expert on winning is Cary Mullen, an 11 year member of the Canadian National Ski Team, two time Olympian and author of How to Win. I asked him how much natural talent and how much effort was responsible for his success, he replied; “30% talent and 70% effort.” He went on to explain, “It depends on what context you ask me this in. For example if I am to talk to a male that is 5 feet tall and 120 pounds and he is full grown, I would say that no amount of hard work is going to make up for his lack of physical resources in a gravity based sport. As a gymnast he has an advantage but as a skier, an insurmountable disadvantage. On the World Cup, most guys by then are within the physical range to be able to win. It’s then all effort, problem solving and learning to let your body perform.”
The romantic image of the solitary athlete toiling away for years in pursuit of their dream is accurate but it takes more than just effort – chance, circumstance, parenting and patronage all play a role. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell doesn’t dispute the 10,000 hour rule, but he does make the assertion that other factors contribute in critical ways to a person’s success: “It makes a difference where and when we grew up. The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forbearers shape the patterns of our achievements in ways we can’t begin to imagine. It’s not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words it’s only by asking where they’re from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t.”
Other factors include the “Birthday Bulge”- your kids are between 50%-80% more likely to play pro sports if they are born between January and March, or for example you are 800 times more likely to play professional baseball if your dad did too, which leads to the inevitable nature versus nurture question.
Rule #1 Don’t be a Psycho Parent
Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.
-T. Alan Armstrong
Marv Marinovitch is the dad often cited as what you do not want to become as the parent of an athlete. He was the co-captain of the undefeated Rose Bowl winning USC Football team of 1962. After a brief NFL career he began studying Eastern Bloc training methods, and then when he had a son he set his sights on creating the perfect environment for his boy to be a pro football player. Before his son, Todd, could walk, he had him on a balance beam. He would stretch the boy’s little hamstrings and massage his shoulders in his crib, along side the plush football he slept with. By high school Todd Marinovitch was a national star and was known as “Robo Back” because of his focused upbringing, but the chinks in the armour were beginning to show; opposing teams’ fans would taunt him with chants of “Marijuana-vich as rumors of his drug use spread. Todd Marinovitch did play professional football in the NFL, CFL and Arena League but he had a troubled life – nine arrests, five felonies, a year in jail, undoubtedly because of the enormous pressure to perform. So, I’m pretty clear on what not to do as a parent, but for advice on what parents can do I went to the mothers of a few of our local Olympians for some, well, Motherly advice…
Nancy Ricker, Alix Nicoll, Andrée Janyk, Stephanie Sloan and Marilyn McIvor are all moms that I either know or know their kids. They all agreed to be interviewed and all had some excellent advice and they provided some incredible insights. Predictably, many of Whistler’s Olympians had a parent- or two- that competed at an elite level. Both Julia Murray’s parents were Olympians, Britt and Michael Janyk’s mom was a member of the National ski team and Mercedes Nicholl’s Dad, John was a member of the British ski team.
What was a surprise was that only one -Julia Murray- expressed an early desire to go to the Olympics. Her Mom Stephanie explains; “one time when Julia was little she said she would go to the Olympics “because it’s in my blue jeans!” and on another occasion a teacher asked the class to write down their dreams; “Julia wrote down that she wanted to ski in the Olympics on the run named after her dad.” Although alone in expressing her desire to compete at the Olympics early on, all the athletes’ parents conceded that once the prospect of Olympic competition was apparent the focus came to their kids quite quickly. Nancy Ricker explains; “When she (Maelle) participated in a sport, her drive in that discipline almost always tended to be “Olympics, here I come”… She becomes very focused on the “job at hand” and seldom is distracted. Her determination also was exemplified by her drive to come back after various injuries.”
Marilyn McIvor also provides a rare glimpse into what a champion does to create a winning performance; “Ashleigh was not a goal setter per say but when she was with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) she had to write down her goals- but she kept those to herself. Ashleigh often talks about incremental goals you know, one step at a time. She did always keep journals and lists, and in July 2009 she wrote down the things she needed to do to be ready for the Olympics. Then in the morning of her event at the Olympics she said to me ‘I’ve done everything I can do to be prepared for this.’”
None of the parents thought that they pushed their kids to compete. Andrée Janyk articulates beautifully the sentiment shared by the moms, “It has to come from within the athlete themselves. It is not your time as a parent to shine. We supported them and I encouraged them to explore their desire to its fullest.” Alix Nicoll as well, underlined the notion of parents as boosters, not pushers “I know that Mercedes would agree when I say that the family has been a major supporter of all our children’s goals in life. Obviously we have encouraged her to set her goals and helped in any way that we could, but neither John nor I have lived vicariously through her achievements!” Some of the parents taught their kids up to a point but none ever coached them competitively. When Stephanie Sloan was asked if she ever coached Julia she replied: “Oh no, I left the job of coaching to her coaches. I wanted it to be fun when we skied together and not have me after her all the time. I wasn’t going to tell her where to plant her pole.”
All the parents described their kids as competitors who loved sports and some were great athletes not just at their Olympic sport but at other sports they tried- Maelle Ricker was competitive at a national level in Track as well as soccer, winning a U17 Girls National Championship. Not all the athletes were great at every sport they tried however and Marilyn McIvor explains it’s not important if they are great at every sport: “Ashleigh was not great at all sports but she did show promise in skiing immediately, but remember just because your child is not good in one sport doesn’t mean they won’t win a gold medal in another.”
Growing up in Whistler Helps
“Passion and Belief- for me those are the two most important things in a coach- Passion for the sport and belief in me as an Athlete.”
-Britt Janyk
Two other things were consistent with all the parents; they all gave an enormous amount of credit to the community for their support and finally they all mentioned enjoying skiing and snowboarding together as a family with the focus on having fun.
When asked what impact growing up in Whistler had on their development as athletes, the parents concluded that it was tremendous for a variety of reasons.
Stephanie Sloan credits the community and a culture of excellence in Whistler and felt that the community never pressured Julia, but she always felt that there was great community pride in her. “Whistler is great because while there is recognition for local athletes, they are not put on a pedestal.” That culture of excellence was also mentioned by Marilyn McIvor “Growing up in Whistler was wonderful, there are so many role models and incredible athletes and you can see first hand what they have to do to compete at an elite level. The WMCS was also great; the coaches were very professional and the parents were really supportive. You pay the coaches but the parents put on the races. Both my kids, Ashleigh and Lindsay learned so much…life skills really.” Andrée Janyk also credits the WMSC, “The opportunity…to have a series of good coaches at the WMSC and a strong club with other great kids and parents does, I think, have a contributing factor. Britt and Michael were very fortunate in this regard. Also your own family’s willingness to support the aspiring athletes is important too. Again, Britt and Michael were fortunate – especially in that I was willing to take them skiing mid week, exposing them to many more hours on the ski hill.”
Many parents commented that Whistler’s schools had a really positive impact on their kids’ development. Marilyn McIvor mentioned that “The Whistler school system was great because it allowed Ashleigh time to compete but still demanded academic excellence- there was no slacking off.” Andrée Janyk said the flexibility provided by the schools was important, “I think the ability to easily combine high level schooling while pursing alpine skiing was very important to their (Mike and Britt) success.” Not surprisingly- as both have served as School board Trustees- Alix Nicholl agreed. “The athlete program at Whistler Secondary School allowed Mercedes to travel to competitions while still maintaining her academic levels. She is a very focussed person and the school encouraged her in all her endeavours. She graduated with her class while snowboarding at the national level. Having Whistler and Blackcomb mountains as your back yard did not hurt either!”
In the mom’s opinion, family ski and snowboard time was also key to their children’s success.
Marilyn McIver said quite simply, “ski racing is a great sport for families” and Stephanie Sloan added: “Julia loves skiing because we always had so much fun skiing together and if you love it, it makes training easier.” Finally, Maelle Ricker’s mom, Nancy, gives a snapshot of family fun
“We had a cabin (not a house as such) at Whistler and we were there on most weekends and long holidays. The out-of-doors environment was terrific and skiing, skating and hiking was right at hand- and Maelle was determined to keep up with her older brother!”
In a completely unrelated question, Cary Mullen offered a really poignant insight into what his parents meant to his ski career. I asked him how he could stay committed to his goals even though they seemed so far at times; “It was a stretch. My whole career was. What was I thinking? There was not enough proof for me to think I could some day be the best. It was inside. I describe passion as what we can’t keep ourselves out of. I must also tip the hat to my Mom and Dad; Mom for supporting me regardless and Dad for being strategic and for finding the advantage in setbacks and situations.”
I thought that by interviewing these parents that some kind of formula would emerge for how a parent can support their kid’s athletic hopes and dreams- and there are some patterns that can be found, but really all parents can do are the same things that we try do so that our children will be successful in their lives. Love them, support them, believe in them, have fun and whether they win or lose, take pride in all their accomplishments.