alessandro donati - playthegame.org 2007... · donati alessandro, caterina pesce pediatric exercise...

VISIONS FOR A DOPING-FREEVISIONS FOR A DOPING-FREESPORTS CULTURESPORTS CULTURE

EarlyEarly specializationspecialization asas a a riskrisk factorfactor

Alessandro DonatiAlessandro Donati

ReykjavikReykjavik, 30 , 30 OctoberOctober 2007 2007

International sports federations, even the InternationalInternational sports federations, even the InternationalOlympic Committee itself, were created to manage theOlympic Committee itself, were created to manage thesports activities of adult athletes and their historysports activities of adult athletes and their historyremained unchanged for many years, up to the 1950sremained unchanged for many years, up to the 1950s..

As of the 1970s, new veryappealing methodologicaltrends – coming from theSoviet Union and EastGermany – began to bediffused in several othercountries; these trendsconsidered early talentselection the best way toenhance high level sportsperformances.

National sports federations were highlyattracted by this outlook, which certainlydid not answer requirements or interestsof the children themselves; they firstbegan enlisting teenagers, then pre-adolescent children and a few years latereven four- or five-year-old infants.

Since the aim was to select talented subjects for high levelsports, the sports activities of preadolescent and even youngerchildren was organized simply by copying the models of singleevents.

In fact neither sportsexecutives nor coaches wouldhave been able to dootherwise because for yearsall their motivation andexperience had been centredon a given event with itsspecific competition andtraining models.

Since they were interested inpreadolescents and in children,federation executives and coachesstarted, in their own interest, adialogue with the schools which theyconsidered only as a reservoir ofpossible talents. They were oftensupported by the physical educationteachers, who in most cases wereformer athletes or coaches of thenational federations.

This invasion lead to an encounter inwhich federation executives andcoaches with their blazoned imageclashed against physical educationteachers, who were definitely lessstriking and were in favour of amore structured approach to motoractivities and sports.

The sports federations won thisstruggle so that, in many countries,motor activities and sportslost their meaning as psychomotoreducation of schoolchildren.

Federations were increasinglycharacterized by an endless careerismof all executives so that the averageage of both executives and coachesbecame higher and higher. In thiscontext, the activity prescribed topreadolescents and children was theexact copy of that followed by adultathletes, all the more exasperated bythe deleterious model of the so-called“high level sports””.

Entry in the IOC 1963

Born 1916


Born 1921


Born 1911


Born 1920


Born 1919


Born 1914

No parents would everthink of allowing theirchildren to play in thesame place where adultsare gambling, and ofteneven cheating. But this isexactly the environment ofthe sports federations,where sports activities ofadults and children are alltoo often in close contact.

Faced with the increasingly serious crisis of thesports system, we must, for the best interest ofthese children, ask an all-important question: whyshould their enthusiasm, their energies bemanipulated through a compulsory, earlyspecialization which has misguiding effects,instead of offering them all the values and richvariety of stimuli of sports activities practiced in apeaceful environment, aimed at self-fulfilment,which would in no way exclude a subsequentspecialization?

How can it be that families, schools,paediatricians and family doctors, all theother professionals interested in thewellbeing and education of children, localauthorities (municipalities and regionalgovernments) and even national policies,instead of offering sports as an amusing andeducational activity, are more interested inreducing youth sports to a mere instrumentfor talent scouts?

Is it possible that the sporting world isincapable of taking into considerationthat it is incompetent and inadequateas regards children’s educationalactivities and games?

Public institutions should have answered these questions long ago, but theymust do it now that the crisis of the sports system is all too evident and thatthe diffusion of doping is such that it may become a well established practiceto be handed down to future generations.

Answering these questions certainlymeans imagining and planning a newmodel for youth motor and sportsactivities, in which would converge allthe experience and knowledgeacquired in these last years in thefields of education and methodology.

It is also obvious that the definition and implementation of said new model must involve allthe above mentioned subjects, in particular sports institutions, the only ones in a position toprovide the information necessary to construct a concrete and stimulating system thatwould respect children’s right to games and aim at the balanced development of theirabilities and skills.

The approach certainly cannot be theThe approach certainly cannot be the

one suggested by IOC President,one suggested by IOC President,

Jacques Rogge, who claims heJacques Rogge, who claims he

wishes to contribute wishes to contribute ““to solving theto solving the

universal issue of an increasinglyuniversal issue of an increasingly

sedentary lifestyle and of the diffusionsedentary lifestyle and of the diffusion

of obesity among the youngerof obesity among the younger

peoplepeople”…”…

……with the institutionwith the institutionof Youth Olympicsof Youth Olympics..

How can a physician such ashim, really think that there is anyconnection between a small eliteof highly talented young athleteswho participate in YouthOlympics and the increasingdiffusion of sedentariness andobesity among millions ofpeople of the same age-group?

If he really believes this hecannot be very intelligent; ifhis project is really aimed atcreating a new business forIOC then may God help usand save us from institutionssuch as the IOC!...

Jacques Rogge probably does not even know thatsedentariness among young people and the consequentdevelopment of metabolism disorders (not only obesity!) arealso a consequence of the high drop-out rate among youngpractitioners who are estranged by an environment whereselection and margination are the rule and where thejudgement of a young person’s achievements are reduced to amere evaluation of sports results.

Probably Jacques Rogge does not even know that earlyspecialization often creates false talents and induces, in sportsclubs, families and even the young athletes themselves , falseexpectations that are only a waste of time and resources.

Yet, even in this sport system such as it is, there areexecutives, coaches and physicians who have understood thesituation and are well aware that a change is absolutelynecessary if we are to meet the requirements of the youngpopulation. A fruitful cooperation between these figures, whoare not obsessed by careerism and visibility, and physicaleducation teachers could bring forth new models and solutions.

A discussion aimed at conceiving aA discussion aimed at conceiving apractical proposal could be set inpractical proposal could be set inmotion in different ways in eachmotion in different ways in eachcountry, according to their particularcountry, according to their particularsituation. I here wish to set out thesituation. I here wish to set out theterms of the issue and encourageterms of the issue and encouragesuch a discussion.such a discussion.

PROPOSAL FOR A NEW MODELPROPOSAL FOR A NEW MODEL

OF YOUTH MOTOR AND SPORTS ACTIVITIESOF YOUTH MOTOR AND SPORTS ACTIVITIES

1) Be independent of the NOC and of thenational sports federations;

A composite institution, that wouldbecome the fundamentalinstrument, should be appointed ineach country: a Confederation foryouth sports. It should have thefollowing characteristic features:

1) Be independent of the IOC and of thenational sports federations;

2) Establish different educational projects foreach age-group (from 4 to 12-13 years of age),based on a multilateral approach and multi-sport experiences;




3) Specific training for coaches/educatorscapable of managing this kind of structuredapproach according to educational objectives;





4) Specific training for executives, officials andother personnel involved in the organizationand management of competitive sports;





4) Specific training for executives, officials andother personnel involved in the organizationand management of competitive sports;

5) Encourage researches, critical overviewsand all other activities aimed at understandingthe epidemiological situation in the variousage-groups, identifying psychological andsocial requirements, pin-pointing thenecessary political and economical conditionsand the necessary facilities.


In the meantime, and this could be in part an alternative, at least the content and criteria presentlyused in the education of coaches and executives involved in youth sports should be changed.In particular:

Educators in charge of training youth sportsexecutives should not come only from thesports milieu but also from other spheres(schools, medical professions, psychologists,sociologists) so as to develop an adequateeducational content and provide thesecoaches and executives with educationalobjectives having a wider scope than themere development of sports performances;

Ensure that the youth sector of each sportsfederation has a wide degree ofindependence and is responsible for theachievement of said educational objectivesand not for the sports results of its youngathletes;

Allocate sufficient financial resources to the youth sector, so that executives and coaches are ina position to really pursue the institutional objectives (organize competition activities that morevaried than the model of the specific event, give more importance to educational aspects thanto the development of an excessive specialization, cut down the drop-out rate).

We cannot be sure, but there is reason toWe cannot be sure, but there is reason to

believe that a profound change of thebelieve that a profound change of the

present youth sports system may be verypresent youth sports system may be very

effective as regards doping prevention.effective as regards doping prevention.

Percentage of subjects (11-13 years old)declaring creatine consumption as a function oftraining time:

0

2

4

6

8

10

amino acids

only

creatine or both

pro

teic

su

pp

lem

en

ts c

on

su

me

rs (

%)

< 4 hours/week

4-6 hours/week

> 6 hours/week

This aspect will have to be confirmed byThis aspect will have to be confirmed by

specific studies aimed also at monitoringspecific studies aimed also at monitoring

the effectiveness of the interventions thatthe effectiveness of the interventions that

have been implementedhave been implemented..Donati Alessandro, Caterina PescePediatric Exercise SciencePES, 16(3), August 2004

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Hours / week

We may also presume that reforms

may also give a new impulse to the

methodology of sports training that

is presently humiliated by trends

established or advertised by

coaches who achieve outstanding

international results but never

explain what really lies behind these

victories and records.

Some countries may manage to create a

Confederation for youth sports while others will

only be able to bring about a significant

change in the organization and management

of youth sports within the national sports

federation, but in any case, it is absolutely

necessary that all international sports

federations be called upon to “humanize” high

level sports in the next decade.

This means, for instance, that in the case of

several individual sports disciplines based on

records – such as athletics, swimming,

weightlifting – special commissions of experts

should be appointed to examine the list of

record holders, study their historical context,

their national background and decide to cancel

all suspicious records (probably all of them)

with the firm conviction that a tribute to the

truth and the possibility to hand down to the

younger athletes sports that are truly

practicable is infinitely more important than

protecting the image of record-men or women

and of the organizations behind them.

400

m –

47”

6010

0 m

– 1

0”49

Shot

put

– 2

3.12

m

“Prof. Carnevalisays that the 50%of the resultsdepends on thedrugs”

How can it be that theHow can it be that the

significant artificial effectssignificant artificial effects

on performances areon performances are

pointed out by those whopointed out by those who

practice doping and not bypractice doping and not by

those who oppose dopingthose who oppose doping??

alessandro donati - playthegame.org 2007... · donati alessandro, caterina pesce pediatric exercise...

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