1 hot stretching tip

Today on Dad Strength

• The cons (and one pro) of gaming early athletic development

• 1 hot stretching tip

• Gell-Man Amnesia

• A book, a quote, and a dad joke

The cons (and one pro) of gaming early athletic development

If you’ve been reading the newsletter for a while, you know that I often touch on the problems of early specialization in sports. There’s a good body of research that shows that the  drivers behind early athletic success actually work in opposition to later, elite-level athletic performance. What gets you $1,000 won’t get you a $1 million – that kind of thing. And while I will never advocate for anything without a good risk to reward ratio, I do want to ask the question of whether there are times where gaming the system might be positive.

Here, I’m thinking about building confidence for kids… Outworking, out-planning, and eventually out-performing peers as a case study. Maybe as a chance to spend time and build connection with your kid. Most likely, this will occur in a sport where your kid has zero plans for further exploration and is definitely not to be confused with good long-term athletic development. I’d like to think that there are some parents out there using this framework. The caveat here is that kids who are doing things right will often lose. That will likely include your kid when it comes to the sports they’re really into and may have a future in. It’s probably best if they can understand that and we can personally be at peace with that. Good luck to us all!

1 hot stretching tip

I just submitted a piece on stretching for a publication. I’ll share it when it goes live but here’s one important takeaway: Warm up first. However you do that is fine but a (literally) warm body reduces a huge number of frictions (again, literal) when it comes to mobility.

Gell-Man Amnesia

This effect is named after physicist, Murray Gell-Man. The idea he shared with author, Michael Chrichton was that when you read a newspaper article about your area of expertise, you realize how full of errors it is. “You read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about economics than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.”

But enough about generative AI.

What I’m reading/listening to

Did I say I had a review for you this week? NEXT week. In the meantime…

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead
Guys have an online gambling problem
Bestselling author, Chuck Wendig, reviews apples
Meditation and attachment theory

A quote

"Every sect is a moral check on its neighbour. Competition is as wholesome in religion as in commerce."

— Walter Savage Landor

A dad joke

Why was six afraid of seven? You probably know that it’s because 7, 8, 9. But why?
Because you’re supposed to eat 3² meals a day.