There are dozens of long-term athlete development models out there that try to explain the best way to turn youth athletes into champions. The problem is that they incorporate much more theory than practice. In reality, success cannot be broken down into one pathway or plan. On this episode of the podcast, leading youth coach James Marshall talks about how the systems fail us and what he's doing to make youth athletics better in his community. For more information on this topic, read the complete show notes at: http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2019/05/gaincast-episode-160-beyond-pathways-with-james-marshall/

This episode is brought to you by HMMR Plus and GAIN. Learn more about GAIN 2019 on GAINcast 154. Applications are now open at www.thegainnetwork.com and we just released the final schedule this week.

The following links were referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:

• This month’s HMMR Media site theme is the young athlete. Join HMMR Plus to get access to all the new resources coming out. We also have looked at it on past episodes of the GAINcast. On GAINcast 79 we explored talent development models. We've also looked at the concepts in practice with school sports (GAINcast 69 with Patrick McHugh), professional soccer (GAINcast 96 with Des Ryan) and skiing (GAINcast 114 with Finn Gunderson).
• Marshall has also been a guest on Episode 175 of the HMMR Podcast to talk about rediscovering the value of play.
• You can read Marshall’s blog and find more resources, including upcoming educational opportunities, on the Excelsior Group webpage. You can also find him on Twitter (@CoachExcelsior) and Instagram (@excelsioradclub).
• You can get an idea of what a session at Excelsior looks like in this recent video Marshall posted on Youtube.
• One book recommended on this podcast: The End of Average: Unlocking Our Potential by Embracing What Makes Us Different by Todd Rose