The Ready Lens explores what it truly takes to help young people thrive in sport—and in life—through thoughtful, experience-informed insight.
Recovery Energy — Why Youth Sport Breaks Down Without Rest, Regulation, and Repair. Holistic Development for Youth Sport Participation (Part 4)
Recovery isn’t optional. It’s what makes participation possible.
When youth sport systems extract energy without restoring it, burnout isn’t surprising—it’s predictable.
Sustainable participation depends on sustainable recovery.
Body Energy — When Youth Sport Asks More Than Growing Bodies Can Sustain. Holistic Development for Youth Sport ParticipationCan(Part 3)
Participation doesn’t end when motivation fades.
It ends when growing bodies can’t keep up with the system.
In youth sport, injury and burnout aren’t just individual problems—they’re signals that adult-designed demands have outpaced biological development.
If we want kids to stay, we must protect body energy—not push past it.
Motivation Energy — How Adult Systems Either Ignite or Drain Youth Engagement. Holistic Development for Youth Sport Participation (Part 2)
Youth motivation isn’t missing—it’s shaped by adult systems. Learn how coaching culture, pressure, and environment either fuel or drain motivation in sport.
Belonging Energy - The Environments Adults Create (and Why Kids Decide to Stay or Leave). Holistic Development for Youth Sport Participation (Part 1)
Why kids leave youth sports has less to do with motivation and more to do with belonging. Learn how adult-created environments shape whether kids stay or leave.
Who Actually Owns Athlete Development in Youth Sports?
Most governing bodies in sport govern access, not development. Access without development isn’t an opportunity.
And participation alone is not a development strategy. So what do we do to save youth sport?