Skip Gilbert knows his way around sports.
The former Westporter — now a Weston resident — worked with the US Tennis Association, USA Triathlon, USA Swimming and US Soccer. He was chair of the National Governing Bodies Council, and managing director of operations, marketing and development for the US Anti-Doping Agency.
Skip Gilbert
Most recently, Gilbert was CEO of US Youth Soccer.
That’s especially fitting: He was a University of Vermont goalkeeper star, played with the professional Tampa Bay Rowdies, and trained with Sheffield United, and clubs in Holland and Hong Kong.
This month, Gilbert avidly watched the Winter Olympics. He had 2 perspectives: industry insider, and sports fan.
He wrote some thoughts for a soccer publication. But his insights speak to perhaps the most burning issue in all youth sports, here and across the country: At what age should children start to specialize? How young is too young — and what will happen if they don’t choose one sport early in life?
Gilbert said:
What did the Winter Olympics tell us about youth soccer in the US?
Plenty.
First, let me congratulate my former national governing body colleagues in putting together an impressive collection of world-class athletes to propel Team USA to its most successful Winter Games in history.
They were incredible to watch, and I could not have been prouder, absorbing every minute of every telecast.
Both the US men’s and women’s hockey teams won gold medals — both with 2-1 overtime wins against Canada.
Of all the great content delivered by NBC over the past few weeks, the most impactful regarding youth soccer was a segment by Mary Carillo, outlining the philosophy of youth development by one European country for kids under 12.
Their focus is for those kids to learn the chosen sport(s) with the goal of having fun. No pressure, no champions, no imagined expectations for parents to embrace.
Many will say that culture can’t succeed in the US.
I strongly disagree. For years, well before my recent role in youth soccer, I’ve been a strong advocate for multi-sport training for kids under 12 — and a firm believer that the only term kids under 12 should use is “player.”
No “elite.” No “travel.” Just “player.”
I also emphatically support the American Development Model (ADM) for coaching, designed by a sport national governing body and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
For kids under 12, the goal is to learn the game, have fun, and pursue a path that will allow them to love, play and enjoy the game throughout their entire life.
From there, those with the “it” factor will have the path to follow, courtesy of the ADM. Those that don’t will not need to quit the sport. They will have an alternate path to follow.
If you are skeptical, let me end with 2 questions.
What national governing body wrote the ADM with the USOPC? USA Hockey — and they have gold medals for both the women’s and men’s teams.
As for the European country? It’s Norway: population 5.5 million (the same as Minnesota; the US population is 342 million). Their performance this month produced the most gold medals — and most total medals — in Winter Olympic history.
The Winter Olympics told us clearly that youth soccer in the US has something to learn.
Many other sports can heed those lessons too.
(“06880” regularly covers sports, kids, the joys and pressures of life in Westport, and much more. If you enjoy the broad scope of this hyper-local blog, please click here to support us. Thank you!)
The real problem in youth sports isn’t the kids. It’s the money.
When youth sports become a business, priorities shift. Development becomes secondary to winning, playing time gets tied to fees, and families feel pressure to spend more just to keep up. The result isn’t stronger athletes. It’s anxious kids, burned-out parents, and coaches caught between mentorship and performance metrics.
Sports at their best teach resilience, teamwork, and joy. But monetization turns childhood competition into an industry, where adults chase outcomes that were never meant to belong to them.
If we want youth sports to actually serve young people, we have to ask a hard question: are we building athletes — or consumers?
Thankful for this piece. I wish these sports programs would give parents training before they are allowed to coach young kids. It is painful being placed on a team and getting parent coaches who yell at 1st and 2nd graders and think winning at this age matters most. My son is currently on an indoor flag football team up in Trumbull and every weekend my husband and I debate pulling him out of the sport he loves because the parent coach is wildly inappropriate in how he yells at these children.
I hope Westport can follow this author’s lead and prioritize FUN at this young and impressionable age!