The Key Difference Between Training and Practice in Youth Sports
Many coaches in the youth sports community use the terms training and practice interchangeably. However, any coach who treats these two terms the same is making a mistake. In fact, training is practically the opposite of practice when you consider their purpose.
The sole purpose of training is to get better. When you train you are trying to build new muscle memories and develop new skills. On the other hand, when you practice you are testing out what you already know.
Yes, you can also get better from practice by reinforcing muscle memory, and yes you can try new skills when practicing as well. But the goal of practice is not to do these things. Practice is 100% about confirming that you know what you think you know and discovering things you don’t know. Then using this knowledge as input into a training program.
The mistake youth coaches often make is to use practice as training, which will totally confuse a young athlete. It may make sense for a coach to yell a correction with some frustration when an athlete is practicing a skill for the 100th time. Conversely, it makes no sense at all when a coach yells and gets frustrated with a young athlete who is developing a new muscle memory or skill. What’s more, when you mix the two together it’s more likely you get regression rather than progression.
Simply stated, coaches must apply two different coaching demeanors and approaches to training vs. practice. Unquestionably, youth coaches would be wise to avoid mixing the two.