Developing Character, Leadership, and Life Skills Through Youth Athletics

This book is intended to develop better athletes. More importantly, I aim to help educate the character formation of better people. The idea of specialization in sports starts early for many learners, while a multi-sport approach is often recommended for some gifted athletes. Coaches and trainers usually become the experts on how an athlete should approach competitive activities. Some of them will recommend one or two sports for one person because they believe the learned can be molded properly.

Others are more open minded and encourage exploring and competing in several sports up until the time the student identifies his/her sports specialization. Needless to say, the American system of education and sports provides ample information and a humongous body of knowledge that can enable a person to make the correct decisions. However, an athlete's emotional intelligence is usually relegated as an if-and-when-necessary add-on to the decision-making process. I hope the contents of this book can be used to determine the suitability of athletes, taking into account emotional intelligence, for any and all selected sports.