Dr. Rick Lehman set out to find out what the best practices are for raising young athletes in a healthy way. His new book, “How to Raise an Athlete: The Formula” explores the challenges young athletes face in today’s world. Lehman draws on his expertise as a doctor of sports medicine and an orthopedic surgeon to bring advice. He joined KMOX to talk more about the book.
One of the trickiest things for young athletes right now, he said, is social media. Just like all young people, they have struggles with it, but often because of their larger platforms, those struggles are amplified.
“One of the things that's interesting is a lot of these teen suicides you'll notice on social media are athletes, that a hockey goalie just recently committed suicide from some cyber bullying,” Dr. Lehman said. “So there seems to be a propensity for athletes. And based on that, I think parents, coaches, and everybody listening out there needs to address it. But I think social media can be really good. And it can be really, really terrible.”
As for raising athletes, Dr. Lehman said parents can often be difficult for coaches to deal with — and some parents are even abusive toward their children if they don’t do well.
“The formula is, get the most out of your athlete, do the least amount of damage. And when it's all said and done, you want to have a great relationship with your son or your daughter, your athlete,” Dr. Lehman said.
He said the use of performance enhancing drugs is also a problem in young athletes.
“Parents are pushing this. I mean, I hate to say, but parents are saying, ‘Look, if I can get it for my son or daughter’ — and it can be cheerleading, it can be gymnastics, it can be lacrosse, it doesn't have to be NFL football — we're seeing it and I think it is it is rampant,” he said. “And I think it is so under-discussed. But it's a big problem. Because later on, you're gonna pay the piper sometime for taking those drugs, especially at 13, 15, 18.”
Hear more from Dr. Rick Lehman on his book and what he says the best practices are for raising an athlete:
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