I always get asked if I'm going to let my son kickbox or do jui jitsu.  Ever since Tommy was a baby  he has been around the fight game.  When he was in a  carrier I would bring him into the kickboxing gym and give him a bottle in between sparring rounds. He has watched every fight known to man. He usually reads or draws during the UFC. He actually has his own Thai boxing shorts and gloves. For his 7th birthday, the boys from Tapout made him shirts and shorts.  He knows how to kick, punch and do a few submissions.  I'm just waiting for that first phone call" Mr. Krausz your son triangle choked some in the playground. He kept saying tap or nap." If his mom doesn't already hate me she will then. 

   Last year in Vegas while training at Extreme Couture , I watched Josh Hayes teach a kids MMA class. It was awesome. There were 16(4-7) kids all in mma gear working on technique in the octagon.

     Here in Texas it's all about Football. If a kid can throw a football, their parents automatically think he is going to be the next Vince Young. That sport turns into an obsession for..........the parents. They buy them the best gear. Make them watch football. Posters or Brett Favre on his walls. And then they get them a personal trainer. This all happens by the time they are 10 years old.  By the time they are 12 , the parents are sending them to "football" camps during the summer. What was once a kids sport has turned in to a full time job for these young boys.  I watched an interview with Troy Aikman and Emitt Smith  on HBO's Real Sports last year. They were asked what a parent could do to improve their kids chances of getting into the pros. Their response surprised me. They both said  1.) make sure they are capable of getting into college 2.) don't put them in summer football camps.  I was shocked. They both explained that playing college sports required getting in to college. Even the slowest player needs to  be able to get into college.  They both also said that many of these sports camps are ruining young athletes. These kids get no breaks and it doesn't allow their bodies time to build,get stronger , and get better. In the end many of these young athletes get burned out and injured long before they hit college. This actually made sense to me.

    So, what is my advice to the parents that want their kids to be the next Deon Sanders, Eli Manning, David Beckam, Mia Hamm, or Nolan Ryan? 

First Let them be kids first. Make sure they get a good education. If they are gifted, rather than overuse and damage that gift ,reinforce and protect it by incorporating stability movements into their workout regime. Pay attention to their core strength. Everything starts in the center. So make sure that the relationship  in strength between their abs and lower back is proportional.  And by all means, if they can swim, get them in a pool. Trust me.