The Best Training Method Is the One That Fits the Athlete

An Ask Aaron & EJ Podcast –“Copy Cat Syndrome”

Youth sports can make it feel as if every family has to take the same route: join the same organization, train year-round, and copy whatever successful athletes are doing. Coaches Eric Johnson and Aaron Thigpen argue that this pressure can distract families from a more useful question: what does this particular athlete need, at this stage, to keep developing?

Their answer is not to reject outside advice or inspiration. It is to stop treating someone else’s path as a ready-made plan.

Fear of missing out can keep families on the wrong track

Thigpen compares youth sports to a train that keeps moving. Parents see other families climb aboard and worry that stepping away means being left behind. The pressure can pull athletes into year-round programs and routines without a clear sense of where those choices are leading.

That approach may burn time, Johnson and Thigpen warn, especially for athletes with specific goals and limited windows to pursue them. Instead of signing up because everyone else is doing it, parents can ask where their athlete needs to go, what route makes sense, and whether a program is helping them get there.

Advice from other parents can be valuable as personal experience, but it is not automatically a plan for another athlete. As Thigpen puts it, “all training or all coaching starts with the truth.” Families should seek informed guidance, compare sources, and test whether recommendations fit their own circumstances.

The coaches also caution against making podcasts or videos the sole source of information. A variety of perspectives can help, but families still need to check what applies to their athlete rather than adopting a popular answer wholesale.

A plan should serve the athlete, not the trend

At younger ages, progress does not have to mean chasing the most prominent team or measuring everything by results. Johnson describes a parent of a 10- or 11-year-old who shifted attention away from the number of hits and toward the athlete’s approach, decisions, routine, and game readiness.

The parent’s goal was to build a sound process for the years ahead, rather than chase tournaments or immediate recognition. Johnson praised that choice because it focused on preparation and gave the athlete a direction.

That example also shows that independent thinking does not mean making every decision alone. A family might choose a different program or route and later learn it was not the right fit. Johnson frames that as a learning experience: ask what it taught, consult knowledgeable people, and adjust the roadmap. The point is not to avoid every mistake; it is to keep making decisions deliberately.

Elite athletes offer inspiration, not templates

The same principle applies to technique. A movement that works for a prominent hitter, runner, or fielder may be right for that athlete without being right for everyone else. Bodies differ, and so can effective movement patterns.

Johnson captures the idea this way: “find the right movement pattern for yourself that’s truly athletic to you.” He and Thigpen distinguish loosely emulating an athlete from copying them exactly. A role model can inspire practice, but reproducing their stance, swing, arm action, or other details without considering one’s own body and abilities can lead an athlete away from what works.

Johnson points to baseball players with visibly different builds and swings as reminders that high-level performance does not come in one shape. Coaches, in his view, should help an athlete discover how to move effectively as themselves, rather than teach every player to look like a star.

That does not mean technique has no fundamentals. Johnson discusses fielding as an example: he emphasizes preparing the glove early and keeping it in front of the body. His concern is with turning a particular flourish or cue into a universal rule simply because athletes have seen others do it.

Beware of systems designed to sell themselves

Thigpen’s larger concern is that sports development is also a business. In his view, some providers emphasize or complicate certain techniques to create a recognizable system they can sell. A catchy method may spread because it is easy to package, not because it suits every athlete.

A coach who begins with a fixed system and applies it to everyone risks putting the product ahead of the person. Individual development asks harder questions: where is this athlete now, what do they need at this moment, and how should the plan change as they grow?

The takeaway for families is to treat trends as prompts for questions, not instructions. Look for coaches willing to understand the athlete in front of them, explain the reasoning behind their advice, and adapt the plan when the evidence or the athlete’s needs change. The goal is not to find one magic formula. It is to build a path that fits.