No More Broken Eggs

Book excerpt: While lunching in Barcelona during the 1992 Olympic Games, swimming coach Tom Morin asked his Swedish counterparts how they had managed to beat the U.S. in a freestyle relay while drawing from a population of only 8 million. The Swedes explained a coaching theory that differed from the U.S. style of developing great athletes. With the U.S. population big enough to "throw thousands against the wall to see who survives and who becomes a broken egg," it is possible to develop champions by sheer numbers. When the population is small, a different coaching and training style must be applied. Thus was born what Morin saw as a call for No More Broken Eggs, the title of his important new book. The book's subtitle: A Guide to Optimizing the Sports Experience for Athletes, Coaches, Parents, and Clinicians, explains that this is an attempt to reach out to all of those whose mentoring can touch and shape young athletes and create a more positive experience for them as they grow in their sports. Matt Biondi, winner of 11 Olympic medals (including eight gold), wrote the foreword to the book. Biondi writes, "Coaches need to stop and pay attention to those who do not compete at a high level. They need to help their athletes both to develop life habits like persistence and time management and to learn teamwork and goal setting." Writes Morin: "Here in the United States we are often too focused on how good our kids are in sports by the time they are twelve. We use them, burn them out, and throw them away. We do not do much teaching, nurturing or instructing; we just try to weed out those who are not the best and we keep pushing and pushing those that are the best to be better. Many... end up being 'broken eggs.'" The book gives case study examples of athletes who succeeded or overcame the system and some who were weeded out. Chapters include tips for athletes and clinicians, and guidelines for parents and coaches. One chapter deals with an NFL defensive back sent to Morin for substance abuse counseling. This player never succeeded in the NFL for reasons that the chapter clarifies and that will be relevant for many other gifted but challenged young athletes. No More Broken Eggs will serve as an important guidebook to all who touch the lives of young athletes, whether or not they are Olympic or NFL bound.