Team sport athletes need a range of physical qualities to excel.

Speed, strength, power, endurance, flexibility and coordination, each requiring a different type of training to develop fully.

If you have a major deficiency in any one category, your athletic career will derail.

But the value of these skills are not equal.

For some, there's immense value in being the best.

The fastest player in the game, the hardest thrower or kicker, the one who makes the most dazzling plays...athletes who can do these things stand out.

And for good reason, because being the fastest, most powerful or most athletic player increases your team's chances of success.

Other skills are different.

They require proficiency, not excellence.

Take conditioning, for example.

A player only needs a level of conditioning that allows them to complete hard for the length of a match.

Additional stamina contributes nothing to an athlete's success, or the team's.

The same goes for strength.

Develop enough strength to play a hard nosed style, stay healthy, and maximize your power potential, and you're good.

Extra strength doesn't elevate your performance. You're not Tylenol.

Chances are, your youth athlete spends too much time maximizing the wrong skills.

They spend too much time trying to increase their stamina or strength, at the expense of developing skills which will help them stand out as an athlete.

Think of the best players in the world for their sport, and position.

I'll bet they're ultra athletic, fast, and explosive.

They have to be, because that's how you make eye popping, standout plays.

The ones coaches and scouts take notice of.

Now, don't get me wrong.

I fully believe athletes need to have adequate conditioning and strength to become the best they can be.

But there is a limit to those needs.

Kids playing a sport year-round don't need to run cross country or track to 'stay fit'.

If you already squat double your bodyweight, there's no need to prioritize adding 20 more pounds to the bar.

Especially if the time and energy required for them prevents you from developing peak velocity, speed endurance, coordination, and explosiveness.

Invest in activities which provide you the greatest return on your time investment, and you'll be far more likely to maximize your potential.