The Speed Window: The Critical Years That Shape Athletic Potential

Watch any youth field for ten minutes and you think you can spot the athlete. The fast one. The big one. The kid who gets to every ball first. Here is what you cannot see from the sideline: whether that speed was built or just borrowed. Being ahead is not the same as being built.

Youth sports did not become an arms race overnight. It escalated through a series of reasonable decisions, one more practice, one more tournament, one more private session, until preparation quietly replaced develop...