Norway's Athletic System That Has Led to Olympic Success
How Norway builds elite athletes and citizens
Norway is an absolute powerhouse in the Winter Olympics.
They’ve topped the medal count for the past three Winter Olympics and are at the top of the medal count of all time. It’s an amazing feat for a nation with a population of around 5.4 million, even smaller than neighboring Finland (5.5m) and Sweden (10.2m).
So, what’s the secret sauce? How are they developing these athletes?
Athlete Focused
In 2007, Norway created “Children’s Rights in Sport”, a guidebook to cover sports up until the year children turn 12 years of age. This short document lays out Norway’s children’s rights within sport, focusing on these seven key tenants:
Safety & Security
Friendship & Well-being
Based on children’s needs
Mastery
Influence
Freedom to choose
Competitions for everyone
At this early stage, Norway is concerned about their children being self-reflective and having a level of ownership.
They don’t keep score, keep standings/rankings, or hold national championships at these young ages. This is part of their culture beyond sport. For example, Norwegian schools don’t issue grades until age 13.
Instead, Norway focuses on child participation and enjoyment. Youth athletic participation rates are above 90%. For reference, in the United States, this rate is just below 70%. This is a way that they can build greater depth and push all athletes, including their best and brightest.
Given that everyone develops at different paces, keeping the talent pool larger and for longer is a massive advantage. This is advantageous for both the elite athlete and the regular athlete.
Coaching Philosophy in Norway
As laid out in the Children’s Rights, there is a large emphasis on athletes developing themselves. They are their own coaches with “coaches” really acting more as mentors.
With this approach, Norway hopes not only to develop athletes, but great citizens as well.
In many countries, the parents will drive the kids to their training. In Norway, often the parents will train together with the kids. It starts with a radically different approach to sports based on a concept known as the “Joy of Sport for All.”
Beyond The Norweigan Winter
And it’s not just winter sports!
Magnus Carlsen is the #1 ranked chess player
Erling Haaland is arguably the best U21 striker (soccer) player in the world
Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Sorum won Olympic gold in beach volleyball
Casper Ruud is top-10 ranked in men’s tennis
Viktor Hovland is a top-10 ranked in men’s golf
In track and field, Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen hold world records.
Coincidence? I think not.
Norway is where Hockey IQ favorite soccer/football player, Erling Haaland, is from. How he developed as a kid is in line with Norway’s national spirit toward sport. Check out more about his record-breaking goal-scoring:
Further Reading
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