Youth Sports is a Journey (And We Have Lots to Be Grateful For)
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
This week I wanted to share with you some thoughts I recently sent to my local youth soccer club. I wrote these as I was working in the Middle East, visiting a series of international schools and doing coach, parent and leadership education in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kuwait. It was a fascinating trip, as I learned
- Published in Adversity, High School Sports, Parenting
No Comments
#319 A Mediterranean Tapas Chat with Todd Beane of TOVO Academy, Skye Eddy of Soccer Parenting, and John O’Sullivan of Changing the Game Project
Friday, 07 April 2023
This week we bring you a special episode recorded in Sitges, Spain with TOVO Academy Founder Todd Beane (@_ToddBeane), Soccer Parenting founder Skye Eddy (@SoccerParenting), and John. We all happened to cross paths in Spain when John’s team was participating in a training week at TOVO, and we took the opportunity to have a few
How Adults Take the Joy Out of Sports (And How We Can Fix It)
Tuesday, 03 January 2023
We have all seen it. I was recently watching a 12-year-old boys soccer game, and I saw it again. Like a deer in the headlights, the left defender on the blue team was seemingly stranded on the field and unsure where to go or what to do. He turned to one sideline, where his coach
- Published in Coaching, Long Term Athlete Development, Problems in Youth Sports
#287 Adam Kuhn, Founder of Satori Soccer, on Using Surveys and Data Analytics to Improve Player Experience and Build a Better Youth Sports Organization
Friday, 26 August 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Adam Kuhn is the director of a nonprofit startup, Satori Soccer (www.satorisoccer.org), a youth soccer coach, and has a business background in data analytics in the field of improving customer experiences. In a youth sports world that is increasingly using analytics to improve performance on the field, the importance of player
- Published in Data Analytics, Podcast, Problems in Youth Sports, Soccer
Is Your Child’s Youth Sports Experience Transactional or Transformational?
Tuesday, 12 July 2022
This week I am headed to Chicago to speak at a youth sports conference called Rev, for clients of one of our partners, the web development and online registration organization Sprocket Sports. I have been tasked with moderating a panel called “The Secret Sauce of Taking Your Club from Transactional to Transformational,” and I am
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Soccer, Team Culture
#258 Bill Beswick, Olympic and World Cup Sports Psychologist, on the Mindset of Winning Teams and Habits of Elite Coaches (Replay)
Friday, 04 February 2022
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Bill Beswick is recognized as a world leader in the field of applied sports psychology and especially renowned for his work with professional elite soccer teams. With an academic background to Masters degree level and experience as Head Coach to England Men’s Basketball Team (Commonwealth Games Gold Medal Winners), Bill was
#252 How to Transform the Culture of Your Youth Sports Program with Nate Baldwin, Founder of Red Ball Nation (replay)
Friday, 24 December 2021
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Nate Baldwin (@NBaldwin75) has nearly 20 years of recreational sports industry experience as an entrepreneur, program administrator, and advocate for inclusive, high quality sport experiences. Nate’s diverse career has spanned from the creation and management of a successful adult recreation organization in Denver, CO, to the revitalization of the Appleton (WI)
- Published in Podcast, Problems in Youth Sports
#248 Stuart Armstrong: A Conversation with The Talent Equation Host About the Latest Developments in Coaching Education
Friday, 26 November 2021
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher This week we welcome back Stuart Armstrong (@stu_arm) to the podcast. Stuart is the Head of Coaching for Sport England and the host of one of our favorite podcasts, The Talent Equation., He spends his days helping to elevate the coaching profession, develop educational pathways for grassroots coaches, and so much
#242 Coach Jerome Gumbs, Founder of Empower Me Academy: How to Create a Transformational Life Experience Through Sports, Develop Leaders, and Focus on Everyday Excellence
Friday, 15 October 2021
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Coach Jerome Gumbs is a former collegiate and professional basketball player and the founder of Empower Me Academy (www.empowermeacademy.net). After a successful collegiate career at University of San Francisco, he played 8 years of professional basketball in Europe and South America, ultimately winning a European Championship. He returned to the US
- Published in Leadership, Podcast
#234 Dr. Richard Bailey: How to Turn Coaching into a True Profession (Replay)
Sunday, 22 August 2021
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Is the way we coach based upon the latest science, research, and best practices of how children learn? Or is it based upon how we were coached growing up? In this fantastic interview, Dr. Richard Bailey (@DrDickB), Head of Research at ICSSPE, separates fact from fiction and discusses some of the
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Podcast, Problems in Youth Sports
#233 Dr. Jean Cote: Long Term Athlete Development Starts with Immediate Positive Experiences
Sunday, 15 August 2021
Listen on the web, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher Dr. Jean Côté (@JeanCote46) is professor and Director in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University at Kingston (Canada). His research interests are in the areas of children in sport, coaching, positive youth development, and sport expertise. Dr. Côté has published more than 130 papers on a variety
- Published in Coaching, Parenting, Podcast, Specialization
Youth Sports is a Journey, Not a Destination
Monday, 14 September 2020
COVID. Demonstrations and riots. Divisive politics. Home schooling. Wildfires. Smoke. As a coach for 30 years, and a parent for nearly 15 of those years, I am probably like most of you in that I cannot remember a crazier, more stressful, anxiety inducing year than 2020. It seems every time we take one step forward, we
- Published in Parenting
Are Sports Fundamentally Good?
Thursday, 26 December 2019
I recently came across a great quote from the poet TS Elliot, who says “Nothing pleases people more than to go on thinking what they have always thought, and at the same time imagine that they are thinking something new and daring: it combines the advantage of security with the delight of adventure.” The quote
- Published in Coaching, Parenting, Problems in Youth Sports
#103 How to Build a Model Youth Sports Organization w/ John Luetkemeyer
Sunday, 24 February 2019
Join us as we talk to John Luetkemeyer about how a youth sports organization went from a local disaster to national recognition based on volunteers changing how we trained players! It is an incredible conversation filled with nuggets of wisdom. John has spent 25 years as a youth hockey coach working with players from mini-mite to high
- Published in Podcast
#79 The Power of Influence: A Fireside Chat with John and Jerry about how coaches, parents and teammates can impact their teams in a positive way
Sunday, 16 September 2018
What is influence, why is it never neutral, and how can we be more intentional about positively influencing our athletes? Join the Fireside Chat with Jerry and John now to find out more! Enjoy the Show! Show Notes 11:30 Joy should be the first core value of sports 15:15 What is influence 26:00 The influence
- Published in Podcast
#73 Jerry Lynch and John O’Sullivan discuss how we use the R.I.V.E.R. effect to Connect with our Athletes, and you can too
Sunday, 05 August 2018
Some coaches may win a few games or even a championship using bullying tactics without creating any kind of connection or caring environment with the players. If they’d followed the R.I.V.E.R. effect could they have won more? Could they have impacted lives beyond the game? John and Jerry discuss the acronym RIVER and its vital
- Published in Podcast
How Do I Balance My WHY with the Demands of the Youth Sports Culture?
Tuesday, 31 July 2018
“This season was a disaster.” A former colleague of mine said to me recently. “We had a ton of fun, the kids learned a lot of new skills and gelled as a team, but we didn’t win as many games as last season.” “Fun and learning are the two primary things we always wanted out
- Published in Article
Parenting and Coaching The Perfectionist Athlete
Tuesday, 08 May 2018
Last week, we received a question that we get often, so we thought it would make a great blog: “I was wondering if you could provide some advice. My son is 8 years old and plays on a travel baseball team. [He is ] blessed with athleticism. He’s fast and has great hand-eye coordination. The
How to Make Coaching a True Profession
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
“It ain’t what you know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you know that just ain’t true.” – Mark Twain “What makes you a professional?” That was the question Dr. Richard Bailey, Head of Research at the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education, posed to me and 250 PGA instructors in Orlando
- Published in Coaching
#41 Continuing the Legacy of Johan Cruyff with TOVO Academy and Cruyff Institute Founder, Todd Beane
Tuesday, 26 December 2017
What would it be like to spend 14 years working alongside and learning from one of the greatest coaches of all time – Johan Cruyff? We asked Todd Beane that question and more in our most recent podcast. Download it now. Bio Todd graduated from Dartmouth College in 1986 with a B.A. in English Literature.
- Published in Podcast
The One Question All Coaches Should Ask Their Athletes
Wednesday, 08 November 2017
Coaches, imagine if there was a way to gain insight, understanding, and connection with your athletes by asking a simple question? There is. let me explain how. A few years back, I coached a talented, yet underperforming sixteen-year-old girl I will call Maddy. She was incredibly inconsistent in her play and often looked very depressed.
- Published in Coaching
WOC #34 Best Selling Author, Dan Heath, on How Coaches can Create Extraordinary Moments for their Athletes
Sunday, 05 November 2017
Everyone has these defining moments in their lives that they vividly recall. Some are extraordinary and some are terrible. As coaches, we do not get to choose which moments our athletes recall, but we do get to choose the moments we create in order to ensure what we leave our athletes with are exceptionally positive
The “Power of Moments” in Youth Sports
Tuesday, 17 October 2017
The Magic Castle Hotel is one of the top three rated hotels in Los Angeles. Of its nearly 3000 reviews, 93% rate it very good or excellent, putting it above properties such as The Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton. Yet, as you flip through the photos online, you don’t see much that makes you
WOC #25 Dr. Richard Bailey, Head of Research at ICSSPE, On What We Need to Make Coaching a True Profession
Sunday, 03 September 2017
Is the way we coach based upon the latest science, research, and best practices of how children learn? Or is it based upon how we were coached growing up? In this fantastic interview, Dr. Richard Bailey, Head of Research at ICSSPE, separates fact from fiction and discusses some of the common mistakes that he sees
A Final Game of H-O-R-S-E
Tuesday, 08 August 2017
A few years back, my wife Lauren and I took our kids back for one final visit to her childhood home in Fairport, NY. Her parents were preparing to sell their house and move to a warmer climate, and we took the opportunity to fly across the country to say some final goodbyes to the
- Published in Family Values, Parenting
It’s Time to End the Sideline Sportsanity
Monday, 10 April 2017
As soon as I stepped out of my car in the parking lot, I could hear it. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon of travel soccer, but there it was. You know what I’m talking about: that sometimes beautiful, often times excruciating cacophony of sounds that we have come to know as “cheering for our
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting
Is Your Child’s Youth Sports Experience Transactional or Transformational?
Monday, 03 April 2017
Back in January 2017 I moderated a panel at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention on “Reimagining Youth Development in the United States.” An audience member asked us very interesting question. He spoke about how families were always jumping ship to the neighboring club that focused on winning and not development. The neighboring
- Published in club sports, Family Values
Why Kids Play Sports
Monday, 09 January 2017
“What do you think is going to change in the next ten years?” That is a question that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos gets all the time. He thinks that is an interesting question, but not the best one people could ask. “I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports
The Rule of One: How One Person, One Comment, One Time Can Change a Life Forever
Monday, 21 November 2016
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a junior in high school, and sat three rows back, middle row of my English literature class at St Anthony’s High School in New York. Brother Jeff, a Franciscan brother who was a pleasant combination strict and jovial, was my teacher. He was handing back some
- Published in Coaching, Motivation
- 1
- 2