#45 How a tiny Vermont town quietly became a Cradle of Olympians with Karen Crouse
Sunday, 21 January 2018
A small town in Vermont, with only 3,000 full-time inhabitants has put at least one athlete in every Olympic games since 1984, including the highest ever finisher in the ski jump from the US. What are they doing to create such elite athletes? The answer has little to do with sports… Bio Karen Crouse is a
- Published in Podcast
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WOC #21 Nate Sanderson, Two-Time Iowa High School State Champion Basketball Coach, On The Art of Engaging Parents in a Winning Team Culture
Sunday, 06 August 2017
If an athlete’s inner dialogue is made up of the voices they hear most often and most intensely in their daily lives, what are we as parents and coaches saying that can form a champion’s mind? Join us as we talk to Two-time Iowa High School State Basketball Championship winning coach, Nate Sanderson, to discuss
- Published in Coaching, Podcast, Sports Parenting
WOC #13 Nicole LaVoi, Co-Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport
Sunday, 11 June 2017
Author of Women in Sports Coaching, Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer in the area of social and behavioral sciences in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota where she is also the Co-Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, and the co-founder of the
The Talent That Whispers
Tuesday, 18 April 2017
The scouts snickered. They looked at the time again. To this day the 5.28 second 40 yard dash time is one of the slowest for quarterbacks in the history of the NFL combine. His 24.5 inch vertical leap didn’t have them lining up at his door either. He had been a good, but not an
- Published in Relative Age Effect, Talent Development
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
Don’t Turn Your Young Athlete Into a Mini Me
Sunday, 19 March 2017
“Dad, am I a disappointment to you?” My son asked, choking back tears. I stopped dead in my tracks. We were walking out of a local amusement park on our way to the car. We had spent the day at the park to bond. It seems the plan backfired. I gathered myself. Inside I was
- Published in Sports Parenting
The Unspoken Problem in Sports
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
(This week’s blog was written by Alecko Eskandarian (@alecko11), former US National Team player and current Assistant Coach of the NY Cosmos of the NASL. This article originally appeared 11/18/16 on the Players Tribune and they have graciously granted us permission to reprint it. We have read many articles about concussions, and this one really
- Published in Concussions, Injuries
Coaches, Stop ‘Dealing with Parents’ and Start Engaging Them!
Monday, 12 December 2016
(This article was written by Nate Sanderson and originally appeared on Breakthrough Basketball. Nate is a great friend of Changing The Game Project and coach of the Iowa State Champion Springville Girls Basketball Team. We highly encourage every coach and parent to read this and institute this in your team). For the past 14 years
- Published in Coaching, High School Sports
What is Your Club’s D.N.A.?
Sunday, 24 January 2016
(This weeks blog is written by Todd Beane, Founder of TOVO International. Todd is the co-founder of Cruyff Football and Senior Advisor to the Cruyff Institute, and has consulted for FC Barcelona, Ajax Amsterdam, Chivas Guadalajara, Melbourne City FC, Mamelodi Sundowns, Austrian Football Federation) “We pretty much let the coaches decide what to do with
- Published in Leadership, Team Culture
Does Youth Sports Get the Math All Wrong?
Monday, 14 December 2015
“I did not know there would be math on this test,” is something I say (jokingly) when I get a difficult question at my speaking engagements. Recently, I received an email from a frantic mom, and it got me thinking about math. Yes, math. When it comes to our current sporting environment, I think we often
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization, Talent Development
Redefining Success: 8 Tips for Being a Great Sports Parent
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
By James Leath “When did parenting get to be so stressful?” began a recent post on the Changing the Game Project Facebook page. “I worry that if I don’t provide them with the best equipment, or get them on the best team, or take them to every camp or tournament, then I am letting my
- Published in Article
Release Your Child to the Game!
Sunday, 27 September 2015
“I don’t know where to turn,” an exasperated dad recently told me after a speaking event. “My son is fast, and he is skilled. We do lots of extra practice, we go to a private skills coach, we are doing everything it takes to get to the next level, but something is not right. He
- Published in Goal Setting, Sports Parenting, TED talks
The 4 Biggest Problems in Youth Sports Today
Friday, 03 April 2015
When you run an organization such as the Changing the Game Project, you hear many youth sports stories from parents, coaches, and players. Some stories are absolutely heartbreaking, others inspiring. Recently I encountered the absurd. Many of us have seen the news about a volleyball player from Washington DC who was taking her playing time
- Published in Family Values, Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
The Adultification of Youth Sports
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
The other day I had a conversation with a coaching colleague about the state of youth sports. I stated that the emphasis on travel sports and playing multiple games per day for young children was hurting kids and damaging sports. “I agree with what you are saying,” he said, “but you are forgetting that youth
- Published in Family Values, Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
The Enemy of Excellence in Youth Sports
Thursday, 08 January 2015
“My daughter is the tallest fourth grader in her class and loves to play basketball,” said a father to me recently. “Sadly, I know that she will ultimately grow to be of average height. Since she is now only allowed to rebound and give the ball to shorter-ball handler players on her team, she will
- Published in Coaching, Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting
The Tipping Point in Youth Sports
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
“What happens to us parents and coaches,” I often get asked, “that turns us from sensible, relaxed people to stressed out adults roaming up and down sports sidelines and screaming at every play?” It is a question I ponder a lot, especially as I often get to watch my young children’s games played side by
- Published in Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports, Talent Development
Is Social Media Ruining Your Youth Sports Experience?
Wednesday, 24 September 2014
Do you turn get on Facebook, or Pinterest, or Instagram, and ever think to yourself “Everyone’s kid has a trophy, won their big game, and is having great success, but mine is not?” Does it drive you nuts when everyone else’s kids seem to be achieving something remarkable, or looking so happy, and you are
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting, Talent Development
Are Great Coaches Becoming an Endangered Species?
Thursday, 11 September 2014
When you are in the coaching profession, one of the things you learn early on is not to take things too personally. Your biggest fans when you win may become your biggest critics when you lose. Your players may love you one moment, and grumble the next, and it is important to maintain perspective and
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports
FUN is NOT a 4-letter Word!
Monday, 07 July 2014
When I was a kid, my parents taught me to avoid those bad four letter words we all have heard. You know the ones I mean, the ones that you would first hear in school and then think it was OK to use them at home, until you saw that look on dad’s face! My
- Published in Coaching, Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting
Changing the Game in Youth Sports
Saturday, 21 June 2014
On April 26, 2014 I had the honor of presenting a talk at TEDx Bend Oregon entitled “Changing the Game in Youth Sports.” The power of the TED platform, and its international recognition as a brand that brings “ideas worth sharing” to the forefront of conversation, was such an incredible platform to be able to
- Published in Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports, TED talks
Is it Wise to Specialize?
Monday, 13 January 2014
The greatest difference between our children’s sporting experience and our own is the rise of year round, sport specific organizations that ask – even require – season after season of participation in order to stay in the player development pipeline. The pressure to have your child specialize in a single sport at a young age
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization, Sports Parenting
5 Thoughts That Will Change Your Youth Sports Experience for the Better
Wednesday, 01 January 2014
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit – and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But
- Published in Coaching, Family Values, Sports Parenting
The Most Thought Provoking Sports Books of 2013
Monday, 16 December 2013
Now that I get to make my living as a writer and a speaker, I have many perks. Perhaps my favorite is that I get to write off all of my book purchases as a business expense, research for past and future writing! In 2013, I read a ton of great books, but here are
- Published in Book reviews, Coaching, Leadership, Sports Parenting