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
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Our Favorite Books for Summer 2018
Tuesday, 22 May 2018
Every year, as summer rolls around, we give you the list of our favorite reads of the year so far. Between Memorial Day, Fathers Day, and that upcoming vacation I hope you are taking, it’s a great time to catch up on some reading. There have been some great new books that have come out
- Published in Book reviews
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
In Youth Sports, there is no LTAD without STAE
Tuesday, 24 April 2018
“Imagine youth sports was a room. On one end of the room, there is a door where everyone enters. At the other end, there is another door where everyone leaves.” So began a long conversation I had with Peter Hugg, the Head of Football (soccer) for Football New South Wales in Australia, on my recent
- Published in Long Term Athlete Development, Motivation
Can Youth Sports be Both Fun and Competitive?
Tuesday, 03 April 2018
I got an email from a distraught parent the other day. She described a scene where the coach was screaming at the girls after a loss. She was beside herself at how the coach treated the girls. He was demeaning, he was loud and scary, and he had lost perspective on the age he was
- Published in Motivation, Youth Sports
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
When Will Youth Sports Actually Serve the Needs of Youth?
Wednesday, 07 March 2018
In late February I was traveling and speaking in Sydney and Perth, Australia, working for a variety of sports organizations including the Football (Soccer) Federation of Australia, Football New South Wales, the Western Australia Department of Sports and Recreation, and the WA Aussie Rules Football Committee. While on site, I got to visit the brand
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Relative Age Effect, Specialization
Pound the Rock! What the San Antonio Spurs Can Teach Us About Getting 1% Better Every Day
Wednesday, 07 February 2018
One of the most successful sporting franchises across the globe the last few decades is the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. With five NBA titles since 1999, 22 overall division titles, having won at least 50 games for 18 consecutive seasons, and having missed the playoffs only 4 times in their history, the Spurs
- Published in Deliberate Practice, Mental Toughness
Winning the Race to the Right Finish Line in Youth Sports
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Kevin McLaughlin, USA Hockey’s Director of Youth Hockey Development, was not looking forward to opening his email in January 2009. He knew it was going to be full of angry posts. He knew he and his colleagues at USA Hockey would be accused of destroying the game and taking the toughness out of the sport.
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
The Culture Code: Our 2017 Book of the Year (Plus Other Staff Picks)
Tuesday, 05 December 2017
It’s that time of year again, our final blog where we review our favorite books of 2017. There were some amazing books out there this year, and the choices were tough. This year, we also brought in some staff favorites to add to our master list. Hopefully, you can find a great read for the
- Published in Book reviews
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
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
Performance is a Behavior, NOT an Outcome!
Thursday, 21 September 2017
Last week I received the following email (edited for anonymity). We get calls and emails like this quite often from amazing, passionate coaches who are trying to make a difference. Take a read: Dear John, I’m currently a head football coach…I took over the program last January after being on staff for the previous 10
- Published in Coaching, Talent Development
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
Google it! What Youth Sports Can Learn from the Tech Giant About Building Great Teams
Wednesday, 26 July 2017
110-2. 24-0. Headed into the 2004 Olympic Games, the Men’s USA Basketball team was 110-2 all-time. They were 24-0 since the introduction of the 1992 “Dream Team”(NBA-era). The team consisted of current and future NBA stars. The best of the best. The greatest players from the greatest league in the world. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade,
- Published in Team Culture, Youth Sports
How to “Win at Losing” and our Other Favorite Books of 2017
Tuesday, 27 June 2017
As the summer holidays roll around for those of us in the northern hemisphere, it is a great time to do some reading. Twice a year we compile a list of the books we have enjoyed in the fields of athlete development, leadership, coaching, and parenting, and share them with our readers so that you
- Published in Book reviews
How Would You Spend $100 Million to Improve Your Favorite Sport? My Advice for US Soccer
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
What would you do with $100 million to improve the sport you love? It’s kind of a magic wand question, isn’t it? You have enough money to make a significant impact in a sport on every level, how do you spend it? Recently in the news, it has been reported that the US Soccer Federation
Can We Shift the Paradigm in Youth Sports?
Tuesday, 09 May 2017
I was recently in Ohio for a family event. At this event, my father and his friends began sharing stories of their childhood. Everyone shared stories of their days of triumph on the sporting fields in their small Midwest town. As the event progressed, it evolved into a full on discussion about youth sports coaching
- Published in Coaching, Sports Parenting
Lionel Messi and the Will to Compete
Tuesday, 25 April 2017
Lionel Messi lay battered on the turf. As he raised his head from the grass, he spit out a mouthful of blood and a tooth. He’d just taken an elbow to the face, one of many kicks, elbows, and bruises he would endure that day. Soon after another player was given a red card for
- Published in Mental Toughness, Messi
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
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
Should My Child Play Up? The Do’s and Don’ts of Moving Kids to Older Age Groups
Monday, 27 March 2017
Manchester United’s Carrington Training Center is not only one of the finest youth soccer academies in the world. On every field, the future of the club is evident, as aspiring young players dodge, weave, pass and move the United way. At the same time, everywhere you turn you stare at history. Images of Ryan Giggs,
- Published in Relative Age Effect, Talent Development
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
Is “Fear of Missing Out” Ruining Youth Sports?
Sunday, 12 March 2017
I remember the day I coached my son TJ’s first soccer game. He was only five, and I was so proud, so excited, and couldn’t wait for him to play the game I loved. There was one problem. He didn’t want to play. When the game was about to start, he said, “Dad I don’t
- Published in Sports Parenting
Developing Warriors, not Winners, is the Path to Excellence
Sunday, 05 March 2017
(This week’s blog is written by Reed Maltbie, our new Chief Content Officer and Lead Presenter for Changing the Game Project. If you haven’t seen Reed present for us yet, check out his amazing TED talk on the lasting power of a coach’s words. Drop him a line at Reed@ChangingTheGameProject.com to say hello or if you interested
- Published in Coaching, Parenting, Team Culture