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…
“Your daughter is so beautiful.” The kind woman said, smiling at my 18-year-old daughter. “Thanks, she got her mother’s looks.” I said reflexively. Then I cringed. That’s my “go to response”. Anytime I receive a compliment on my daughter’s looks, I immediately reply about her genetic connection to her mother. She did get her mom’s…
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…
(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 [email protected] to say hello or if you interested…
(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…
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…
In 2002, I received a phone call from Patrick, a former high school player I had coached. He had graduated college and was applying to medical school. “Coach,” he said, “I just wanted to let you know that I am studying for my medical school exams, and it is really hard. But every time I…
“Do you want to win every game you play for the rest of your life?” That was a question that Olympic gold medalist and current USA Women’s Volleyball team head coach Karch Kiraly asked his team as they prepared for the 2014 World Championships. “Because we can,” he told them. They could schedule easy opponents,…
“Come on, you pachyderms,” boomed my first soccer coach, Tom Breit, with a big grin on his face. “Squash those bugs! Move your feet. Quicker, quicker! Come on O’Sullivan, is that as fast as you can go?” Calling us baby elephants? Telling us to squish bugs? What was going on here? We were 7-year-olds, learning…
This week we lost a true coaching legend, Pat Summit. Summit was an 8x national champion and never had a losing season at the University of Tennessee, but those were not her most impressive statistics. She valued academics, and being a lifelong learner, and as a result, every single one of her players who completed…