WOC #74 Anthony Latronica, US U17 Men’s National Team and US Men’s Paralympic Assistant Coach, on the Importance of Developing Players at Every Age and Stage
Sunday, 12 August 2018
- Published in Podcast
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WOC #65 The Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance with Alex Hutchinson, former elite runner and author of the bestselling book Endure
Sunday, 10 June 2018
- Published in Podcast
WOC #64 “I’m just a kid playing a game”: Overcoming adversity, managing disappointment, and building an athlete warrior ethos with USA Volleyball Player Cassidy Lichtman
Sunday, 03 June 2018
- Published in Podcast
Can Youth Sports be Both Fun and Competitive?
Tuesday, 03 April 2018
- Published in Motivation, Youth Sports
#55 Coaching John McEnroe and Other Great Tales from 17x NCAA Champion Stanford Tennis Coach, Dick Gould
Sunday, 01 April 2018
- Published in Podcast
Pound the Rock! What the San Antonio Spurs Can Teach Us About Getting 1% Better Every Day
Wednesday, 07 February 2018
- Published in Deliberate Practice, Mental Toughness
WOC #30 What Makes Sports Fun for Athletes of All Ages with Amanda Visek, PhD.
Sunday, 08 October 2017
Fun. It is the biggest reason kids play sports and it is also the biggest reason they quit. That is widely known. What is not widely known is the fact kids define fun differently than us adults. In fact, they define fun 81 different ways. You’d be surprised at what they consider fun… Subscribe
- Published in Podcast, Youth Sports
WOC #9 Rise and Shine with English Premier League and World Cup Soccer Player Jay DeMerit
Monday, 15 May 2017
Jay DeMerit has one of the most unique stories to success the sport of soccer has ever seen. An MLS reject that backpacked to Europe and climbed the English soccer pyramid from the 12th tier to become the captain of Watford FC in the English Premier League. He also represented the US Mens National Team
Developing Warriors, not Winners, is the Path to Excellence
Sunday, 05 March 2017
- Published in Coaching, Parenting, Team Culture
Why Kids Quit Sports
Tuesday, 05 May 2015
- 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
The Bare Essentials: Three Things Every Athlete Needs to Succeed
Thursday, 06 February 2014
Elite performance is determined by a number of factors, amongst them innate talent and genetics, hours of deliberate training, coaching, and luck. But performance is also great affected by what is between an athlete’s ears: mindset. An athlete’s state of mind is perhaps the single greatest factor that affects performance. In his great book The
- Published in Coaching, Motivation, Sports Parenting
The Armpit of American Youth Sports: “Friday Night Tykes”
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
The armpit is the part of the body that is dark, stinky, and unattractive. Everyone has one, but no one wants to see it or acknowledge it, and would rather cover it up and move on. The armpit of American youth sports is the culture of win-at-all-costs, uneducated, over the top coaches and parents who
- Published in Coaching, Injuries, Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports, Youth Football
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
Our Biggest Mistake: Talent Selection Instead of Talent Identification
Monday, 09 December 2013
Many youth sports coaches claim to be great talent identifiers, and point to the results of their 11 year all star team as proof. Yet they are not talent identifiers. They are talent selectors. The difference could not be more striking, or more damaging to our country’s future talent pool in many sports. Talent selection
- Published in Coaching, Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting
The Missing Ingredient
Monday, 02 December 2013
If you have coached long enough, you have probably said this about a player: “He’s got a lot of talent, but he is just missing something.” I have written on similar subjects in the past, and there has been academic research in this area. In all likelihood, that missing ingredient was often the inner drive
- Published in Mental Toughness, Sports Parenting
Coaches, a Little Common Sense Please!
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
“My 8 year old had 6 days of soccer last week!” “My 11 year old’s coach said he could not play on any other soccer teams except his. No futsal with his friends, no indoor, nothing but this team.” “My 13 year old was told that if he did not commit to play Fall baseball,
- Published in Coaching, Leadership
Is Losing Stressing You Out? Try This New Mindset to Fix it!
Saturday, 19 October 2013
As a young coach, I was convinced that there were only two possible outcomes to a game, winning or losing. Of course, losing was to be avoided at all costs, even if that meant not playing weaker players, benching underperformers, criticizing referees, you name it. Then I started to study people whom I would call
- Published in Coaching, Leadership
Mental Toughness Week
Tuesday, 01 October 2013
Why are we so afraid to challenge kids these days, or to let our kids be challenged? We all know that our greatest accomplishments, the things we are most proud of in our lives, be they building a business, or our family, or athletic achievements, all came with struggle! Nothing great comes easy. This week
- Published in Confidence, Mental Toughness
Why We Rage: The Science Behind Crazy Parents and Over the Top Coaches
Friday, 13 September 2013
Have you ever noticed when you go to your child’s soccer game that you react one way to bad calls, aggressive fouls, or intense situations in your game, but have little or no reaction to similar situations in the game prior to yours, where you have no emotional stake? Do you can sit there with
- Published in Coaching, Leadership, Sports Parenting