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Approaching 2021 with Grace, Patience and Kindness

Monday, 04 January 2021 by John O'Sullivan
As we wind down the year 2020, a year in which Dictionary.com named the word “unprecedented” as its word of the year, I have been using some holiday downtime to think about 2021, and how to improve upon the challenges of the past 9 months. And the word I keep coming upon is “grace.” I
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  • Published in Coaching, Motivation, Sports Parenting
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How to be a Great Sports Parent During and After COVID-19

Monday, 29 June 2020 by John O'Sullivan
Many years ago, when I first started Changing the Game Project, I travelled to Los Angeles to speak at a parent education day for The Brentwood School. The keynote speaker that day was psychologist and author Madeline Levine. She has written two NY Times bestsellers on parenting (The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children
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  • Published in COVID-19, Parenting
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Another Great Coach Bites the Dust. How Sad!

Wednesday, 05 February 2020 by John O'Sullivan
Yesterday was a tough day. It was a tough day because I had a conversation with another coaching friend who had lost his job. He was not fired for doing anything illegal. He was not fired for anything inappropriate. He was not fired for bullying or demeaning behavior. He was complimented for his integrity and
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  • Published in Coaching, High School Sports, Problems in Youth Sports
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Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, our Favorite book so far in 2019

Friday, 14 June 2019 by John O'Sullivan
Yes, it is summer, which means it’s time to sit back, relax and catch up on some reading. Well, you are in luck, because this has been a banner year for some new releases, plus some 2018 books I am just getting to. Let’s go! Best Book (so far) of 2019 Range: Why Generalists Triumph
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  • Published in Book reviews
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#105 Parenting Young Champions and Peak Performance with Gold Medal Winning Sport Psychologist Dr Roberta Kraus

Sunday, 10 March 2019 by John O'Sullivan
Dr. Roberta V. Kraus is currently featured as an expert in a new video series launched by TrueSport, an educational program powered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that inspires athletes, coaches, parents, and administrators to change the culture of youth sport through active engagement based on cornerstone lessons of sportsmanship, character-building, and clean and healthy
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  • Published in Podcast
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#104 “You Coach a Child, Not a Sport!” with Dr. Martin Toms

Monday, 04 March 2019 by John O'Sullivan
Dr Martin Toms is a senior lecturer in Sports Coaching in the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences. Dr Toms has been involved in sport coaching and development for a number of years, and has experience of teaching in schools, as well as coaching (Professionally) prior to undertaking posts
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  • Published in Podcast
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The Best Sports Books of 2018

Monday, 26 November 2018 by John O'Sullivan
Yes, it is that time of year again, time for our favorite books of 2018, and time to get the coaches, parents and athletes in our lives some good holiday reading material. The Changing the Game Project team is always reading, always listening, and always learning, in order to help you take your coaching, parenting,
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  • Published in Book reviews
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The Culture Code: Our 2017 Book of the Year (Plus Other Staff Picks)

Tuesday, 05 December 2017 by John O'Sullivan
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
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  • Published in Book reviews
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WOC #35 Dr. Peter Vint, Former USOC High-Performance Specialist, on Coaching and Parenting Elite Athletes

Sunday, 12 November 2017 by John O'Sullivan
Do the principles and beliefs we discuss regarding youth athletes apply to “elite” athletes? How do you approach the process of parenting elite athletes? Dr. Peter Vint, one of the world’s top experts on high-performance athletes, shares his views on elite athletes, quality coaching, and parenting at all levels of the game. Bio Dr. Peter
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  • Published in Podcast
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WOC #32 Emmy Winning ESPN Reporter Tom Farrey on Creating Sport For All and Play for Life

Sunday, 22 October 2017 by John O'Sullivan
Did you know only 1 in 5 youth coaches are properly trained in motivational techniques and only 1 and 3 are properly trained in skills and tactics? The big reason for this fact is the myth that volunteers can’t or don’t want to be trained. In this episode, Tom Farrey, of The Aspen Institute’s Project
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  • Published in Podcast
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When Will What We Know Change What We Do in Youth Sports?

Tuesday, 13 June 2017 by John O'Sullivan
“My daughter and I had to miss her grandfather’s funeral when she was 12 for a cheerleading competition.” I had to read that twice to be sure what I was reading. This was an actual comment we received recently on Facebook. We receive a lot of heartbreaking stories from readers, but this one sentence stopped
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  • Published in Bullying, Parenting, Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting, Youth Sports
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Lionel Messi and the Will to Compete

Tuesday, 25 April 2017 by John O'Sullivan
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
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  • Published in Mental Toughness, Messi
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It’s Time to End the Sideline Sportsanity

Monday, 10 April 2017 by John O'Sullivan
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
family valuesparentingpositive sports experiencesproblems in youth sportssports parentingsupporting young refereesyouth sports
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  • Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting
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Don’t Turn Your Young Athlete Into a Mini Me

Sunday, 19 March 2017 by John O'Sullivan
“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
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  • Published in Sports Parenting
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Is “Fear of Missing Out” Ruining Youth Sports?

Sunday, 12 March 2017 by John O'Sullivan
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
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  • Published in Sports Parenting
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An Open Letter from the Back Seat

Tuesday, 31 January 2017 by John O'Sullivan
Dear Mom and Dad I wanted to start this letter by saying I love you, and I know you mean well. I appreciate all the time and energy you put into taking me to my games and practices, and I know you sacrifice a lot to do it. I also appreciate when you try to
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  • Published in Sports Parenting
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Why Kids Play Sports

Monday, 09 January 2017 by John O'Sullivan
“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
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  • Published in Problems in Youth Sports
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Our 2016 Books of the Year

Saturday, 03 December 2016 by John O'Sullivan
“You cannot open a book without learning something.” – Confucius Yes, it is that time of year again, the time where our staff shares some of our favorite reads in the world of coaching, parenting, and athlete development. We are all avid readers and lifelong learners, and every year we pour through numerous books, articles,
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  • Published in Book reviews
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Never Stop Learning: 3 Essential New Books for Parents and Coaches

Wednesday, 29 June 2016 by John O'Sullivan
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
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  • Published in Book reviews, Coaching
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It’s Time for the NCAA to Stop the Early Recruiting Insanity

Thursday, 19 May 2016 by John O'Sullivan
I recently received a phone call from a friend who is one of the national directors of coaching for a major US sport governing body. He told me the story of a recent phone call his office received from a distraught parent: “We just had tryout for our local club and my son was placed
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  • Published in College Recruiting, High School Sports, Youth Sports
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Raising the Bar in Youth Sports

Tuesday, 05 January 2016 by John O'Sullivan
“Have I ever told you about the defining moment of my coaching career?” long time University of Portland baseball coach Chris Sperry asked me the other day over lunch. “It is a speech that changed everything for me at the 1996 American Baseball Coaches Association convention.” “No, please tell,” I said between bites, and so
coachingparentingproblems in youth sportsyouth sports
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  • Published in Baseball, Coaching, Family Values
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3 Words Every Athlete Needs to Hear

Monday, 30 November 2015 by John O'Sullivan
By James Leath “STOP LOOKING AT YOUR PHONE!” yells Tasha, a point guard on the 6th grade YMCA basketball team I was coaching. Immediately, I smile and start to explain to her that I forgot my watch and I needed to make sure we were on schedule. Tasha rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed with my
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  • Published in Article
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Redefining Success: 8 Tips for Being a Great Sports Parent

Wednesday, 28 October 2015 by John O'Sullivan
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
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  • Published in Article
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Release Your Child to the Game!

Sunday, 27 September 2015 by John O'Sullivan
“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
parentingpositive sports experiencesproblems in youth sportssports parentingyouth sports
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  • Published in Goal Setting, Sports Parenting, TED talks
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The Great Trophy Debate: Do We Need Participation Awards?

Wednesday, 09 September 2015 by John O'Sullivan
“Daddy, do we get trophies for playing lacrosse this spring?” my son asked me a few months back. “No, you get to go out and run around and have lots of fun while learning lacrosse,” I said. “OK!” Then he turned and ran out on the field for the start of his first practice. According
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  • Published in Family Values, Participation Awards, Problems in Youth Sports
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3 Myths that are Destroying the Youth Sports Experience for our Kids

Saturday, 25 July 2015 by John O'Sullivan
Every year, I travel throughout the US, Canada, Asia and Europe, and give well over 100 presentations to parents and coaches. I speak to tens of thousands of people about youth sports, coaching, and athlete development. Every time I do a live event, I get asked the following question: “If you are presenting all this
10000 hoursparentingspecializationyouth sports
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  • Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Relative Age Effect, Specialization
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The Adultification of Youth Sports

Tuesday, 17 March 2015 by John O'Sullivan
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
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  • Published in Family Values, Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
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The Best Youth Sports Books of 2014

Monday, 24 November 2014 by John O'Sullivan
As you may know, I am an avid reader, especially when it comes to youth sports, psychology, coaching, leadership and sport science. I buy a lot of books, and I drive my wife crazy because our bookshelves are overflowing, yet still I purchase more. And every year, I like to compile a list of the
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  • Published in Book reviews
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Are Great Coaches Becoming an Endangered Species?

Thursday, 11 September 2014 by John O'Sullivan
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
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  • Published in Coaching, Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports
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Starting Your Athletes the Right Way

Thursday, 29 May 2014 by John O'Sullivan
(A child’s first contact and first impression of a sport goes a long way to determining whether or not he will fall in love with the game. As basketball great Steve Nash says, upon receiving his first ball and playing in his first organized league at age 13, “I felt like I had a new
coachingconfidencefamily valuesmindset for athletesparentingpositive sports experiencesyouth sports
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  • Published in Coaching, Motivation, Sports Parenting
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