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…
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…
Every time I speak, I am always approached by parents who tell me that all the pressure and emphasis on winning for their young athlete, all the pressure to commit year round to a sport prior to puberty, just feels wrong. In their heart, they know that their children want to play multiple sports, and…
When I was a child, my father used to jokingly tell my siblings and I that he was convinced we had another brother whom he had never seen, but was quite the trouble maker. This brother, named “Not Me,” seemed to be responsible for every broken, dirty, and disheveled thing around the house. Who broke…
In part III, I share perhaps the biggest realization I ever had as a coach; the best coaches do not know it all! In fact, they are the first to admit it, and they never stop learning, never stop asking questions, and always are looking for ways to improve. If you want to be a…
In Part II of our 3 part series, I relate a simple business adage to sports. In business, it is said that if you take the five people who are your primary business advisers, add up what they make and divide by 5, that is probably what you are making. Coaching and leadership are similar.…