The Great Trophy Debate: Do We Need Participation Awards?
Wednesday, 09 September 2015
“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
- Published in Family Values, Participation Awards, Problems in Youth Sports
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Help, My Child is a Late Bloomer: 5 Tips for Overcoming the “Relative Age Effect” in Youth Sports
Friday, 29 May 2015
“Here is my question,” a mother concerned with her 10 year-old son’s sports experience recently wrote me. “I am not afraid that my son will quit sports by the time he is 13. I am afraid that he will be denied the opportunity to play. My son is coordinated and coachable. He LOVES sports; we
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Relative Age Effect, Sports Parenting
Why Kids Quit Sports
Tuesday, 05 May 2015
“I just can’t take it anymore coach,” a talented but underperforming player named Kate told me a few years back. “I think I am done playing.” My mind went through all the reasons this might be happening: burnout, other interests, team dynamics, I was too hard on her, the gamut. What could it be? “It’s
- Published in Coaching, Problems in Youth Sports, Sports Parenting
The Adultification of Youth Sports
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
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
- Published in Family Values, Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization
What Youth Sports can Learn from Video Games
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
On a recent sunny Saturday, I took my kids out to the local park to play soccer with some friends. They ran, they jumped, and they competed hard. They laughed, they schemed, and they made the rules. Everyone played, no one was excluded from the game, and all the kids tried and failed over and
- Published in Motivation, Sports Parenting, Uncategorized
Faster, Higher, Stronger: An Interview with Mark McClusky
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Every day the limits of the human body and being pushed. From sport science to nutrition, and from psychology to neuroscience, elite athletes are being trained differently, and are pushing the boundaries of performance. In his fantastic new book Faster, Higher, Stronger: How Sports Science Is Creating a New Generation of Superathletes–and What We Can
- Published in Book reviews, Talent Development
The Tipping Point in Youth Sports
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
“What happens to us parents and coaches,” I often get asked, “that turns us from sensible, relaxed people to stressed out adults roaming up and down sports sidelines and screaming at every play?” It is a question I ponder a lot, especially as I often get to watch my young children’s games played side by
- Published in Leadership, Problems in Youth Sports, Talent Development
Starting Your Athletes the Right Way
Thursday, 29 May 2014
(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
- Published in Coaching, Motivation, Sports Parenting
The 4th Path: Reinventing US Youth Soccer Player Development
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
When it comes to the development of young soccer players in the United States, many parents and coaches come to that proverbial fork in the road, and are unsure what path to take. Most parents want their child to try many sports, yet are faced with the harsh reality of high participation costs, nearly year-round
- Published in Coaching, Soccer, Specialization
What About the Single Sport Athlete? Specialization Part II
Monday, 27 January 2014
My article on sport specialization, “Is it Wise to Specialize,” prompted quite a bit of discussion, commentary, and controversy, with people chiming in from all across the globe. Certainly the dynamics of single v multiple sport participation, and its effect upon performance, injury, and burnout, is not a settled issue, and arouses many emotions. It
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization, Sports Parenting
Is it Wise to Specialize?
Monday, 13 January 2014
The greatest difference between our children’s sporting experience and our own is the rise of year round, sport specific organizations that ask – even require – season after season of participation in order to stay in the player development pipeline. The pressure to have your child specialize in a single sport at a young age
- Published in Problems in Youth Sports, Specialization, Sports Parenting
5 Thoughts That Will Change Your Youth Sports Experience for the Better
Wednesday, 01 January 2014
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit – and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But
- Published in Coaching, Family Values, Sports Parenting
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