SportsEngine

In his book “The Most Expensive Game in Town,” sports journalist Mark Hyman tells the story of a sports dad (the popular blogger StatsDad) who spent close to $10,000 on youth sports in 2010. Some of the costs you’d expect to see; $120 for basketball registration, new softball cleats for $38, $150 golf team membership fee and […]

Earlier this week we posted an article about helicopter sports parents, those ones who get a touch too involved in their child’s athletic career. And while most have good intentions (even if they are a bit overzealous about it) sometimes you run into a sports mom or dad who thinks their child is Heir Jordan. And […]

We can all agree that the cause of most strife in youth sports comes from parents. At times, some parents argue with the coaches and officials, don’t get their kids to practice on time, bad mouth the opponents and more. These “bad behaviors” can really drag down a team and, if they aren’t stopped, ruin the […]

No one likes to lose, especially when they feel like they gave their all and that they deserved to win. And while some players beat themselves up over a dropped pass, a missed kick, or a bad at-bat, other athletes look to play the blame game and pass the buck over to their teammates, the […]

Even though numerous studies have pointed out that unstructured playtime, like recess, improves children’s fitness, as well as benefits their social-emotional growth and academic performance, many schools across the country are cutting gym classes and shortening or even eliminating recess altogether. Some cite budget concerns, others are worried about student safety, while other schools want […]

According to Darkness2Light, an organization dedicated to the prevention of child abuse, “retrospective studies show that one in four women and one in six men were sexually abused before the age of 18. This means there are more than 42 million adult survivors of child sexual abuse in the U.S. Stories of sexual abuse in youth sports […]

Parents, coaches, and trainers are constantly debating the pros and cons of early specialization among youth athletes. Many parents believe that if their children are going to have any chance of earning an athletic scholarship to college one day they simply have to become a master of one sport as soon as possible. Having an […]

A few weeks ago we came across this New York Times story about a high school soccer player who was being recruited for a college team. Now obviously high school athletes get scouted and recruited every day, but the real crux of this story is that this soccer player is only 15. She’s a freshman but, “Before […]

It seems crazy that a fear of failure could actually lead to more failure, right? But sometimes athletes are so afraid of making mistakes they freeze on the field and actually end up making mistakes they would never make otherwise. A little pressure is good because it forces athletes to step up their game, but if you […]