Issues & Advice

The cost of protective equipment, sticks and ice time is one factor that keeps hockey lagging behind sports such as basketball and soccer in the U.S. among minority children. Megan Lincoln couldn’t put her son into hockey right away when he wanted to play. She didn’t have the time to take off from work to […]

Great tennis players make it look easy. Especially at the professional level things happen so fast that it’s tricky for new players to see all the components that go into good play. Tennis is a beautiful sport. The way the top players in the game seem to glide across the court to hit the winning […]

The point is that there’s no reason for a parent to be hostile towards another parent in any kind of environment. During our time as youth football parents, my wife and I have built some great friendships through our sons playing tackle and flag. I’ve always felt that with football provides a more familial atmosphere […]

Given the individual discrepancy among swimmers’ motivations, there is no universal solution for how all age groupers should be coached or parented. Imagine that you’re a 10-year-old swimmer and have just made your first state cut. You’ve been swimming for about three years now and have continued to drop time at each competition. You go […]

If you have to think about how you’re throwing, or guide the ball to get it to where you want it to go, you’re an error waiting to happen. Probably at a key point in the game. Recently I flew down to Nashville with my wife to visit my daughter (yes, a former fastpitch pitcher), […]

“I am the coach. I chose them to be on the team because I thought they were good enough. If they aren’t in a position to succeed, that’s my fault.” It was the playoffs. The game was tight and the clock was winding down. A player on the other team was just about to step […]

Getting stuck on the back side during the load is deadly to hitters. What they need to do instead is “bounce off” of it. Tell me if you’ve seen (or personally experienced) this before. A hitter looks great on the tee. All her mechanics are correct and her movements are correctly sequenced. She’s pounding the […]

In my eyes, that commitment means being a coach when I can, even if my own son isn’t playing for any reason. Sometimes we have to miss youth sports games – whether it’s a child not playing or a parent not watching. Unless illness or injury is involved, the missed game is usually due to […]

“I think if you’re truly, truly elite, if your goal is to be a world-class player and a pro” Two years ago — in a move that delighted some in women’s sports and shocked others — Olivia Moultrie announced that she had accepted a scholarship offer to play college soccer at the University of North […]