Issues & Advice

Studies show that being physically active through football lowers body fat, strengthens muscles and increases the likelihood of continuing good health habits later in life. Football is blue-collar America. It’s working class, working together. In this game – America’s favorite game – there are no isolation plays that cast a team aside. Nor are there […]

Scan the body language of each player immediately following an error. This will tell you who is fully engaged and who isn’t. Coaches are frequently consumed with their own self-anointed routines, content to stay within their scripted behavioral paradigms. If you think you might be one of those coaches, here’s a suggestion: Next time your […]

When we see our kids are giving it their all, let them know how proud we are. Letting our kids know that we value effort and hard work will encourage them to keep trying. Two outstanding traits of swimmers are perseverance and grit. We hear those words tossed around the pool deck, but what exactly […]

So, it’s okay to do things that you don’t really love every day. You know, you don’t have to be real passionate about it sometimes for it to be meaningful and important.” Former bodybuilding champion John Brown has the winning formula for raising great athletes. All three of his sons earned Division I football scholarships […]

You are completely aware that if this coach were a math teacher, it would be not only appropriate, but your moral obligation to go report this adult’s behavior to the principal. You know the email. It’s the one you receive at the start of the sports season from the head coach of your child’s team. […]

When doing quarterback throwing drills for accuracy, often bags or other targets can take the place of athletes. If you do not have enough athletes around, for example, you can use stand up bags. I have heard it time after time: “My kid can throw the football a country mile.”  “He has got a cannon […]

Don’t trash talk the coach. Let your children vent, if they feel the need, but don’t join in on their rants. This only feeds their frustration. In an ideal season, parents and coaches work together — sports parents feel supported by the coach, and the coach feels supported by the parents. Everyone — players, coaches […]

It’s very easy for players to slip into their comfort zone when they’re practicing or playing. Unfortunately, for many that comfort zone may be far less than they’re capable of achieving when pushed. The other day I was reading an article in the NFCA’s Fastpitch Delivery newspaper. It was written by Megan Brown, Ph.D., an assistant coach at […]