Issues & Advice

Before enrolling your child in a sport program, ask yourself if you are ready to take a step back and embrace a more hands-off role as a “sideline teammate” to your child. Signing up your young athlete for a team means they will soon become a teammate to others. As a parent, you will likely […]

A very select few may benefit at some point in their careers from specialization. For everybody else, broadening your sports experience is the way to go. Playing multiple sports versus playing only one sport has been a hot topic of debate for quite a few years. My opinion has never wavered. I think young athletes […]

More studies need to be performed to more completely evaluate the safety of Field Turf at the highest levels of competition. Synthetic playing surfaces were initially developed in the 1960’s with the reported advantages over natural surfaces of being a durable, versatile surface, less affected by weather conditions, allowing multi-sport use, having easier maintenance and being […]

The overall idea is to aim small and miss small. So if you have a pitcher who needs to gain more precision in hitting her spots, give this drill a try. A few months ago I put up a post that showed a way to help fastpitch softball pitchers who were struggling with hitting their inside and […]

At the start of every week, give your team a ‘weekly challenge’ and announce it on your on-deck bulletin board right there on-deck. The end of 2018 is on the horizon, which means out with the old and in with the new. This may mean breaking some bad habits in the pool, re-committing yourself to […]

Make sure that the administrators, coaches and parents know that youth sports is first and foremost “about the kids.” My son’s club soccer team, defending state champion at age 11-12, had an undefeated season the following year until it lost in the finals. As we were walking over to receive the second-place medals, the father of one […]

Over this period, I celebrated communication with coaches I idolized, cried over some seemingly dashed dreams and worked to find my way through this uncharted and never-ending territory. Much like the celebrated, daring explorers of the past, I embarked on a treacherous journey, one that was certain to be filled with obstacles, potential heartache and a […]

Knowing you’ve tried your hardest – whether you win or lose – may not take away the sting of a loss, but it’ll leave you with a personal satisfaction that you did all you could. Rules set the structure for every sport or activity. The unwritten rules of youth sports are just as important for […]

When we try to control their swimming experience, such as pushing for our kids to be in the next higher level group before they’re ready, our kids will lose interest or rebel. When our kids are young, we make all the decisions for them. We choose their clothes, schools, activities, friends, food and bedtimes. But […]