We, the collective youth sports sector, like to say that sport changes lives. We use it as a blanket statement without getting into the nuance, and without calling to attention that change isn’t always good. We can’t keep generalizing. We don’t know enough. There are stories that have gone untold for far too long. There are so many youth sports experiences that don’t get researched. Too often we pull data from the old familiar places, but that leaves us with too many unanswered questions.
How does sport change lives? To what extent? Under what conditions? And to what end? And who even gets the chance to have that experience.
I want to read those stories that have gone untold. I want to hear from a wide-ranging group about their experiences in sport. I want to know how they got involved, why they continue on, why they stopped, who they became as a result, and why they never want to be that person ever again. I want to read those stories that have gone unwritten.
I started this blog because I wanted to make more of a dent in providing that. I must admit that I haven’t really made progress on that goal. This is my note to self to read more about what is going on in the industry, to follow more news stories, read more blogs, and figure out what books are being written on this topic. But I also want to engage in more conversations to really dig in and learn what it is that others have experienced in sport. I ready to learn more.
If you have some suggestions about great books, podcasts, stories about youth sport and sport overall, please fill free to share them in the comments.
The Sideline Fix 
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