Category: Uncategorized
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What did you want your team to be?
To say that you feel overwhelmed would be to put it lightly. You got into coaching because you wanted to change lives. You wanted to be a support system. You want kids to see their true potential. And yet you feel like instead you are spending all of you time disciplining and are so busy…
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What will your legacy be?
You can see it now. They will definitely retire your jersey and hoist up on the wall of the gym. Or you will be recorded as one the greatest in the record books. Or even better, forever immortalized with a statue in front of the venue to greet visitors for years to come. After all…
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How much are your coaches worth?
When it comes to youth sport, the focus is of course on the kids. But we do need to take a step back to make sure that coaches have all the support that they need to be great. Yes, you can give them more apps, more training, and mentoring. But it will likely take the…
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A quick message about sports
I want to share the message of sports-based youth development, and I wish there were a quick way to do it. But alas, there are a lot of moving parts. However, the quickest way to do that would be this: Sports can change lives, for better or for worse. People often operate under the assumption…
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Learning to leave the past behind
As an athlete, I had the unfortunate quirk to dwell on my mistakes. If I missed the defensive tackle and the other team scored or tripped over my feet and lost the ball and the shot on goal, I replayed those mistakes in head over and over. I struggled to let go of the past…
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What I took for granted
Growing up, I had the opportunity to participate in structured physical education (PE) classes. I distinctly remember later swapping school stories with friends and shocking them with the rigorous nature of PE in my elementary school. You did that in elementary school? The version of dodgeball we played is a story for another day. But…
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So, about coach training
Think back to when you played youth sports and the coaches you had. Chances are that those coaches learned how to coach from the coaches they had. They were simply repeating the behaviors they saw modeled for them. Maybe if you had that one great coach who changed your life for the better. But what…
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The biggest problem in youth sports is probably not what you think it is
Quick, what would you say is the biggest challenge facing youth sports right now? If you are like a lot of people in the field, you will probably say money. Sports is just getting way too expensive these days with the pay-to-play model. Fair, that is a problem. High fees are making sports cost prohibitive,…
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A men’s ball got used in the Duke vs FSU women’s basketball game How is that a problem?
After her team’s loss to FSU, Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson was irritated in the post gamer press conference. “This would never happen in a men’s game. This would never happen,” she said. “It’s embarrassing for our sport.” Lawson as quoted by ESPN What happened? A men’s ball had been used. Both teams were…
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Why I started this site
My goal was always to always think about ways to make sport and fitness more accessible and inviting. This took me on a journey to learn more about the field as a researcher, and now I want to start getting my work out to the people who need it most: Everyone who actually works in…
The Sideline Fix 