Life teaches us that the authority to lead and the chance to lead go hand-in-hand. Your kids may feel that when they’re given the authority—as team captain or co-captain—then they can truly be a leader on the team. But that belief about leadership is not true. Leadership expert John Maxwell explains that “Leadership is influence. […]
My guess is with the Super Bowl looming, now is about the time when children start to bug their parents to play tackle football in a local league. Signups will be happening soon if they haven’t already. The excuse I always hear from parents for not letting a child participate in football is because “he’ll […]
If you’re like me, you’re sick of all this virtual stuff. From meetings to conferences to trainings to family gatherings, we spend more time staring at a screen than ever before. Imagine how our kids must feel. Especially those still involved in virtual learning from home. When the option of virtual sports practices or trainings […]
What is your most powerful sports parenting tool? I would argue the tool you have that has the biggest impact on who your children become and how much they gain from playing sports is the words that come out of your mouth. It’s interesting what you remember from your childhood. Maybe you recall when a […]
This past fall, my son Bradley had a lot of fun playing hockey. He was fortunate to be on a team that won a championship. But despite the joy that he experienced with a new sport and making new friends, you could tell that something was wrong. He was happy playing, but hockey didn’t fill […]
Inevitably there might be a point during your child’s high school life when they ponder whether or not to get a job. Sometimes that job might require them to stop playing a sport. What should our advice be as parents? The first thing I suggest is getting to the bottom of why they want to […]
After 31 years of being a coach’s wife and 22 years of being a sports mom, I’ve encountered over a hundred types of coaching styles. And none of those styles came anywhere close to being perfect. Every coach makes mistakes. Mistakes are not desirable, of course, but they will happen and as a coach. Your […]
Hockey is an incredibly fun game. Groups of kids play on frozen ponds in the winter, fathers play in beer leagues to let off some steam after work, and millions of fans gather every weekend to watch their favorite NHL team on television. But while hockey is fun, it’s also extremely competitive. The goal of […]
Showing video before or during practice is the best way to get your players to retain what you teach them. There is no questioning the power of video. It allows you to make critical adjustments, eliminate bias and disagreements, and connect with your players in a way that words and whiteboards simply can’t replicate. Video becomes […]
We all know that losing can bring opportunities for growth and improvement for athletes. There are lessons to be learned and character developed when a team that ends up on the wrong side of the score allows themselves to look forward and learn from it. But that does not mean that winning is void of […]