Parent

Youth sports refs really haven’t changed much in the 25 years since I watched my oldest daughter’s first game. Over the years, I’ve seen refs who called way too much or way too little and many many many “bad” calls. When my kids were playing youth sports, I often found myself yelling at the officials […]

Often the very best tips are the ones that come through word of mouth. The following four-sport parent hacks are a few I’ve observed or know about through friends and family and are so helpful I thought it was worth spreading the word. FACETIME With jobs that require frequent travel, it can be tough to […]

Helping your child turn their season around from awful to awesome means you weather the storms of adversity with them. When a season isn’t going well, you have to guide your child through the problem. Here are some great questions to help you start the conversation and find solutions: WHY DO YOU WANT TO PLAY? […]

Do your young athletes start to doubt themselves and lose confidence when they are criticized or given feedback in sports? One soccer player puts it this way: “I’m often challenged mentally during practice if a teammate tells me how I can’t do a certain thing, such as properly marking my opponent. I end up questioning my ability […]

Adolescent eating habits are influenced by many factors every day, so how can we steer them toward healthy behaviors? Nutrition plays a significant role during adolescence due to the many factors. Rapid physical growth, hormonal fluctuations, and developmental changes taking place in the body are only a few. It’s our job to guide our teens […]

Team cohesion is essential to every sport, including individual sports. “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone – which is part of having a fixed mindset – discourages risk-taking and revision. People with a fixed mindset avoid challenging situations that might lead to failure because success depends upon protecting and promoting their set of […]

Dear Swim Mom, I feel like my 12-year-old daughter is ready to be moved up. She’s mature for her age and faster than the other kids in her group. She’ll be turning 13 in a couple months. I mentioned it to her coach after practice and I didn’t get much of an answer. I think […]

A sherpa is the guide for the mountain-climbing journey and their goal is to see that the climber reaches the top, or their peak. Are you a sherpa, snowplow or drone parent? I recently read an article, spurred by the recent college admission scandals, that examined these parenting styles. If you haven’t heard about them, catch […]

Certain behaviors, concepts and characteristics can help leaders as they seek to do their best for their communities

COVID-19 has sidelined thousands of youth sports teams, programs, schools and millions of young athletes.