Tonight I was overseeing a session and helping provide some thoughts on improving the dynamic for the team. I noticed that there was no built in competitive element to the drill. So, i posed the question to the coach…”What would it look like if you added a natural element of competition to this rondo?” I think it is so important that we consider adding competitive elements to as many drills as possible so that players learn not to be complacent and also develop a bit more of a “tough skin” around losing. I am wondering how you all feel about embedding competition into everyday activities. Not just in training environments, but also just in regular scenarios. Like, who can find the most matching pairs of socks in this laundry pile…?

This weekend I celebrated my daughter’s 4th birthday, Independence Day and my Grandmothers 93rd birthday. I found myself asking a question about ritualistic celebrations like these. Why are there not more ritualistic celebrations for small wins in an athletes career and how would it shape their mindset if they had them. I’m curious how you all celebrated the holiday weekend if it applies to you and where you stand on creating rituals to celebrate athlete wins.

I’m curious, what have you seen out there from parents and coaches that really grinds your gears? For me, it is most clearly when an adult tries to hold a child to a standard or core value that they very clearly do not hold themself to. And in fact, they so obviously don’t that their own athlete knows. This creates a toxic space for athletes and I believe results in many young players leaving sports too soon. What do you think…?

I’m curious…if someone uses this sentence starter to address you about anything at all…what do you hear? I’ve been working a lot to determine which phrases need to be kicked out of youth sports coaching and parenting. To me this is a huge one. I wonder what other sentence starters you all think would be on this list. Let me know in the comments.

Sorry for being MIA for the past few weeks. I have been taking some time to really focus on the students, athletes, families and people closest to me as we head into summer. It has allowed me time and space to find some clarity on my path forward here with NOGA FC. Thank you all for hanging around. I promise there is some cool stuff to come in the next few weeks. I have one big question for anyone still listening here: What was the most impactful experience you can recall from your childhood that shaped the way you talk to young people today???