Sports Parenting in 10 Sentences

1 word: Hi.  Greet your child when they get in the car with “Hi” before you ask about practice, the score of the game or homework.   2 words: Have fun.  In all likelihood you’ve heard this statistic: 70% of kids quit sports before they turn 13 for the primary reason that they are not […]

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All Opinions are Not Created Equal

We are all entitled to an opinion… But not all of our opinions are equal. Let me be clear: as people, all of us are equal.  Nevertheless, each of our opinions on all topics are not.  And, while we are all entitled to our opinions that entitlement to posses them does not give our opinions […]

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Don’t Get Caught in the Race!

This is a wonderful essay by a gym mom reflecting on her daughter’s gymnastics journey.   It’s a great read and a wonderful reminder that rushing kids through the process often leads to them losing the joy that is inherent to why they began gymnastics in the first place. The Marathon Gymnast As a mother […]

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Asking for Help

I hate to ask for help. I hate it so much and probably always have.  I am told that my first sentence was “No, me do it” which apparently is still my default mode.  I loathe asking for help so much that I will run myself ragged trying to “do it all” despite the fact […]

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Put Down the Crystal Ball and Teach

Talent identification. As coaches we think we are good at it. But science would suggest that we might not be as great as we think. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell cites a study about Canadian hockey players who were successful at the elite levels, noting that 40% were born in the first quarter of the calendar […]

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When You Don’t Know Why: Ask Questions

When my daughters were in high school they wore a uniform to school.  As part of the uniform, it was mandated that the girls wear rubber soled athletic style shoes.  For years I did not understand why in the world they had to wear such ugly clunky shoes with their skirts.  Why couldn’t they wear […]

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10 Tips for Battling the Post Season Blues

It’s a common thing at the end of any sports season: the post season blues.  Even, and maybe even especially, among coaches. We get to the end of the season and we arrive at, as one colleague describes it, “the end of season jitters in their clubs…the nasty rumors about quitting or switching gyms.” It’s […]

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10 Things to Understand About Sports Parents (Hint: Most Parents are Good)

One of my most popular speeches at gymnastics coaching conferences is called “Sometime I Wish I Only Coached Orphans…Thoughts on Dealing with Difficult Parents.” The title of this talk came out of a conversation I had with one of my gym’s coaches.  After a particularly frustrating interaction with a parent he said exasperated, “Why didn’t you […]

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The First 100 Details to Ask Before Your Child Joins a Gymnastics Team

My last two blogs talked about the decision to join a competitive gymnastics team and the benefits of doing so.  But, before you spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, you will want to get as many details as possible before you commit your child to a team.  While you might not be able […]

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