“Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space, for everyone” – George Dei Over the past few months teams from various regions across our country have been partaking in the Play Better Program. During this time coaches and family members have shared a number of […]
Developmental soccer. We’ve all seen the words. They are on every website attached to just about every club out there. Problem is, the actions by many aren’t matching up to the words. A few years ago, as a coordinator for numerous young age groups, I went and observed one U9 team play 6 weeks of […]
Reading the comments and blogs/articles that have sprung up around the topic of no standings/trophies for U12 & below in the last couple of weeks has left me both laughing out loud and shaking my head at how far off-base many people’s interpretations of this initiative are. At the same time they are clearly demonstrating […]
All you parents out there, we need to keep our kids in sport! It is widely and commonly cited that youth dropout rates in sports are staggering. Discouraged children are simply quitting sports before the age of 13. This is the cold hard truth. A fact, as it once was. Children are quitting sport […]
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of coaching some quality 13yr old players. It was a great group of boys all totally committed and focused on soccer, which is always a joy. They all had the latest gear, they all wore it just the right way and looked like they lived the game. We […]
So you’re a coach are you? Me too. Designing practices, workout schedules, formations, putting those chess pieces in just the right spots on the field and readying them for battle. Coaching. Awesome. But your best player isn’t quite right today? The team is flat. Our goalie is in outer space watching the game on the […]
Over the past year I have read probably hundreds of articles, blogs and posts, [like this very good post,] that discuss how parents should behave at a youth sports match. Typically all are written from a coach or management perspective and most are well intentioned. They are generally based on how young players should be […]
