When Life Isn’t Fair, What Should We Teach Our Athletes? (PDF)

By David Benzel
Life is NOT always fair. And when we believe that life is fair, or that it should be, our expectations war against the reality.

By Positive Coaching Alliance
One of the most important spaces a sports parent operates in is the time after practice or a meet, especially during the car ride home. During this time, gymnasts are likely more focused and critical of their performance. Of course, this focus can swing different ways depending on the outcome of that meet and how emotionally ready that child feels to discuss what happened.

By David Benzel
Character development is arguably one of the greatest benefits your kids can gain from playing sports. Thanks to exposure to new challenges, opportunities, coaches, and teammates, character traits that may not have come up at home are brought to light during sports participation.

Many families experience a sport’s worst moments during the car ride home after a competition. However, this just might be one of the easiest situations to remedy.

By Positive Coaching Alliance
PCA National Advisory Board Member Carol Dweck talks about the importance of having a growth mindset instead of focusing on comparing your youth athlete to the other kids and putting pressure on them to be better than everyone else.

By Positive Coaching Alliance
Following are guidelines for how sports parents can contribute to a Coach-Parent Partnership that benefits youth athletes.

By Positive Coaching Alliance
A Second-Goal Parent recognizes that there is a Little Picture and a Big Picture in youth sports. The Little Picture concerns things like whether the child is playing the right position, the team is winning, etc. The Big Picture, which often gets drowned out by the Little Pictures, is about what the child is learning from youth sports.

By Positive Coaching Alliance
AJ Johnson discusses the role that parents play in the student-athlete experience. As a sports parent himself, Johnson’s biggest frustration with other sports parents is putting added pressure on to a kid when it’s time for their kid to compete

By TrueSport
When your athlete comes home from school with a paper requiring a doctor’s sign-off before they can start the season, getting them in for the sports physical can feel like a chore. But really, the pre-participation sports physical is an opportunity for your child’s primary care physician to catch any underlying problems, check in with your athlete, and make an honest assessment about their readiness for play.