“Dear Player, (and subsequently parent (s)) CONGRATULATIONS! You have been selected to become a member of the Travel Program. This was a competitive process and you should be proud that the Club coaches have invited you to become a part of this prestigious program.” Ahhh, the coveted club-invite […]
People desire connection to something bigger. In pursuit of those connections, people too often kill any chance they might have had at the authentic community they crave.
I often wonder what day of the week my dad gave up on his life. He simply stopped caring, stopped trying, and eventually checked out entirely. Contemplating his fall from grace as a singular day event is how I try to wrap my head around something that is […]
The end of our daughter’s hockey season will mark the end of much more than a game she’s played. Hockey forged her into a strong, confident, dependable, resilient hard worker who knows what it means to stand for something bigger than herself. We both have her dad to […]
Seven years after I interviewed sixty people about their sports parenting experiences, I interviewed thirty of them again. One woman would not let me conduct a follow-up interview about her story. Out of respect for her privacy, I will call her Sharon. In declining my invitation to chat […]
“Mom, I’m bored!” “Why don’t you just go outside and _____________?” I know how my parents filled in that blank. If you were raised in the 70’s, 80’s, or early 90’s, your parents probably filled in that blank the same way. The instructions for filling empty spaces of […]
There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, So just give me a happy middle And a very happy start. -Shel Silverstein “He’s done,” the distraught […]
I was coaching an away game for a college team one Saturday afternoon when a fanbase showed up to root for our team’s manager. Yes, the manager. Eight people huddled on the aluminum bleacher bench cheering her on. They had a sign and chanted cheers like “Sally, […]
So far, the most emotionally intense time of my life revolved around senior year for our firstborn. Given that I had experienced a few overwhelming moments in my life up to that point, it does say something that our kid’s senior year affected me as much as it did. (I’m […]
I couldn’t do it. About ten minutes into my daughter’s soccer game this past weekend, I had to move myself down the sideline and as far out of earshot of the other parents as I could. I’m not sure if there was a specific thing yelled, but the […]
The Team Adult Playbook 