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 […]
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 […]
It was 2:00 am last night, or technically this morning, when my latest round of sleeplessness hit. I had fallen asleep hard, probably because standing in ninety minutes of relentless 50-degree rain for an emotional conference loss had worn me out. For whatever reason, I went from soundly […]
I’ve been working on this sports book project for over seven years. I have tried to identify the personal places I need to grow and some of what I’ve worked through has been tough to process. I have avoided thinking or writing about this one…until now. I am […]
An Accidental Experiment I am navigating an inadvertant mess for which I am partially responsible, and it has to do with the fact I think the high school team I coach in the fall will be stronger after the players break up for a while. The question for […]
No, seriously, check your feelings before you walk out the door. Decide which emotions are useful, to you and to your sporting child, and leave the rest at home. Intentional presence will positively enhance every part of your day, and has potential to be a game changer for […]
Fight? Flight? Neither. There is a better way. I’ll get to the strategies for disarming disgruntled parents in a minute, but I want to first lay a backdrop for where pitchfork parents are born. Do you know what age groups seem to have the craziest sports parents? Well, […]
Someone recently reminded me about this piece originally posted in 2016 on a site that has since been removed. I felt compelled to post it again because I want to enable coaches to seek and provide for one another the resources needed to keep good coaches in the […]
The Team Adult Playbook 