What if every student graduated from high school knowing how to do these 5 things? – Regulate their emotions – Challenge their own thinking – Handle failure and adversity – Build healthy relationships – Respond effectively to stress 1. Regulate their emotions Not eliminate uncomfortable emotions—but understand them, tolerate them, and respond effectively. 2. Challenge…

When we think of “fundamentals” we often think of youth sports, and yet, ask any professional athlete and they’ll tell you, “You never stop working on the fundamentals.” So many of us, kids and adults, want the glory without the work. We practice 3-point shoots rather than opposite-hand layups. We practice shoot out moves rather…

Stop waiting until you feel confident! One of the biggest misconceptions about confidence is that we need to feel confident before we take action. We tell ourselves: “I’ll speak up when I’m more confident.” “I’ll try it when I feel ready.” “I’ll take the risk when I’m not so afraid.” Confidence doesn’t come before the…

As the father of an 8 and 5 year old, I’ve now watched hundreds of hours of youth sports. In my observations there is one main difference between the “elite” players and the rest of the field… It’s not necessarily the speed or the skill… It’s not necessarily the drive or practice hours… It’s not…

For many kids, being in competitive sports gives them their first true team experience in life. It teaches them how to trust others. They experience the joys of winning and the disappointment of losing. They learn how their actions affect more than just themselves but the team as a whole. Nevertheless, the tempting of today’s…

As parents, coaches, and caregivers, we all have certain expectations for our kids in sports. Sometimes, they will exceed those expectations. Other times, they won’t meet our expectations. It’s truly a roller coaster of emotions. The way to keep this all in perspective is with a few general mental principles that I’ll share with you…

Parents, coaches, and caregivers are role models. They make sacrifices with their time and money to organize travel, pay for equipment, and put their whole heart into rooting for their kids.  More than just providing an opportunity for play, parents, coaches, and caregivers of elite level athletes create and model a lifestyle of fitness and…

In sports, we often hear many parents and coaches encouraging kids to “try harder.” And while this is generally noble advice, it actually is possible to try too hard in sports. In athletics today, young athletes are often encouraged to do it all. To be great on defense, to hustle, to score, you name it!…

In my experience, there are three phases of thought-development throughout the lifespan: Tabula Rasa, Adolescent Identity Formation, and Self-Actualization. Stage #1: Tabula Rasa  The first phase is the Tabula Rasa phase. Tabula Rasa means “blank slate” in Latin. The term is often first associated with philosopher, John Locke. As humans, we are all born a…

“You need to hustle more! “You can’t just stand around watching!” “Don’t be lazy out there!” We’ve all head sports parents say these things to their kids (or worse!), and while well intentioned, phrases like these often do more harm than good. Instead of telling a kid what to do, here’s a script to try…