Telling your kid to “just try harder” or “make varsity this year” rarely works — and it can backfire, turning practice into a source of anxiety instead of joy. The goals that actually motivate young athletes look different from the ones adults default to: they’re smaller, more frequent, and almost entirely within the athlete’s own … [Read More…]
Every roster has one. The kid who drags their feet at drop-off, stares at the grass during your pep talk, and only laces up because a parent told them to. It’s tempting to write them off as a lost cause or, worse, to make them the example of what not to do in front of … [Read More…]
It’s one of the most confusing situations in coaching: the kid with the most natural ability on the roster starts coasting through drills, showing up late, or checking out mentally during practice. Parents ask what happened. Teammates notice. And most coaches default to the wrong fix — more pressure, a benching, or a lecture about … [Read More…]
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