Putting Practice into Play is Easier and Harder than We Think
I was told “Practice makes perfect,” so my defiant younger self quipped, “Practice makes perfect, but no one’s perfect, so why practice?” That was a) to hide my fear of being imperfect, b) to distract people from seeing all the practicing I was doing and c) to excuse myself in case that practice didn’t work. (and […]
The Secret to Sports-based Youth Development: Kids Working as Hard in the Game as they do On Their Game
What does the phrase, sports-based youth development, mean to you? We talk a lot about developmental soccer. We have developmental programs and developmental leagues designed to help kids make progress on their skills, fitness, mental toughness, and game play. We develop the sport, but what about developing the youth? It was something I had to take […]
Did the Resurrection really happen?
Does it matter if the Resurrection actually happened? This was the question we considered in my adult Sunday School class at a church I used to belong to. I was a regular at Sunday school, where we considered issues of faith and its practice as a matter of course. Sunday school was organized and led […]
Spring is for Training, Find Your Seat
I was so excited to go see my first Spring Training baseball game, the Orioles vs the Braves. I’m not really a fan of either team. I’m a fan of the game and the sport. I love being at the ball park, which brings back great memories of the days my mom and I saw […]
Who are you voting for?
What if they held an election and no one showed up? Well, I don’t know, we’d have to consult the Constitution but perhaps there is provision for that… What if they held an election and each one, every single one of us, wrote our names in as a vote for ourselves? There would be a […]
Injury Prevention: Disparate Sides are as Hazardous in Sports as they are in Politics
What’s so bad about being sided? Nearly all of us have a side we prefer. We’re right-handed or left-footed or we may bat right and throw left, but when asked to choose a side, we do. This is why people like Oakland Athletic’s pitcher, Pat Venditte who throws both ways, is such a phenom, though even […]
Don’t Save Yourself for Later, You Won’t Keep
Spotted on Inward/Outward… Guidelines Here’s what you need to do, since time began: find something—diamond-rare or carbon-cheap, it’s all the same—and love it all you can. It should be something close—a field, a man, a line of verse, a mouth, a child asleep— that feels like the world’s heart since time began. Don’t measure much […]
Fear is fun to blame
~ from Jon Acuff today ~ A few months ago I had a conversation with my wife Jenny at our dinner table. Here’s how it went: Jon: I’m too afraid to write this book. Jenny: No, you’re too lazy, but fear is fun to blame because then it’s not your fault. Jon (and the chorus of millions): Grenade. […]
Four Signs that Kids Sports Are Actually Hurting Them
When I was growing up playing sports, nobody ever got hurt, at least not seriously. I don’t remember a single teammate ever complaining of knee pain, shin pain, heel pain or hip pain. Today nearly all young athletes eventually experience at least one of these maladies. What has changed since the “good ole days?” Plenty. […]
Take Away Everything
Where does the time go? What happened to my days? They’re endless What happened to my weekends? They’re overrun What happened to my vacation? It’s absent What’s become of the order in my life? Oh Child, I did not create the clock, You did. I did not create weekdays and weekends, You did. I did […]