Parent Delusional Disorder: the Seven Word Recovery Program
I just love to watch you play! That’s what I want my kids to know. That’s what I came for. Not to show you off. Not for bragging rights. Not even to celebrate when you win, although that’s nice when it happens. No, I came to the game because I love to watch you play. […]
Bringing Out Their Best: motivation as art and story
Once upon a time there was a little girl. She could really catch and really throw, but the thing she could do best was hit. Every time up, she swung that bat and sent the ball way into the outfield. One day, Coach said, “Wow! How do you do that?!” “I don’t know,” the girl […]
Deep Practice: The Secret Weapon the Caterpillar Teaches
Everyone who has ever played the game well remembers the day it felt effortless. Smooth on the club, crisp in the hands, the timing is perfect, the loft just right, the backspin just so: swoosh, woosh, bam, pop. Even the sound confirms you’ve found the sweet spot. You’re in the zone. It’s a deceptive thing, this […]
Leaving a Lasting Legacy: “Team on 3”
What culminating gift do you give to the coach and manager who gave you everything? Team Avalanche chose this brick, now laid in the walkway at the College of William & Mary. It reads: Chas and Sally Sumser “Team on 3” Avalanche 2014 The College is where Chas and Sally met. Now, “Team on 3” […]
The Second Secret Behind Coach Sumser’s Success: “I showed up at their plays and performances.”
Last week I introduced you to Chas Sumser, the “no-cut” coach, formerly of the Loudon Vipers boys team and then the Leesburg FC Avalanche girls team. Both teams he agreed to take on at the request neighboring children who asked him to ‘please coach my team’. Perhaps Chas was just being a good neighbor. He […]
The Secret Behind Coach Chas Sumser’s Success: No Cuts Ever
There are only two kinds of coaches in this world: those who cut players and those who don’t. Chas Sumser doesn’t. Oh, we would all love a dream team. You know, one where you scan down your roster and find every name on it belongs to a star player. Imagine: Jordan, Pippen, Stockton, Malone, Magic […]
Physical Literacy, the Long Term Investment We Make in Our Kids
Kids are expensive these days, aren’t they? Toys, games, school supplies, activities, classes, technology and fashion. We want to give our children the best of things, but replacing the $100 graphing calculator three times because they can’t find the last one or buying them 3 pairs of Uggs so they’ll have colors for each outfit […]
Playing Up: Is it Safe? Is it Wise? Is it Best?
Cat was her name; she was the ringer on my daughter’s U9 travel team. It was the spring season and they had been a miserable failure (in soccer terms) in the fall. When Cat joined the team mid-year, things had started looking up. This girl was small but fast. And was she ever good. She […]
Survival Training for the Winter Ice Breaker Tournament
We’ve nearly survived the snow and ice, now how about the Icebreaker? The tournament, I mean. Can you believe spring soccer is just around the bend? This year the weather has prevented most teams from doing a lot of preseason preparation. What will this mean when the team takes the field in March? Is there […]
How to Put the SHOW in Showcase
Showcase…just the word puts you on guard. You’re the center of things. On the big field, the feature field, the stadium field, the special turf. Coaches come from far and wide to watch you play. You know who they are, even behind their shades, because they are standing there with their clipboards and game sheets, […]