Physical Education Gone Missing: Can Sports Fill the Gap?
Has bullying increased as physical education has decreased? This is the question posed to our Chinese and American panel at the ACSM convention. There has been much conversation about the reduction in physical activity among our American children, and the logical place to introduce it is as at school where kids spend so much of […]
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 […]
Is Comparison Stealing the Potential from Our Kids?
There’s so much pressure to be the star player out there. The best, the most, the fastest, the biggest, the strongest. While encouraging kids to reach their potential is important – and what parents, coaches and teachers have done since the beginning of time – I think we may have lost our way a bit […]
Videos for the Fit2Finish Book
Here are the video links for my new book Fit2Finish: Keeping Your Soccer Players in the Game. Find your age group. Find your fun. Try it out. All the Fit2Finish games are fueled by the science of healthy sports but designed to blend performance into your practice. (Just don’t tell them it’s good for them!) […]
What Does an ACL Really Cost?
What does an Anterior Cruciate ligament (ACL) tear really cost? Young athletes don’t have a clue. I’ll never forget sitting with Katherine and her dad as we looked at the video of her performance in the screening exercises. I cautioned Katherine about the ACL injury risk in athletic girls whose knees tended to fold inwards […]
Beating ACL Injuries: Three Steps Every Coach Can Take
ACL tear. Out for the season. Words no one ever wants to hear. But we keep hearing them. In soccer, football, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse and even in ultimate frisbee! If you know these kids personally, this becomes a personal issue. The ACL tear disrupts the whole family, and repair deals pain and anguish for everyone. […]
New book from Fit2Finish, competitive fitness without the injuries. Look inside…
Fit2Finish: Keeping Your Soccer Players in the Game Introduction: Fit for the Game Kids and Fitness: What Does the Game Require? Sport Anatomy and Physiology: What Makes the Body Work Fitness Prescription for Sports: Meeting the Demands Fitting Fitness into the Practice Plan Flexibility, Stretching and Recovery Fueling the Athlete for Performance Beating Injuries to Keep […]
The Washington Redshins: First “Mothers” of Soccer
Before there was Abby. Before there was Mia. Before, even, there was Michelle, there was Chris Reynolds. You probably haven’t met Chris; in fact you probably have never heard of Chris. I was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with her as she circled the indoor track at a local sports facility. Still trim and […]