Title IX: Gender Equality Still Needs Work
On June 23rd, 1972, the President signed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 into law. It states that “…No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal […]
Facilitating the Mental Game with Athlete Journals
Have you ever noticed that girls like to ponder things? Me too. Have you ever wondered what they’re thinking about? Me too. Do you know the best way to find out? Ask them. But don’t expect it to be that easy. You have to read between the lines. Which means…get it in writing. I’ve had some […]
Raising Capable Kids in a Competitive Setting
So, if everyone in your class gets an A, what will you work on next semester? I asked of the PE teacher I addressed in the previous post Why All A’s is Failing Our Kids? “Integrity. Respect. Confidence. Protecting others,” he replied. How would he grade those? He didn’t really know. That’s because character is meant to develop organically, […]
Why All A’s is Failing our Kids
Kids today are the most evaluated generation ever, but are they any better prepared than we were? A Facebook friend who teaches in the local schools recently posted a photo of his grade book with names primly truncated. There was not a grade below an A, with several achieving the superlative A+. It was captioned, “Never […]
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 […]
Let’s Stop Concussions but Keep the Game Alive
Fit2Finish note: This is a guest post from Dr. Neilank Jha, neurosurgeon and the head of Konkussion Inc – a concussion treatment program with clinics in many locations in Canada. If you are concerned about concussions in youth sports, also read “Solving the Concussion Crisis: Practical Solutions” here. For many, sports are the epicenter of their youth. Sport teaches children […]
Give the Gift Kids Will ‘Die’ For (adult supervision discouraged)
The force is strong in these two! The force of fun, that is. You want to know their secret? NO adults told them to do it. I took this very same die (in gender-neutral lime green) into the fourth grade classroom at a local elementary school this week. The second I walked in, all heads […]
Why Fit2Finish? Because it Starts and Ends with Healthy Kids
I often get asked, “How did you get started with Fit2Finish?” It’s a pretty good story… It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and I was watching my oldest daughter play a mid-season soccer game. The two teams were evenly matched and battled valiantly, contending for every ball – as only ten year old girls with […]
Nutrition, Body Composition and Health: 5 Talking Points with Teens
Coaches boldly tackle teams, players, parents, administrators and opponents head on. But there’s one thing most of them won’t touch: the “nutrition talk.” Especially male coaches of female athletes, either out of personal discomfort or for fear of raising the risk of eating disorders, avoid the conversation all together. That leaves overweight, obesity, and body […]
Pre-season Tournaments Beat Kids Up: Rest Days Allow them to Return to Full Strength
Are your players full of energy and enthusiasm at the beginning of practice? Or, are they pooped from school starting or the tournament weekend they just toughed it through? We all like those high energy days because we know that’s when we can really challenge them toward peak performance, but we are leery of pushing past […]