Fairy-Tail Finish for Kimble: Dreams (seasoned with hard work) Do Come True
How would you like to be this girl? Meet Caroline Kimble, holding midfielder for the Louisville Cardinals women’s soccer team. She just scored the biggest goal of her life, and the biggest in Louisville program history. An unforgettable finish, as the unranked Cardinals upset the No. 1-ranked UNC Tarheels 2-1 in the last seconds of […]
Paid Coaches: The Hidden Cost We Can’t Admit
Many, perhaps most, would say we have lost our grip on youth sports in this country. Parents are out of control, kids aren’t achieving, coaches are misbehaving and the whole system isn’t producing the kinds of players we hope to display on an international stage. I think this all started when we asked Dad and […]
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 […]
The Killer Dynamic Warm Up in 5 Simple Steps
Confused about getting your dynamic warm up right? It’s the first thing I do with every youth team, no matter the sport, is make sure they perform a complete dynamic warm up before every practice and every game. A regular dynamic warm up, done with dedication and proper form, has been shown to reduce the chance […]
Should We Say No to Participation Trophies?
Participation trophies… to give ’em or not give ’em, is that really the question? Who knew that Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, James Harrison, would ignite such a firestorm with his Instagram posting stating his intention to return the “participation trophies” awarded to his two young boys until they “earned” them? jhharrison92I came home to find out that […]
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 […]
10 Great Life Lessons from the Women’s World Cup
I was schooled by the Girls of Summer 2015. Apparently, character development and life lessons aren’t just for kids anymore. Here are 10 nuggets I want to remember from the dazzling performances at the 2015 World Cup. Be the person who risks the own goal. England central defender Laura Bassett toe-pokes the ball away from the […]
Morgan Brian Passed the Concussion Tests, Should She Have Been Allowed to Return?
I know this is not going to make me popular, but … not every collision spells concussion. The collision between midfielder Morgan Brian and Germany’s Alexandra Popp has the concussion lines a-buzzin’. Taylor Twellman’s tweeting and Briana Scurry’s Facebooking. From my living room, it looked rough. Brian, is face down in the turf, and Popp […]
Women’s World Cup 1999 to 2015: Pure Joy Makes No Apologies
The last time we won a Women’s World Cup, it looked like this… “The enduring image of Brandi Chastain, triumphant on a sweltering July day in Pasadena, will endure, documenting a populist victory that helped propel women’s soccer into the national consciousness,” writes David Davis in How the Most Iconic Photo in Women’s Soccer was […]
ACL Risk Assessment: 5 Simple Tests Every Parent and Coach Can Do
Do you want to know if you kid is at risk for an ACL tear? You don’t need a special assessment program or highly trained health professionals to run an assessment. You can evaluate your own kids to decide whether there is cause for concern. Here are five tests every coach and every parent can and […]