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 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 […]
How (Not) to Raise a Narcissist
We are raising narcissists, or so a new study reports. The study, authored by Brad J. Bushman, PhD, professor of communication and psychology at the Ohio State University, asked 565 children aged 7 to 11 years – the years when kids start to compare themselves with other children – and their parents about self-esteem, parental warmth, […]
Early Sports Specialization: Safe, Sorry or Simply Unable to Say No?
“At what age should they specialize?” Shelby asked me at the book signing. She had her two boys in tow. Her daughter was away on a weekend retreat, so she found herself with a freer schedule than usual. The son in question was a second grader who had been offered a spot on the travel soccer team, but […]
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 […]