US Soccer Has a Player Development Problem: Julie Foudy offers new/old perspective
What if the best way to get your kid on the U.S. National Team was to not attend their games? Or allow them to quit soccer for a season or two on a whim? Both of these techniques worked for Julie Foudy, one of the most capped U.S. players in history (271) and a leading […]
Failure Isn’t fatal
Failure isn’t fatal, it’s fortunate. In fact, it’s necessary. Somehow, failure has come to be synonymous with worthless, hopeless, futureless and bad. We hear it as a judgment on ourselves, our kids, and our families. You’re a total failure. Take your ball and go home. We don’t want you here. Can we take a new […]
Simple Neck Exercise that Defeats Screen Time
Oh, and this will make athlete’s heads, necks and torsos safer on the field. Happy strengthening, everyone. Contact Fit2Finish for more resistance band exercises or for information about purchasing bands.
When Good Sportsmanship Doesn’t Make the Cut
“Nice guys finish last.” It stings to be the parent of the kid whose primary objective was “to be a good teammate” as she is cut from the high school JV squad. Why does it hurt so much? Because, for her whole life you have been teaching her that sportsmanship is the main thing. Surely […]
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!) […]
Coaching is Like Parenting: your kids show you how to be better
Our kids need coaches. They need adults who will spend a couple hours a week on the fields with them and will root from the sidelines one day each weekend. It’s a lot to ask of people these days, what with families going every which way, jobs claiming more of our time, volunteer responsibilities clamoring […]
Friday Fitness Tip – Monster Walk
The key to helping our young athletes stay free of injury is proper preparation. In today’s Fitness Tip video, 3 young athletes (boy-16, girl-12, boy-12) are trying the ‘monster walk.’ Try it for yourself to see which muscles are working. What differences do you see? between ages? between genders?
Ending the Excess in Youth Sports Will Require Cool Heads Around One Table
Who made the new rule that you can only score on a fast break?! Don’t bother dribbling, passing, running plays or setting a pick. Just run and gun. Time outs and man to man defense are for sissies. That’s where, it seems, we find ourselves today, in sports, in business, and in our personal lives. The sad […]
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. […]