The Top 5 Blog Posts Of 2017

Can you believe this year is almost over?  It seems I was writing the same thing last year.  The days just fly by.

Understandably so, you have been busy and probably haven’t had the chance to read everything that I write.

So, if you missed a lot of the 2017 blog posts, you should take some of your holiday break and read as many as you can.  If you prefer not to do that, then I have looked at the 2017 posts and picked a top 5 that you could read first.

Out of all the posts, these came closest to me as a must read.  Take a few minutes, re-read them, and absorb the knowledge I am spewing.

In no particular order, here they are:

• How To Combine Sports With Academics And Other Extra-Curricular Activities (Monday, March 20, 2017) – To be honest, I think this is made out to be a bigger deal than what it really is. It is about teaching the kids priorities and how to manage their time.  With all the distractions they have, probably easier said than done.
• An Athlete’s Perspective On Sport’s Specialization (Part 3) (May 22, 2017) – Mara White is one of our former athletes and now a high school cross country/track coach. This is a great 3 part post on why she is totally against sport specialization.  This is part 3, but it behooves you to read the first two to get some perspective.
• Allowing Your Child To Take The Reigns Of His/Her Athletic Path (August 28, 2017) – At some point, your child needs to assume the role of his/her athletic path. They need to take responsibility of how successful it will become.  Very important, especially for helicopter parents to realize.
• This Simple Step Is Absolutely Being Missed When Teaching Young Athletes Sports (October 2, 2017) – I don’t work with a lot of athletes younger than 10, but because I have a daughter younger than 10 I’ve been watching a lot of games. I think we as coaches are missing the point of coaching these kids and how to coach these kids.  This post illustrates how I think we might be able to do this a little better for our young kids.
• Defining The First Step And How To Improve It (November 28, 2017) – Parents are asking me all the time how to develop that first step.  It is a little difficult, but can be done.  This post talks about how it is done.