A dozen girls from the CSC Inferno were tie-dying t-shirts in my driveway last weekend. This weekend, they recorded their sixth win in as many games. They’re undefeated in the division of the Old Dominion Soccer League. Now, I’m not … Continue reading
I met a lacrosse player yesterday who was aching to be released from physical therapy and get back on the field. This is his senior year in high school and college coaches have shown an interest in him. I ask him how … Continue reading
Why do we punish athletes with running? A friend just shared that her 14 year old JV field hockey player was exhausted and had dissolved into tears because at her Thursday and Friday practices the coach had submitted them to “punishment running,” 7-9 … Continue reading
My friend and fellow coach Kimo Kaloi has formed a new U9 travel Soccer team with Chantilly Youth Association in Chantilly Virginia. They’re called the CYA Purple Blaze and they play on Saturdays. Only Saturdays. He petitioned the club and then submitted … Continue reading
This article was originally published in The Fairfax Times, June 2010. It so saddens me to read the endless stories of remarkably talented athletes like Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger behaving badly– these lives, full of potential, are then misspent … Continue reading
Kids don’t learn by watching. They learn by doing. It was amazing to me that these 8 and 9 year old boys stood so politely watching their coach demonstrate and listening to their coach describe what they are to do … Continue reading
Do the girls you coach clam up on the field? Mine talk all the time…on the sidelines and during warmups. But on the field? It’s like pulling teeth. In a newsletter I read, New Moon Girls, fifteen year old Amanda observed that girls … Continue reading
A lot of political capital and many educational dollars have been invested in keeping our childrens’ minds up to speed. The solution may be fitter bodies. Two studies at the University of Illinois make the case. Scientists grouped 9 and 10 year old kids … Continue reading
Why do coaches stand by and watch trainers run practice? The travel team coach contracts with a training organization to bring a professional trainer in to run practice. She’s running great drills, putting them through their paces, explaining, correcting. Really … Continue reading
Dynabands, Therabands, resistance bands, stretchy bands, no matter the name, they are one of the best training tools for the fitness games we play and home exercise programs we teach and recommend. Bands are perfect because they are portable, inexpensive … Continue reading