High School Head Coaches - Turnover

Support your school's head coach if you find a good one.  In So Cal, there were 114 high school football head coach changes out of 601 schools this offseason alone.

And when the head coach leaves or is forced out that means many of the position, assistant coaches leave as well creating disruption for players, parents, coaches, and administration. 

Youth Sports Expenses - Expectations

Studies show that parents spend up to 10.5% of gross income on youth sports.  For a family making $50K that's $5.5K per year.  Pretty big investment. 

Probably not a great plan if the goal is to get an athletic scholarship (only 3% of high school athletes earn an athletic scholarship).  Probably a good investment if the goal is to use youth sports to development life skills. 

Peak Sports Parenting Interview

My interview from Dubai-based Divorce Talk on peak sports parenting and student athlete development.

http://www.purepeacecoaching.com/listen/

The Benefits of Multi-Sport Athletes

My article from the summer issue of The Washington Coach on the benefits of playing multiple sports in high school: Different Pressures; Different Roles; and Different Teammates and Coaches.

Article at pages 14-15.

https://www.washcoach.net/Archives/Summer2016/index.html

Amateur Athletic Status & the Dangers of Sports Agents

If there is one absolute in the recruiting game it is this – stay away from agents trying to build a relationship with your student-athlete.  There is no faster way of destroying amateur eligibility and putting a black mark on your reputation than accepting representation, vague promises of future representation, or benefits like housing (see Reggie Bush) or cars from an agent to a student-athlete or family.  And with the immediacy and reach of social media any interaction by a student-athlete or family with an agent will get noticed. 

The NCAA bylaws strictly prohibit this student-athlete/agent relationship under § 12.3.1.1 and .2.  This includes both written and verbal arrangements and both present and casual promises of future representation after your son or daughter has completed his or her amateur eligibility in that sport.

More info at www.NCAA.org

What do Ben Franklin & Coach Bill Belickick Have in Common?

Interesting podcast from Tim Ferriss (Four Hour Workweek) on embracing the grunt work.

http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/06/10/the-canvas-strategy/

Divorce & Goal Alignment

With 1M kids playing high school football and 850K divorces per year it's important for coaches to discuss parent-athlete-coach goal alignment in the pre-season meeting.

How Kids Learn

Pretty amazing but more than 50% of kids in US public schools are now eligible for a public lunch program. 

Hefty article but a good read from The Atlantic on how to reach kids from low income households and keep them invested in staying in school.

Useful info for sports parents and youth coaches.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/how-kids-really-succeed/480744/

EntreLeadership: Work/Life Balance

Great interview of Dr. Meg Meeker from EntreLeadership on work-life balance and effective communication, conflict management.

Interview #149 titled, "Leading the Next Generation"

https://www.entreleadership.com/posts.podcast

The Sports Parenting Podcast: The ABC's of Divorce & Sports Parenting

Thank you, JBM, for the interview on your podcast show, The Sports Parenting podcast! 

We covered the "ABC's" of Divorce & Sports Parenting - aligning goals with the ex and coach, following the best interests standard in decision making, and controlling the controllables.

Interview link below...

http://jbmthinks.com/2016/05/sports-parenting-podcast-youth-sports-divorce.html/

Trophy Kids - Sports Parenting

Good documentary with tips on sports parenting. 

Trophy Kids @ Netflix.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3231100/

NCAA Athletic Scholarships: New Standards for 2016

New Athletic Qualifications Starting 2016

Can a student-athlete receive athletic scholarship money and play college sports if grades are not met?  Definitely…maybe.  Starting August 2016, for Division I entering freshman student-athletes, the following three-tiered qualification system applies:

Full Qualifier (all academic requirements are met):  this requires completing the 16 core courses, a 2.3 core course GPA, and the matching SAT/ACT score.  A “full-qualifier” student-athlete may receive athletic scholarship money and both practice and compete in games starting the freshman year of college.

Academic Redshirt:  this is the student-athlete that completes the 16 core courses, but with a core course GPA between 2.0-2.299 and the meets the sliding SAT/ACT score for that GPA. An “academic redshirt” may receive athletic scholarship money and practice with the team during the freshman year of college.  However, an academic redshirt may not play in games during the first year.  Also, the academic redshirt student-athlete must remain academically successful during the first term of college (completing 9 semester hours or 8 quarter hours) to be eligible to practice for the remainder of the year.

Non-Qualifier:  a “non-qualifier” is the student-athlete that falls short of the above academic standards.  A non-qualifier student-athlete cannot receive athletic scholarship money, cannot practice with the team, and cannot play in games during the first year of college.

The Other Side of "Grit"

A different look at "grit," its benefits and limits, and when it best applies from The Atlantic.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/is-grit-overrated/476397/

Student Athletes & Social Media

Recent examples of how "one drunk tweet" can cost a student-athlete an athletic scholarship. 

New Hampshire – “Boys basketball player stripped of player of the year award after profanity-laced Tweet about opponent.”

Ohio – “Clear Fork soccer player suspended after Retweeting post about marijuana.”

OKLA State “Had to stop recruiting a young man this evening.  Still amazed by what recruits Tweet, Retweet. College coaches are watching.”

Penn State “Dropped another prospect due to social media presence. Glad got to see ‘real’ person before offering him.”

The Unplayable Piano

Counterintuitive advice on creative problem solving from TED Talks.

https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford_how_messy_problems_can_inspire_creativity?language=en

Team Building: Lessons From Google

Good article from Mark Suster on why some teams at Google work and other don't.  Info applies to ex spouses battling over custody and child support as well as coaching staffs dealing with conflict.  

https://bothsidesofthetable.com/the-importance-of-teams-and-why-the-best-leaders-cultivate-them-8dc931fdb22b#.yko7r1g5l

Rising US Math Scores

Finally some good news on how the US is seeing improvement in high school math scores.  Make it competitive and interesting....who knew...

From The Atlantic.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/the-math-revolution/426855/

The Talent Code

Good book for youth coaches and sports parents titled, "The Talent Code" from Daniel Coyle. 

Counter-intuitive info on how to develop skill sets and very different from the U.S. model of "game speed" practice. 

Useful story on how a banged up tennis school in Moscow (with a single tennis court) has produced more top 20 female tennis players than the entire U.S. tennis system.

http://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/055380684X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461424525&sr=8-1&keywords=talent+code

Athletic Director Turn Over Rate

The average annual turn over rate for high school athletic directors is 25-30%.  Not exactly a great way to build an athletic program's continuity. 

AD's walk around with a target on their back when things go wrong.  But as coaches and sports parents we need to remember that AD's are dealing with the leagues, coaching staffs, and parents from every sport offered by the school.  That's a lot of personalities, egos, and pressures to juggle. 

TED Talk: Two Reasons Why Companies Fail

Good TED Talk on how companies struggle to balance short term efficiencies and production vs. long term innovation.  Need both to stay in business today and next year!

The lessons apply to coaching staffs and sports parents managing dynamic relationships and balancing change and growth.

https://www.ted.com/talks/knut_haanaes_two_reasons_companies_fail_and_how_to_avoid_them?language=en

Management vs. Leadership

Good interview for coaches of Charles Schwab's CEO on the difference between management vs. leadership.  From The Corner Office in the NYT.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/business/walt-bettinger-of-charles-schwab-youve-got-to-open-up-to-move-up.html?_r=0

Fast Company: Kiwi Crate - Developing Entrepreneurs

Sort of a cool company mentioned in Fast Company called Kiwi Crate.  Monthly subscription service with science, creative problem solving, entrepreneurship projects. 

http://www.kiwicrate.com/

Sara Blakely - Spanx

Good story from Forbes on Sara Blakely of Spanx - the value of hustle and resilience for young entrepreneurs. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/10/21/spanx-inventor-sara-blakely-on-hustling-her-way-to-a-billion-dollar-business/#2698541a478f

Glazier Head Coach Academy: Las Vegas

Looking forward to speaking at the Glazier Head Coach Academy in Las Vegas on the morning of Friday, Feb 19th.

Topics:

* Student Athlete Development
* Offseason Program Development, and
* Divorce & Sports Parenting

http://www.glazierclinics.com/coaching_clinics/las-vegas-nevada-hca-clinic-schedule

Job Security: 43% Freelancers by 2020

There was a stat recently in Inc magazine where by 2020 roughly 43% of new jobs will be freelance positions.   Pretty good incentive for student-athletes to drop the English Lit major and focus on skills that will produce income.  Pretty good old-timey quote by Gen. MacArthur that sill applies today, probably more than ever.  "Security is based on one's ability to produce."

Navy SEALS Mission Statement: 2016

Not a bad 2016 Mission Statement for coaches, sports parents and athletes from the Navy SEALS. Jason Witten, TE for the Dallas Cowboys, keeps this in his locker.

NAVY SEALS CREED
•I WILL NEVER QUIT
•I PERSEVERE & THRIVE ON ADVERSITY
•MY TEAM EXPECTS ME TO BE PHYSICALLY HARDER & MENTALLY STRONGER THAN OUR COMPETITION
•IF KNOCKED DOWN, I WILL GET UP EVERY TIME
•I WILL DRAW ON EVERY REMAINING SOURCE OF STRENGTH TO HELP MY TEAM & ACCOMPLISH OUR GOAL
I AM NEVER OUT OF THE FIGHT