Sports for Your Child

Whoa!  This is truly a sensitive subject!  I’m sure to lose some friends over this post.   

Certain parents love their children so much that they think they should get the most playing time on the team, whether they deserve it or not.  If this is you, I apologize for being so blunt with my statement. 

OK, you’re right, on a recreational team playing time shouldn’t be withheld from any player.  This post only addresses competitive teams in competitive situations.  If your child is on a “rec” team and they’re not getting playing time then talk to the coach.

My boys have been in both situations (lots of playing time and not so much) and I agree that it hurts to watch your child sulk on the sideline.  It’s no fun watching unless the player just wants to be on a team to hang out with the other players and say that they were a part of something.  I’ve watched my oldest son ride pine (sit on the bench), in baseball, on the 4th ranked team in the country.  When my youngest was just starting in football, he stunk up the joint and earned plenty of time watching from the sideline.  He was the most polite player on the team . . . on defense! 

I don’t fault those coaches.  When you’re playing to win, and you know that losing sucks, a coach will put his best foot forward every time.  In both of those situations, the downtime just served as a catalyst to incent my boys to work that much harder going forward.

As a caution to parents and kids when they get to high school (actually on any competitive team); don’t ask for playing time; earn it!  Chances are that if you ask for more playing time, you’ll spend more time on the sideline than you would have.  Would it be fair to take playing time away from the kid who earns it?  The answer to that question should be obvious!

As Mike Green, founder of The Sports Family Club, said very eloquently on Twitter “hard work and a desire that can’t be measured or created are the true differentiators of a pro athlete”.  This applies to athletes at any level.  The harder you work and the more desire that you have, the better you’ll be.  If you improve from working hard, you’ll get serious playing time.  That’s what it’s all about!  You’ll be proud of the playing time that you receive.  Oh, by the way, when you get playing time, make plays so that you continue to be in the mix in the future.

Best wishes to all players as they strive to achieve! 

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This blog post is intended, mostly, for parents who are just getting their kids into tackle football.  There are certain suggestions that impact more experienced players or those who are switching teams as well.  

Youth tackle football practices will begin within the next month.  If your kids are new to tackle football, buying equipment is very exciting, especially if they’ve watched football on televison.  Don’t get ahead of yourself on buying the equipment though.  The first thing you should do is talk to your son’s football coach to find out what the team requires from it’s players. 

You will have some very important considerations:

The team colors can have an effect on some of the accessories that you purchase such as : helmets, gloves, and cleats. Your child’s helmet can be specific in color so find this out before you buy.  Also, helmets can have many upgrades, mostly in the area of protection from head injuries.  Gloves and cleats don’t have to match the uniforms, but if you have a choice why not go for a matching color.  Remember it’s not only important how they play, but they must look mahvelous (thanks, Billy Crystal).

The position your child plays can impact the shoulder pads that they wear as they get older.  If they are going to play a line position, the pads should be more protective.  At skill positions, players need to have flexibility in their pads so they can lift their arms up high for a pass.  As your kids get older, you should have a pretty good idea of their position, although this can change at any age. 

The coach of your team may have an arrangement with selected stores for your purchases.  If they don’t and you want to save money, you may want to check into a store that sells used equipment.  This is your choice, but I always error on the side of good protective equipment.  By the way, I’ve had good luck buying equipment online, in many cases you can save many and get more options. 

If you purchase visors for helmets, be aware that leagues may prohibit dark colors.  This is for the safety of your child because, if there is an injury the attending coach/caregiver will need to see your child’s eyes to make an informed decision as to how to care for your child.

Football is almost here.  Can you feel it!

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Many youth players don’t realize how the power of their minds can benefit them when it comes to sports.  Obviously, if the mind is focused, a player can achieve much more than when it isn’t.  Any player with ‘athletic ADD’ is going to have problems whether they are trying to hit a baseball/softball with a bat, catch a football, or score a goal in hockey, basketball, soccer or lacrosse.   Please note that I’m not referring to kids who have ADD, but kids who don’t focus when they’re playing sports.

As many East Indian gurus have told us there is a monkey in the back of the mind that is always trying to distract us.  A player must focus and refocus to stay in the present and prevent emotions from taking hold.

It is also true that both winning and losing can be mindsets.  To transition from a losing mindset to a winning mindset, the whole team has to be focused on every play.  It requires steadfast alignment of the collective thinking of the team that they can win.  They must stay focused throughout the game and think about the outcome after the game is over.  If players are focused on the outcome then they aren’t in the moment.

We’ve all seen teams with big leads lose games and that happens because the players aren’t thinking in the present.  This is true for all actions in life and it’s certainly easier said than done, but coaches and captains need to be aware of the power of the mind.

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“Exertion is a concept describing the use of physical or perceived energy. It normally connotates a strenuous or costly effort related to physical, muscular, philosophical actions and work.” — Wikipedia

“Fatigue (also called exhaustion, lethargy, languidness, languor, lassitude, and listlessness) is a state of weariness. It can describe a range of afflictions, varying from a general state of lethargy to a specific work-induced burning sensation within one’s muscles. It can be both physical and mental. Physical fatigue is the inability to continue functioning at the level of one’s normal abilities.”  Wikipedia

Parents and coaches spend a great deal of time and money preparing youth athletes for tournaments.  That investment should be protected to ensure that the child has the very best experience on the field.  When there is a tournament that requires sleeping away from home, there is a tendency to let the kids have fun in the wrong ways.  Anything that requires physical exertion is draining for an athlete both physically and mentally.  When the body is tired the brain doesn’t function as well.

Any activity that is physical, time spent in the sun, or anything that depletes the body of fluids such as a sauna or hot tub should be avoided as much as possible. A few years back, the players on my older son’s baseball team thought it would be great idea to have a catch, with a football, at a baseball tournament during a long wait between games.  When they played in the championship game, that followed the break, they lost 15-0.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so.  I have watched several outstanding teams crumble from unnecessary physical exertion during tournaments. 

Pool activity should be limited to a maximum of 30 minutes per day. Players should refrain from playing catch. swimming, or conducting horseplay of any kind. 

While chatting with Kirk Mango, a friend who has been a high school coach for 17 years and is the author of “Becoming a True Champion”, I confirmed my concerns about the negative effects of over-exertion.  When chatting about teenage athletes engaging in recreational swimming during tournaments, Kirk said “. . . they are at the age when real competition begins. . . . discuss it from the standpoint that it is important that they can wind down and find other (non-physical) activities to get their mind off the game, release stress, and bond as a team.  They need to consider how certain choices affect not only them, but their teammates. I would start by coming right out and asking, or reaffirming, the goals they have for the season. Then I’d bring them full circle to show them how that choice they made – swimming for that many hours - diminished their chances of reaching their goal.  Good kids, competitive athletes will not do that again.” 

Kirk also mentioned that:

·     Fatigue breaks down the body to the point where the risk of injury is increased

·     His daughter’s competitive soccer team restricts time in a pool during tournaments

Be smart about the way you allow youth athletes to exert themselves during tournaments and they’ll have a more satisfying experience.  Competitive players shouldn’t allow fun off the field to jeopardize fun on the field where it counts.

Here’s the link for “Becoming a True Champion” by Kirk Mango  http://www.becomingatruechampion.com/

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Winning coaches understand that they need conditioned, strong athletes to win.  When you watch your child practice and you see that the coach is having the kids do pushups, run laps or run sprints just understand that they’re doing that to get the team in tip-top shape.

If you have a football player for a son, you should be aware that when they get to high school, weightlifting becomes an integral part of many days.  It’s important for your child to pack on muscle if they’re going to be able to endure the physical pounding that is a part of football.

What if your child plays another sport like: soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, swimming, tennis, golf, rugby, softball, wrestling, volleyball, badminton, ping pong, etc? Did I say ping pong?  They should do anything that will make them stronger, have more endurance and realize greater speed.

Working hard can make up for deficiencies.

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If you’re a sports fan, you’ve probably heard about the problems that brewed between Jay Cutler and Josh McDaniels, head coach of the Denver Broncos football team. This blog is intended to put this situation in focus for youth athletes and parents.

Unless a coach is abusing your child, the coach is always right, period! Many things happened, behind the scenes, that led up to this disagreement between the coach and his player. Jay Cutler had hurt feelings over the fact that his coach and co-offensive coordinator/quarterback coach were dismissed from the team without his agreement. Now, listen very carefully, the quarterback is very important to any team, but he better not run the show.

Josh McDaniels, as the head coach of an NFL football team has made some mistakes. Who hasn’t?  He may have hurt Cutler’s feelings but we don’t know what happenned behind the scenes.   Based upon how Coach McDaniels has conducted himself so far, I think he will be one of the best coaches in the NFL.  The trade for Kyle Orton and three draft picks will probably help to rebuild the team.  I never felt that Cutler was accurate, at all, on long passes.  Orton or Simms can play within a system and that’s what Coach McDaniels was looking for.  Here’s a bet that the QB of the Broncos has a higher passer rating than Cutler this year.

To bring this back into perspective for kids and parents, there are times in life when we don’t get our way. It’s a shame, but life isn’t always fair! We must be resilent enough to “go with the flow” in life.  If a coach, parent, teacher or boss thinks that we should do something a certain way, then that’s what we should do unless it is illegal, immoral, or hurts people. As a person who has been a youth coach, I think it’s important to hear the player out, but at some point somebody has to make a decision. It can’t be the player and it should be the head coach.

Since Jay Cutler wanted to be traded, it would not have been good for the Broncos for him to have stayed.  He should have been traded. The Broncos received great value and Cutler will probably go back to being an up and coming player.  It sounds like a win/win situation to me.

It’s just my opinion, but I don’t recommend the Jay Cutler method as an approach to life and I have told my kids that I’d be disappointed if they lived their lives in that manner.

If you don’t agree with me on this or any issue, please let me know as I always welcome different perspectives. Just click on “comment” and you’ll be able to express your opinion.

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America loves football, as evidenced by the fact that, according to Reuters, the cost of a 30 second Superbowl commercial reached $3 million dollars in 2009. Wow!

How did American Football evolve to the game it is today? There are many historical references on the web that differ in their facts, so the dates will be somewhat vague intentionally.

This series of posts, will provide an overview of the history of American Football. You’ll be able to read about youth, high school, college, and professional football. Since the amount of information about American Football is so vast, the subject couldn’t be covered, successfully, in one blog post.

We’re interested in your opinion on this subject. Please feel free to comment.

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The first person that was paid to play the game of football was William (Pudge) Heffelfinger in 1892. In 1896, the first completely professional team played a two-game season.

The National Football League (NFL) was established in 1902; with Connie Mack, the manager of the Philadelphia Athletics Baseball team, contributing to it’s formation. The rules were continually refined over time, while the NFL initially mirrored rule changes made by colleges. In 1933, the NFL made a departure from college rules and began molding the professional game to reflect the style of play that they felt was most exciting.

In 1959, the American Football League was created and began a serious rivalry with the NFL. Throughout the years many leagues were formed to compete with the NFL, but not until the AFL was there such serious contention for players, fans, and interest. Finally in 1967, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10 in the first Superbowl. The game was televised by CBS and NBC.

In a process that began in 1966 and was completed in 1970, the AFL was merged into the NFL. Besides expansion teams, that merger represented the formation of the NFL that we know today. Two conferences were formed, the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference which closed resembled the two merged leagues.

The game is still refined every year at the professional level (the NFL Competition Committee at the Annual Owners Meeting) to protect the players from career or life threatening injuries. There are many dissenters among the ranks of pro football alumni, but football is a great game and will not be harmed by an emphasis on safety.

References:

There are excellent historical videos that can be seen on the NFL Network on Television.

The most detailed historical reference, that I found, for American Football can be found at: http://www.nfl.com/history Just select a decade and enjoy the mounds of information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League

We’re interested in your opinion on this subject. Please feel free to comment.

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Unlike baseball and basketball, American Football was not invented by a single person. Football evolved from Rugby and Soccer. Rules were defined in universities such as Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and Rutgers College. Princeton created a very basic set of rules for the game of American Football and in the mid 1870s the game was defined further at a meeting of the four previously mentioned schools of higher learning.

Football became increasingly violent and was almost banned from universities. Injuries were numerous and there were many fatalities from the college game. In the early 1900s, Theodore Roosevelt called upon three universities to revise the rules so that the game was safer. The one person who is recognized for refining the rules of the game most is Walter Camp, a coach at Yale University, who some people call the Father of American Football. It was during this period that the forward pass, four downs (attempts) to achieve ten yards of progress, and eleven man game of football were introduced.

References:

While not current, a very detailed history of American Football, and a reference for this article, can be found at: http://www.essortment.com/all/americanfootbal_rwff.htm

There are excellent historical videos that can be seen on the NFL Network on Television.

The most detailed historical reference, that I found, for American Football can be found at: http://www.nfl.com/history Just select a decade and enjoy the mounds of information.

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High School football was established around the late 1890s to early 1900s and took its lead from college football. As rules were changed at the college level, they filtered down to the high school level. High school football is, of course, the feeder program for universities around the country.

While larger high school divisions particpate in the 11 player game, smaller high schools can play with 6, 8, or even 9 players. Rules and field sizes vary depending upon the number of players.

References:

While not current, a very detailed history of American Football, and a reference for this article, can be found at: http://www.essortment.com/all/americanfootbal_rwff.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_school_football

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