Participation Trophies & The “Life Lesson” Fallacy

America's favorite youth sports debate was back in the news last week, as a trio of North Carolina legislators introduced a bill that would effectively prohibit youth sports organizations from handing out participation awards to the children who compete in their programs (original story here). One of the co-authors of the bill explained his justification…

Redefining “Success”

Something I talk about at length in our youth coach meetings is the concept of setting an appropriate definition of success. For kids 12 and under, “success” in sports equates to developing core skills, improving confidence, and finding motivation to continue to participate. In other words, if they’re learning and improving, finding joy in the…

Kidsports Eve

Today, I sit at my kitchen counter in our new home in Eugene, OR, on the eve of my next big career adventure. Tomorrow morning will be my first day of a career defining new role as the associate Executive Director at Emerald Kidsports, a local pillar with a 70 year history of serving the…

The “Failure” of Recreational Sports

If you and your kids are involved in youth sports in America, and if you've been paying ANY attention at all, you're likely well aware of the common talking points about the worrisome state of things... "70% of kids drop out of sports before they reach age 13.""Sports specialization is causing overuse injuries at increasingly…

When the Big Kids Return to Play

Much has been written and said about our eventual return to youth sports when the COVID-19 pandemic finally subsides, but adults are going to need the power of play as well... By: Nate Baldwin Nearly 20 years ago, as a newly married young man in my early 20's and having lived my entire life in…