How Coaches Can Hold the Players’ Attention When They Talk to the Team During Practice (Part II)
By Doug Abrams At any age level, the players’ attention span is usually much longer than it appears. This two-part column discusses seven techniques that can help coaches hold their players’ attention in a group during practice sessions. Part I presented four techniques last week; Part II now concludes with the final three. 5) Use … Read more
College recruiting: Be forewarned and do your homework first!
If the ultimate payoff for a young, talented, and dedicated athlete is to someday play at the collegiate level, you would think that parents would be better informed. The sad reality is that too many moms and dads sit up and fully expect scholarship offers to roll in during their kid’s senior year. Or that … Read more
How Coaches Can Hold the Players’ Attention When Talking to the Team During Practice (Part I)
By Doug Abrams When they talk to the team as a group during practice, coaches sometimes grow frustrated that players seem not to be paying attention. The coaches cannot understand why youngsters stir, stare down at their feet, or begin daydreaming about other things. Blaming the disconnect to the players’ short attention span, some coaches … Read more
A question of propriety? Should HS coaches be allowed to run travel programs for their players?
Rarely has a topic generated more comments on my show than this one – and understandably so. In short, as travel teams inexorably begin to dominate the HS landscape, more and more HS varsity coaches are beginning to see a potential payday by running their own travel programs for their players in the off-season. The … Read more
What Can Happen When Youth Coaches Use Pep Talks from the Movies
By Doug Abrams Three weeks ago, on Saturday afternoon, September 24, the Marcellus (N.Y.) High School Mustangs junior varsity football team was returning home after losing to nearby Skaneateles High. A few miles from Marcellus, Mustangs head coach Jim Marsh had the bus driver stop at the rural St. Francis Xavier Cemetery. With his two … Read more
Should we keep kids under 14 from playing contact sports?
This is the general direction that Chris Nowinski, the president of the Sports Legacy Institute – the world’s premier research facility regarding the dangers of brain concussions – – feels that we as sports parents ought to be pursuing. Nowinski, who is the main driving force behind our awareness of the long-range effects of concussions … Read more
Achieving Equal Opportunity in Youth Sports (Part III) – Reform and Resistance
By Doug Abrams Part I of this column discussed the “power of the permit,” the recognized authority of government agencies to manage public property, including public youth sports venues. Part II discussed how two agencies — the school district and the parks and recreation department — may allocate fields, gymnasiums and other public property to … Read more
"The Sports Edge"
Doug Abrams
Rick Wolff
Steve Kallas
