How Parents’ Visions of Colleges and The Pros Can Hurt Youth Leaguers
By Doug Abrams Almost like clockwork by the end of every season, the parents of at least one of my squirt hockey players would ask me how they could help their 9-year-old win an athletic scholarship someday, and perhaps even make the pros. The parents’ names were different each year, but the questions remained the … Read more
The Lesson of Jeremy Lin: A Personal Reflection
First, let me start with this: if you haven’t seen Jeremy Lin, the sensational new point guard for the NY Knicks, play yet, do yourself a favor and make sure you do. Your impressions will be just like mine: Wow, is this kid quick! It’s amazing how fast he is when he drives to the … Read more
Why Youth League Coaching Staffs Should Include Adults Inexperienced in The Game (Part II)
By Doug Abrams Last week’s column urged youth sports programs to assemble coaching staffs that may include interested adults who lack experience playing or coaching the game. Experience in the game is not essential for setting a positive example and teaching citizenship lessons. Men and women inexperienced in the game may also soon develop proficiency … Read more
Why Youth League Coaching Staffs Should Include Adults Inexperienced in the Game (Part I)
By Doug Abrams Several years ago, our mid-Missouri youth hockey program conducted an annual review of the teams’ coaching staffs. Before too long, the board of directors split into two distinct groups. One group favored coaching staffs comprised, to the extent possible, of adults who had significant hockey backgrounds as players or coaches. The other … Read more
Equal Playing Time Before Middle School (Part III): Protecting Players Emotional Safety
By Doug Abrams For the past two weeks, I have discussed the importance of equal playing time in games below the middle school age. Last week, Part II said that youngsters who participate fully in each game finish the season with permanent recollections of camaraderie and accomplishment. This week’s column explains how equal playing time … Read more
Equal Playing Time Before Middle School (Part II): Why Youth League Coaches Should Think Years Ahead
By Doug Abrams Last week I added my voice to others who have advocated equal playing time on youth league teams below the middle school age. I said that chronic benchwarming is an unacceptable price to pay for a chance at victory in elementary schoolers’ games whose scores will soon be forgotten anyway. At this … Read more
Equal Playing Time Before Middle School (Part I)
By Doug Abrams For years now, leading voices have urged youth league coaches to assure each team member equal playing time in every game, particularly in age levels below middle school. Rick Wolff, for example, says that equality serves the needs and expectations of both parents and their children. “When parents come to watch their … Read more
Memorializing a Coach or Player
By Doug Abrams From 1969 to 1985, Wally Livingstone led the Nassau County youth hockey program at the Cantiague Park Ice Rink in Hicksville, New York. His presence extended everywhere — as director of the County’s hockey program, coach of the midget travel team, and coach of an advanced summer conditioning clinic. When Wally died … Read more
The Serious Social Costs of Closing The Door On Teen Athletes
By Doug Abrams A few years ago, a friend from a nearby town stopped by my office to say that his 14-year-old son wanted to join our ice hockey program that autumn. The boy had lost interest in soccer because he saw the handwriting on the wall after warming the bench the prior two seasons. … Read more
Winning, Losing and Learning
By Doug Abrams My past four columns listed nearly a dozen important issues that youth league coaches and boards of directors should confront early in the pre-season period. I discussed each issue only briefly, but I promised that future columns would provide more in-depth discussion from time to time. This is the first of these … Read more
"The Sports Edge"
Rick Wolff
Steve Kallas
Doug Abrams
