Perhaps the hardest question that today’s sports parent have to confront….
I felt the time had come this AM – on Mother’s Day no less– to ask the question that Moms and Dads everywhere have to confront these days: whether it’s okay to let their youngsters play contact sports, like football, soccer, ice hockey, lax, and so on — when it’s clear that there’s real growing … Read more
A Fresh, New, and Intriguing Way to Do Kids’ Sports
Danny Bernstein grew up on Long Island where he played a variety of sports, most notably soccer. He was the goalkeeper on the Roslyn HS team which won the first NYS HS championship. Danny then went onto Amherst College where he continued playing soccer, and captained his college team. After graduating, he spent a number … Read more
Another Case of Religious Accomodation: In this case, a happy ending…
The boys’ basketball team at Beren Academy, a Jewish Orthodox school near Houston, had a terrific season, and the players were eagerly looking to the post-season playoffs. But then, the Texas Assn of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS), ruled that the playoff games were slated to start on Friday evening and that they couldn’t be changed. … Read more
At last! An online college recruiting service that makes sense!
If you have a youngster in HS who aspires someday to play sports in college, I do hope you had a chance to listen to the Sports Edge this AM. I had the opportunity to speak with Vish Prabhakara, the young CEO of BeRecruited.com, and I must admit that I came very impressed with how … Read more
Are You Okay with Public Schools Charging for Team Tryouts?
In an effort to defray the soaring costs of HS sports, I had read where some scbools in the Midwest were now charging kids a fee of $50 if they wanted to try out for a school team. As was pointed out on my radio show this AM, parents routinely fork over anywhere from $30 to … Read more
My Top Ten Sports Parenting Predictions for 2012…
So much has happened in recent years in the ever-changing world of sports parenting, that I thought I’d finish out 2011 with my Top Ten Predictions for the coming year. Here we go: 10. LL Baseball will follow the NCAA and the Nat’l HS Baseball Federation and allow only BBCOR (and of course wood) bats. … Read more
Term Limits For Youth League Coaches?
By Doug Abrams When I was president of a youth hockey association about fifteen years ago, a small group of parents proposed amending the bylaws to impose term limits on board members and head coaches. Two one-year terms for board members and two years for volunteer head coaches. Up and out, unless a head coach … Read more
Why Youth Leagues Should Encourage Older Players to Help Coach Younger Teams – and How to Do It
By Doug Abrams When I tell friends that I began coaching in 1967, they usually guess that I am a bit older than I really am. That year, I coached a Little League baseball team in the Central Nassau Athletic Association in East Meadow, Long Island. The following year, I also coached a youth hockey … Read more
Why A Teen Should Serve on The Youth League’s Board of Directors
By Doug Abrams In the spring of 1968, I was finishing my junior year at W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury, and I was also nearing the end of my Little League playing days with the Central Nassau Athletic Association. I had umpired CNAA games in the lower age divisions for three years, and … Read more
Selecting the Team’s Captains
By Doug Abrams Last week’s column urged coaches to trust their players to make many of the team’s decisions throughout the season. Like the rest of us, young players learn leadership skills best by leading, and not simply by listening to leaders. I wrote that my 9-10-year-old squirt hockey teams had rotating tri-captains so that … Read more
"The Sports Edge"
Rick Wolff
Steve Kallas
Doug Abrams
