Category: For Parents

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Parents Code of Conduct Agreement Form

Because parents need reminders. Here is a great sample parents code of conduct agreement form.

Classics-AAU-Parent-Code-Conduct-Agreement

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Losing the right way is better than winning the wrong way.

Had the privilege of hearing Jake Locker speak this weekend. Of the many interesting and challenging things he shared, this stood out to me:

Losing the right way is better than winning the wrong way.

How often we can get this confused in youth sports. Winning in the “wrong way” is risky message to teach our kids. The lesson they learn on the court will translate in to their work and family lives.

So what is the “wrong way” to win? Winning by a ref’s bad call, a technicality, or by intentionally hurting a player are a few that come to mind. But a few grey-area wrong ways to win include; intimidate young refs so they don’t call fouls on your team, always foul the shooter, foul overly aggressively, only play the 5 best players, only play 2-3 zone and forcing the other team to shoot, or press the entire game when it is obvious you will win.

In youth basketball some of these tactics mean kids are not being development as complete athletes and basketball players. And if half the kids on your team sit on the bench the entire game just to win you are really only helping 5 kids.

Check out this video. Yes, the dark-jersey team created a really strange play. BUT why is the white-jersey team pressing them when it is 16-0. Why bother? Even in the half-court why not just let the team shoot.

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The Race to Nowhere

The title of this movie – RacetoNowhere.com – caught my attention because in youth basketball sometimes we forget what we are “racing” towards. This movie focuses more on academics, but the parallels to athletics is important. So there so many redemptive reasons to participate in youth basketball.

3 Redemptive Reasons to do youth basketball: 

  1. Learn to make quick & correct decisions under pressure.
  2. Learn to work with teammates who often have different perspectives and attitudes.
  3. Develop physical skills.

Want to dig deeper?

The Race to Nowhere Trailer: 

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Girls Youth Basketball is Different

Just came across an interesting article from TheUndefeated.com which highlights the different paths for girls when it comes to college scholarships. What caught my attention was the additional number of college scholarships available to women. It represents great opportunities for women in basketball.

Women’s Division I teams each have 15 scholarships, compared with 13 for men, so there are 644 more free rides for women. And there are about 120,000 more boys playing high school basketball than girls. In other words, women’s college basketball has more scholarships for fewer players.

Author Jesse Washington reminds that “We don’t see the 5-8 kid in eighth grade and then she’s 6-3 in 11th grade. That just doesn’t happen…”. So – as with all kids – be realistic with your daughter’s opportunities.

“Because women still spend four years in college, because the money to be made in professional women’s basketball is not life-changing in the way that men’s basketball is, the main difference is that recruitable girls and their families still value education, first and foremost,” Gottlieb said. “I think they value relationships with the coaches and with the teammates and things like the feel of the campus.”

Read the full article for more insights: TheUndefeated.com

 

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Jake Locker Story

The Jake Locker story is an interesting one for understanding a little of the challenge to balance excellence, personal health, family, and faith. And why am I featuring a football player here? Jake lives near my home in Bellingham, WA and has a similar passion for helping youth sports be successful.

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Taking the Joy out of Youth Sports

Thanks to over competitive and anxious parents, youth basketball often isn’t full of joy. Why not? So what are a few things we (as parents and coaches) do to suck the joy out of it:

  1. We try to coach from the sideline. (Kids have enough to concentrate on during the game, listening to your “excellent input” isn’t going to help them with their experience.)
  2. We yell at the refs. (The refs work hard – usually – to make the game even possible. Don’t waste your energy on trying to help them. 🙂 And we should require our kids to ‘ignore’ them.)
  3. As parents we question the coach. Our kids are trying to show respect to the coach. If we complain about them the entire drive home, the kids will learn to complain about the coach also.)
  4. Commenting and complaining about your child’s teammates. (See #3 … respecting teammates is essential also.)
  5. Making the ride-home miserable. (Enjoy the moment with your kids. Don’t try to make it a teachable moment.)

Most parents are guilty of one or more of these from time to time. As parents we can set the tone. Let’s do it.

Read a more detailed article here: http://changingthegameproject.com/how-adults-take-the-joy-out-of-sports

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Help! My Kids Are Always On Their Phones (VIDEO)

Great feedback for parents from PGC Basketball!
View original article at https://pgcbasketball.com/blog/help-my-kids-phones

An ongoing challenge among parents is figuring out how to curb phone usage. These challenges affect parents of athletes and non-athletes alike. Join PGC President Mano Watsa as he shares some of the tips he’s learned to help navigate the distractions of technology, including adopting a technique from PGC founder Dick DeVenzio called “an air-conditioned room conversation.”

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PGC provides intense, no-nonsense basketball training for dedicated players and coaches. Each camp and clinic is designed to teach players of all positions to play smart basketball, to be coaches on the court, and to be leaders in practices, games, and everyday life.

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Setup YOUR Team Roster on TourneyBuddy

We have launched our Team Tools and added 100s of teams to our database. See if you are listed at: http://blog.tourney.life/teams … there is a simple process to claim your team.

Once you have your Team, you can add Players, Text directly to your Players, setup Schedules, record Game Scores, and more.