The Chaotic World of Youth Sports — Vol 68

As a sports parent and coach, I know how complicated youth sports can be at times. So I’d like to share some helpful articles that shed light on the challenges we face… and some funny ones that might even give us an opportunity to laugh at ourselves. Please enjoy… and please click here to try our iSport360 app, which is the first-ever mobile platform to help kids, coaches and parents have a better youth sports experience.

Youth Sport Participation Levels From The Aspen Institute

We can count on our friends at the Aspen Institute for industry leading research on youth sports.  Additionally, they are at the spearhead of Project Play 2020, a multiyear effort to grow youth sport participation, with partners such as NBC, MLB, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Amazon, The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, NBA, ESPN, NHL and more.

Above are participation numbers from the Aspen Institute State of Play 2018 Report. Interesting to see dramatic jumps in Ice Hockey, Flag Football and Track & Field, while Soccer and Tackle Football saw the biggest drops.  To read the article, click here.

Player Feedback Starts With This Button 👆

Research tells us that kids don’t learn from Report Cards, Test Scores, or end-of-season Player Evaluations. They learn from ongoing feedback—particularly timely, actionable, and objective feedback. And we know that coaches typically leave a game with many bits of feedback that may never get to players. So take 2-3 minutes after a game, tournament, or practice to share feedback with your whole team, or individuals on the team. But it all starts with this button, and you will see the results immediately in your players. Click here to start sharing feedback today!

5 Tips For Communicating Effectively With Your Child’s Coach

At iSport360, our thesis is simple: when coaches and parents are on the same page, kids have more success, more confidence and more fun. Across the Atlantic, our friends at Working With Parents in Sport share the same values and distilled them down to 5 ways parents and coaches can work together. Read more here.