Teaching Teamwork Skills In Youth Sports

Teaching Teamwork Skills In Youth Sports By Emilee Bounds and Tim Baghurst Oklahoma State University The ability to function and collaborate within a team setting requires a multidimensional skill set that is beneficial at all stages of life. Therefore, teaching teamwork to young people can help them develop skills at an early age that they…

How To Set Goals With Youth Athletes

How To Set Goals With Youth Athletes Coaches and parents focus heavily on helping their athletes learn the skills for their sport. But often overlooked is teaching athletes just how they can reinforce and steadily improve these skills by setting SMART goals. Setting goals with your youth athlete is not only important in improving your…

Hydration For Youth Athletes FAQs

Hydration For Youth Athletes FAQ Hydration can be a confusing topic for youth sports parents and coaches. “How much water should my athletes be drinking?”, “When is it most important to hydrate?”, and “Do they need to be drinking anything more than ‘just’ water?” are all common questions that seemingly everyone has a different answer…

The Parent’s Role As A Teammate

The Parent’s Role As A Teammate Signing up your young athlete for a team means they will soon become a teammate to others. As a parent, you will likely have many conversations with your child about cooperation, commitment, reliability, and the many other characteristics of a good teammate. But have you thought about the new…

The Dos Of Coaching Youth Athletes

The Dos Of Coaching Youth Athletes By Roberta Kraus, Ph.D., President of the Center for Sports Psychology Remember when sports were just plain backyard, unorganized fun? You played all day. There was a place for everyone on a team, and it really didn’t matter if you were good. But these days many kids are juggling…

5 Reasons Kids’ Brains Need Sports

5 Reasons Kids’ Brains Need Sports By Dimity McDowell As your child learns to hit a backhand, throw a curve ball, or shoot a free throw, the muscle they are strengthening the most may surprise you: the brain. Physical movement affects the brain by increasing cerebral capillary growth, blood flow, and the production of proteins (neurotrophins)…