I’ve coached thousands of kids across dozens of teams—from first practices full of tears and untied shoes to championship games played in dead gyms and loud tournaments. Along the way, I’ve heard everything: worried parents, frustrated coaches, tired volunteers, and kids just trying to find their way. Everyone has an angle. Everyone’s chasing something—for their kid, their program, their brand, their ego.

But the younger the athlete, the higher the stakes in a different way—not in wins and losses, but in how we shape the humans on the other side of the whistle. And coaching youth—K through 8th grade—is a different job entirely from coaching high school, college, or pros. It’s not even the same sport half the time.

This space is for real talk. Not headlines. Not highlight reels. Just the honest reflections that come from being in the gym, on the field, and in the middle of the moments no one else writes about. Sometimes serious. Sometimes funny. Always honest.

These are my deep thoughts—about coaching, kids, and the wild, broken, beautiful world of youth sports.