Deep Thought #1: The Stuff No One Tells You

"Do you think my kid has what it takes?"

I get that question more often than almost anything else—and not just from parents in the parking lot or via direct messaging in the latest team app. I’ve had it whispered from the stands, texted late at night, or snuck into casual conversations after practice or in between games.

And here’s the hard truth:

The question is never really about the kid.

It’s about fear. Call it a fear of missing out, a fear of being left behind, or just the fear that their kid won't have an activity to keep them busy as the grow up. Or maybe it's the fear about what people don’t know and are afraid to ask out loud.

Because there’s no handbook for youth sports. You join a team, show up to practice, and hope it all goes well. But under the surface, there’s an invisible layer of code—unwritten rules, politics, and personalities that shape what happens next. And most of it? Isn’t obvious from the outside. Especially if you didn't play the sport or didn't play a sport for very long

The biggest mistake people make is assuming that youth sports are just smaller versions of high school, college, or pro athletics. But coaching an 8-year-old isn’t a scaled-down NBA experience. It’s a completely different job. Different purpose. Different metrics for success.

So here’s what I want this space to be:

A place to share the real stuff—the things coaches talk about in quiet moments, the things parents sense but don’t know how to name, the lessons that don’t show up in box scores.

Sometimes serious.
Sometimes funny.
Always honest.

Because there’s a lot that needs to be said about how we raise athletes—and humans—in a culture that’s often more focused on rankings than readiness.

And if I can offer some clarity, a few stories, and a little perspective along the way… that’s what this is for.

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