“You are what you eat” is among the best nutrition advice if understood and practiced. Think about it, if you consider your body will rebuild your bone and muscle and brain cells specifically with the food you eat, would you think twice about tossing back a sugar-latent coffee and two Read more…
Are kids’ toys too processed? Do they invite creativity or do the job for them?
“Necessity is the mother of innovation.”
Parents want to give their children everything they can … but should they consider giving them less? Is modern children’s play too processed?
The presenter, Stephen Hall takes a minute or three to get to his point, but his emphasis on parenting and inspiring our children to be creative by giving them less is awesome. The less our children need, the less they may express their intuitive creativity.
I read once that around 93% of children are rated as creative when they are 3 years old, but by the time these same children are 18 years old, only 15% or so are rated as highly creative. As a country, we have dug ourselves into a hole by developing an educational system based on uniformity and conformity.
In most grade schools, Art and Physical Education are only taught once per week. We are so focused on Literature, History and the Sciences that most adults are now walking around “Physically Illiterate” and with what I call “Right Brain Amnesia.” (more…)
We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players and parents in every game we play.
I don’t believe a week or two goes by where I don’t hear a parent or grandparent mention something about (other) parents yelling during a youth sports game. If any of you have been to grade school games, especially for a “select team” competition, you know what I am talking about. Someone recently sent me this letter St. Louis Cardinals new manager (and former catcher) Mike Matheny wrote to the parents of his son’s baseball team he was coaching. It is impressively lengthy and detailed, but also very important in today’s parenting/youth sports climate.
I have included the introduction along with what I found to be high lights from the letter (bulleted below) … there is no more important job in this world than being a parent … I hope a few of them take a minute to check this letter out:
Coach Matheny to Baseball Team Parents:
I always said that the only team that I would coach would be a team of orphans, and now here we are. The reason for me saying this is that I have found the biggest problem with youth sports has been the parents. I think that it is best to nip this in the bud right off the bat. I think the concept that I am asking all of you to grab is that this experience is ALL about the boys. If there is anything about it that includes you, we need to make a change of plans. My main goals are as follows:
We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players, and parents in every game we play. The boys are going to play with a respect for their teammates, opposition, and the umpires no matter what. (more…)
“(Sports) are a training ground of virtue, a school of inner balance and outer control …” Submitted to the St. Louis Review on Aug. 8th 2012 Blessed John Paul II, an avid sportsman in his youth, once lauded the moral value of sports. “They are a training ground of virtue,” he Read more…
I found this article earlier this week … for all parents out there of young athletes. We are seeing too many kids committing to one sport so early on, and this early specialization is causing several issues. Please read this if you have kids who are or you will probably Read more…
Beyond self-expression? I am a strong proponent of many success and motivational strategies that emphasize self-mastery, self-direction and of course our basic human need of self-expression. But how far can we really get by our-self? I believe the “can we be a “good person” just for the sake of being a good person” Read more…
Turkish get ups and similar patterns are excellent examples of prioritizing repetition over repetitions.
This (re-)post is for the Fitness & Performance Coaches in the room, especially if you work with youth athletes, though everyone benefits from repetition. Read and consider, as we should be discussing with our clients the ideas of self-mastery, not perfection, but challenging ourselves and our clients to improve abilities and skills. It’s not about back barbell squatting your body weight in pounds, but instead, doing a body weight squat perfectly to a 12″ box, first and foremost, and most cannot do this. Consider the difference, in that it therefore isn’t about doing 3 sets of 12 reps, but rather, doing enough repetition of the movement and appropriate corrective strategies until the skill and movement pattern is improved.
