Managing your team
A Conversation About Youth Sports + Mental Health with NFL Player Brian Asamoah II
While young athletes gain a variety of positive mental health benefits from playing sports, pressures from highly competitive play can also pose mental health challenges. Listen in as ‘Winning Is Not Everything’ podcast host Sean Jensen has a fascinating conversation with Minnesota Vikings linebacker Brian Asamoah II on his experience with mental health in youth,…
Best Practices for Communication in Chaos
It’s hard to predict when emergency situations will arise, but one thing your sports organization can do is to have a solid plan in place communication wise when a chaotic situation arises. If you haven’t thought about a communication plan for when chaos arrives, now is a great chance to refine or implement a plan.…
Organize Your Hockey Team in 4 Steps Using TeamSnap
In four simple steps your hockey team will be organized, laced up, on the ice, and ready to go. TeamSnap helps hockey teams all across North America get on the same page through better communication tools, organized team details, scheduling features, and more. You may think your hockey team is ready for the season to…
Feature Friday: Stay Connected With TeamSnap Live!
You may have heard the phrase: FOMO, also known as fear of missing out. TeamSnap knows the feeling and that’s why we’ve created a feature called TeamSnap Live! that allows anyone to share live game experiences and moments with the entire team. It’s up to you how you want to use it, but you can…
A Coach’s Guide To Preseason Planning
If you ask any coach about their tips for making preseason as successful as possible, they will likely lead with the importance of organization and thoughtful planning. Just like anything, preparation is key to a smooth operation. If you are a youth sports coach, a college coach, or even a professional coach, when preseason pops…
Six Beginner Tips For Visualization
Visualization is a tool many athletes use to improve their sports performance. Visualization refers to the mental image of something. It’s become a common way for athletes to prepare for practices and games and also as a reflection practice. If you are a coach, parent, or sports organizer looking to implement visualization into your team,…
Five Tips for Successful Tryouts
Operating tryouts for your youth sports club can be daunting. If not planned correctly, an exciting, hope-filled day can turn into an organizational nightmare. Try these five tips to prepare for tryouts and ensure that coaches, parents, and players all have a great experience and are on the same page. Five Tips for Successful Tryouts…
Why Preseason Meetings Are the Perfect Opportunity for Setting Parent’s Expectations for the Season
One of the toughest parts of being a coach for a youth sports team isn’t always wrangling kids, sometimes it’s actually wrangling the parents. Between game time, practice schedules, carpools, and the highs and lows of winning and losing the games, there’s a lot going on. And though well-intentioned, sometimes parent’s excitement for their kids…
Using an Agenda to Effectively Manage a Youth Sports Parent Meeting
As a former youth sports player, amateur coach and now parent of children who participate in team sports, I’ve sat through and led many parent meetings — some were good, some were bad. Most youth sports organizations have wonderful coaches and volunteer parent managers. But running an efficient and effective meeting for a group of…
6 Core Values Your Team Needs Now
A lot goes into building a team. And youth sports coaches should focus on more than just game strategy; they should be intentional about the values their players learn. Here are six suggested values to incorporate into your coaching and team building. Use them, tweak them, or throw them out and write your own. Just…
7 Tips To Encourage Teamwork on Your Youth Sports Team
Whether coaching youth teams, rec leagues or even pro levels, many coaches aim to build a strong team by adding the strongest individual players they can find. Sure, it makes sense to prioritize talent when stitching together a successful team. Yet, building a team of athletes who will work together well depends on more than…
Are You a Good Sport? How Athletes (and Coaches) Can Practice Better Sportsmanship
We’ve all seen what can happen when an athlete or a coach experiences a lapse in sportsmanship. Foul language flies out their mouth; they withhold a handshake; they disrespect the ref. It’s not only unbecoming, but it can easily derail the game and spread negativity throughout the team and spectators. But what is sportsmanship, and…