Sometimes We Forget It’s Just a Game

Today's blog post was guest- written by Bill Matthews, MA, LPC. Bill is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Play Like a Champion Consultant in Detroit, Michigan. Bill is a frequent speaker at the Play Like a Champion Leadership conference, and specializes in youth and family therapy, with an interest in sports psychology.

Even before the crowd of over 111,000 had left the stadium, the internet was exploding with words of malice towards University of Michigan punter Blake O’Neil. O’Neill fumbled a low snap from center with 10 seconds left in the game, and the University of Michigan leading Michigan State by two points. He then botched the punt, which was grabbed by a little-known Spartan, and returned for the game-winning touchdown as the clock ran out. Mean-spirited comments such as “The entire state of Michigan hates you,” and “Go to the equipment room and start chugging that bleach my friend,” were penned by, angry fans.

When discussing the play in his post-game press conference, O’Neill’s coach simply said, "Mistakes were made on that field...very unfortunate circumstances." Fortunately, his teammates had his back. "We support Blake through everything. that's the kind of team we're going to be," one teammate was quoted as saying. But that “team first” philosophy isn’t universal. An incident like this may seem rare, but this kind of vicious social media backlash aimed at athletes of all ages is becoming more common. Such actions have become tolerated and some would even justify the behavior as a “right” protected by free speech.

Bullying is defined as repeated aggressive behavior that can be physical, verbal, or relational. It is a serious problem that has harmful effects on both the victim and the bully. Studies have shown that boys frequently bully using physical threats and actions, while girls are more likely to engage in relational bullying, which includes exclusion or spreading rumors about the person. Adults sometimes try to explain bullying away as “harmless hazing”, or “typical kid stuff”, but it is not. Mental health experts tell us that the scars inflicted by bullying can persist long into the future and can predispose a young person to develop psychological problems in adulthood. 32% of students ages 12-18 report being bullied. Victims of cyber-bullying have a higher rate of depression than victims of face-to-face bullying, and victims of bullying are at 4-5 times greater risk for psychiatric disorders as adults.

If we are to have any chance to put a stop to bullying in sports and elsewhere, parents need to discuss bullying with their children. There should be open lines of communication in order to find out if anyone is treating any child on the team badly. If necessary, parents and coaches should take steps to stop the abuse. Simply talking about the problem can be a huge stress reliever for a child who is being bullied. If a parent discovers that their child is the one bullying others, make sure he or she understands how hurtful such behavior can be. Parents can foster empathy by encouraging their child to look at their actions from the victim’s perspective. Coaches should put an emphasis on team-building and creating a “family” atmosphere. This can reduce the chances that bullying will occur and create a cohesive team experience that will benefit everyone. Most importantly, whether you’re a coach, parent, official, administrator, or fan in the stands, if you witness bullying or hazing in the sport setting, say something about it. Arrange a conference with the coach to communicate what you’ve seen or heard about and ask the coach to take measures to stop the abuse. Try talking with the offending fan and let them know their behavior is unacceptable. Establish a code of conduct for player and fan behavior. In kids’ eyes when adults say and doing nothing to stop inappropriate behavior, it’s another way of saying that the offending behavior is acceptable.

In 2013, Miami Dolphins offensive lineman, Jonathan Martin walked away from the team after repeated harassment from teammates Richie Incognito, Mike Pouncey, and John Jerry. Although we don’t like to think about it, bullying isn’t relegated to the stands or social media comments only. If bullying by teammates can cause a 6’5”, 312 lb NFL lineman to walk away from his team and his sport, what impact do you think it can have on an 8-to-12 year old Little Leaguer? A middle school basketball player, track/cross country runner or cheer leader? A high school soccer or lacrosse player or swimmer?

For more information on stopping bullying visit:

• http://bullying.about.com/od/Bullies/a/6-Common-Types-Of-Bullies.htm
• http://bullying.about.com/od/Bullies/a/What-Are-The-Risk-Factors-For-Becoming-A-Bully.htm
• http://bullying.about.com/od/Victims/a/8-Ways-To-Spot-Bullying-In-Your-Childs-Life.htm,
• http://store.samhsa.gov/apps/knowbullying/index.html Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s free mobile app for parents/coaches - “Know Bullying”  

Any opinions or advice represented in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Play Like a Champion Today.

Teammates

Today's blog was written by Erin Geraghty. Erin is a senior psychology major at Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching, a course taught by Play Like a Champion Founding Director Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan.

Teams are a great model for the communities we will be a part of and the relationships we will form throughout our life. Teams highlight the importance of cooperation and hard work, and show us how to foster strong relationships and support networks. As a freshman on my high school’s varsity cross country team, I spent very little time running with my classmates. Instead, I found myself spending hours running and talking with older girls. At first, I was skeptical about being away from people my own age and I felt out-of-place, but a few girls in particular took me under their wings, made me feel welcomed, and taught me a lot.

 

The individuals who I found myself spending hours every day with became so much more than just my teammates. They allowed me be who I was and they affirmed that person. This loving and supportive community made me feel comfortable and allowed me to grow in confidence, as well as in my understanding of what true friendship and leadership looks like. They led me by example and made me feel like a part of a rare and wonderful tight-knit community. We shared our successes and disappointments and our ups and downs daily.

Far too many tragedies rocked my high school community during my time there, namely the death of four students by suicide. After another friend was taken from us far too early, I wanted to grab my running shoes and an iPod and just run by myself until I physically couldn’t anymore. I just wanted to run away from all the hurt, all the mess, all the problems. However, looking at my teammates, I knew it was my time to step up, to assume the caring position my friends had held for me in previous years and amidst similarly trying times, and to live up to what it meant to be a captain. So instead of driving home that day, I headed to practice to be with my teammates. We talked when we wanted to, we cried when we needed to, we sprinted up hills and screamed on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, trying to get it all out. It didn’t really matter what we did, it just mattered that we did it together.

all pictures courtesy of Erin Geraghty

My days of running on a formal team are over, but I still feel as the presence of my teammates when I run. I will always carry with me the lessons and values they taught me. When I feel overwhelmed or helpless, I drop everything, lace up my running shoes, and head out. Forest Gump wisely stated “Now, it used to be I ran to get where I was going. I never thought it would take me anywhere.” I couldn’t agree more. I started running with the hopes that I might make a few friends and get in shape for lacrosse, but I didn’t know that running would become an outlet for me, that it could renew me in a way that not much else can, and that it would teach me how to act as a “teammate” to friends, family, and all those I encounter throughout my life.  

Junk Food for the Soul

Today's blog post was written by Rachel Sexton. Rachel is a senior Accounting major at the University of Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion founding director Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan. Rachel is also a member of the Women's Lacrosse Team at Notre Dame.

Bart Giamatti, former commissioner of Major League Baseball referred to sport as “Junk Food for the Soul.” What does that really mean though? Picture a football game, a Notre Dame football game, a stadium of strangers bonded together for a moment in time to watch their team strive for victory.

photo from Rachel Sexton 

Look at the fans, the cheering, the coaching, and competition. It’s overwhelmingly amazing. The smallest play results in an unbelievable uproar from the crowd. This moment in time connects the crowd and brings them back to a time in their life where they competed for something bigger than themselves.

It truly is special being able to play for something bigger than yourself, and working hard on a team. The pregame nerves; one-goal games and tight races… when the competition is so close you feel as though life itself is on the line. Even losing is special, because losing gives you the grit to get back out there; losing motivates you, stops you from becoming complacent and keeps you humble. But let's be honest, who doesn’t like winning? Winning is when the endless hours of work you’ve put in become a reality. The celebrations, giving hugs, sweating, crying… and that feeling of euphoria: the winning goal, the final point, the touch at the wall, the gut-wrenching ‘lean’ over the finish line. That ‘in the moment’ feeling of euphoria seems to only exists in sports.

photo from Rachel Sexton 

It’s not only the big things, but also the smaller details that have helped to shape our views and memories in sport. The fist pump & jump celebrations – the assist no one saw coming – hustle plays – high-fives – when your teammate scores his/her first –crushing the run test or at least surviving. We miss the parent hugs after the competition… because they’re always proud of you, even if you fell on your face (metaphorically or physically). The moments we spent warming up, cooling down and working with teammates: the people you fight with and fight for. When you see the little boy or girl who looks up to you like you’re a hero… hoping to be you one day; because you got to live out your dream, competing in the sport that you love.

Football Playoffs

Today's blog was written by Steve Vasturia.  Steve is a junior business major and was a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Founder and Director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan last semester.  In addition to his studies, Steve is also a guard on the Notre Dame Men's Basketball Team. 

This past year was the first season that college football used a playoff format in order to crown a National Champion. This has been a hotly debated topic over the past few years, and I think it was great to see this playoff system rather than the old BCS points and rankings system. The four team playoff this year was not only much more exciting than in years past, but it gave a plethora of teams the opportunity to compete for a championship. As we start the second year of the new system, I think this will improve the game.

In years past, there always seemed to be a team or two that may have been undefeated, but was not able to compete for a title because the computers/sports writers did not believe they deserved to play for a championship. This created immense controversy and really left a bad taste in teams' mouths. I think the college football playoff is great for the game and I hope they will continue to expand the playoff to eight, or maybe sixteen teams as the years go on. I would compare this to what college basketball does for their tournament, which I've been privileged enough to play in. Everybody loves March Madness. It is exciting, and there is so much pressure on these teams to succeed. The best team to find a way to navigate through a field of sixty-four teams gets to raise a trophy in the beginning of April. This is the kind of excitement and energy that the college football playoff brought this past fall.

Ohio State took home the national championship in this inaugural year and it was the first time that an SEC team did not win a title in a long time.  An SEC team didn't even make it to the final game. I think the playoff system also shows how much parity that there is in collegiate athletics which is not only great for the sport, but for the fans as well. The playoff system has some flaws, and people will still think their teams deserved to make the playoff, but in my opinion it is great for the sport and will continue to improve over their years. 

When Kids Dare to Dream

Today's blog was submitted by Bill Matthews. Matthews is a Play Like a Champion Research Trainer and a psychotherapist working with children, adolescents, and adults.  Matthews specializes in ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, and performance enhancement treatment.  In addition, Matthews has coached and umpired baseball and softball for all ages for several years.

Anthropologist Margret Mead famously said, "Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” She could have been referring to Play Like A Champion Today partners, had the program existed back when she said it, but would you believe that a group of boys in Thailand could also be the ones to do it? That’s the incredible story of the Panyee Football Club.

What makes this story special is that they were Southern Thailand Youth Soccer Champions in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. What makes this story amazing is that they accomplished that feat without having a proper “pitch” on which to practice and play!

Koh Panyee is a small fishing village built entirely over water. There is no land on which to build a soccer field. But that didn’t stop the kids of the Panyee FC. It started in 1986. Back then, the boys of Koh Panyee loved to watch international soccer matches on TV. None had actually played the game; all they were able to do was root for their favorite teams and players. That is, until until one of the boys had the courage to ask, “Why don’t we start our own football team?” Their goal – become world champions, of course!

Adults laughed, but that didn’t stop these enterprising young athletes. They gathered scraps of wood and discarded nails, and attached them atop some old fishing rafts they had tied together, creating their very own  floating mini soccer field. The rest, as they say, is history. Watch a film of their work here.

Do the athletes you coach dare to have such big dreams? If so, do they have the tools to turn their dreams into reality? If not, here’s some tips that will help.

First, if you find that one of your athletes’ favorite expressions is, “I/we can’t…”, make your favorite response, “Maybe not yet, but…”. Dr. Carol Dweck, Stanford University professor of psychology and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006) refers to this response as an easy way to start the shift from a “Fixed” (can/can’t) to a “Growth” (possible with more practice, effort, etc.) mindset. Without a growth mindset, no amount of motivation will make a difference.

Second, teach your athletes how to do “visioning.” Help them see what they want to achieve – what does it look like, sound like, and feel like? Have them imagine it as if it were occurring right now rather than in the future. Next, help them break their visions down into manageable steps that serve as the basis for process goals. Follow it up with some positive affirmations to help them over the inevitable bumps in the road (e.g., “I can achieve anything I set out to do as long as I keep working hard.” “If I believe in myself, others will believe in me.”), and you’re just about there.

What’s left is to have your athletes think about what resources (including relationships such as one-on-one tutoring  with a coach or teammate) they need to turn their dream goals into reality. Finally, give them ownership of the plan, monitoring and providing encouragement and feedback along the way. These few steps provide a winning combination that will produce results lasting far beyond what you can expect to see on any field, court, track or pool.

As for Koh Panyee, that first Panyee FC ended up finishing in third place in their initial tournament try, and the rest is history. More importantly, because of their efforts at fulfilling a dream, soccer has become the island’s number one pastime for both children and adults. Visitors travel from far and wide just to see and stand on Panyee’s new one-of-a-kind, over-water soccer field; the results of one child innocently asking, “Why don’t we start our own football team?” To quote Margaret Mead again, “The solution to adult problems tomorrow depends in large measure upon how children grow up today.” Coach your athletes to be big dreamers, and you’ll be preparing our next generation of adult problem solvers, guaranteed.

One Strike Away from History

Today's blog post was written by J.C. Obringer, an intern with Play Like a Champion and a rising junior at Ball State University majoring in digital sports production and sports administration, and a lead producer on Ball State's SportsLink program.  

In baseball, an elite group of pitchers have thrown perfect games; indeed, the achievement has eluded some of the game's greats. In over 135 years of major league baseball, there have only been 23 official perfect games. A perfect game is when a pitcher pitches a victory with a minimum of nine innings, with no opposing player reaching base, and the pitcher has not allowed any hits or walks, and has not hit any batsmen. The pitcher faces 27 batters and only 27 batters.  But it only takes one pitch to ruin a perfect game.

  

In baseball, no one talks about a perfect game during a perfect game. And as the game goes on, tension mounts for all involved.  Recently, the Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer found himself one out (and one strike) away from a perfect game. Scherzer has been a dominant pitcher for years, and made headlines last year when he was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Nationals for a record breaking salary. The Nationals were up 6-0, and Scherzer was just a throw away from the perfect game club.  The Pittsburgh Pirates' Jose Tabata was at the plate, with two strikes on him. Scherzer's next pitch was a slider inside painting the outside of the strike zone, but the ball dropped hitting Tabata’s left elbow.  

One pitch and there goes the perfect game.  As Tabata took his base, the record books recorded the Hit-by-Pitch and Scherzer's perfect game disappeared. This is a tough way to lose a perfect game. What makes it even tougher is to watch the replay of the pitch, and watch Tabata lean into the pitch. In my opinion, he didn’t make any attempt to get out of the way just leaned a little in and took the hit.

Tabata has said he didn’t lean into the pitch, but it’s pretty obvious that he didn’t even try and get out of the way.  He also stated that as the batter, his job is to get on base any way he can (implying even if he has to get hit to do it.)

Whether Tabata leaned into the pitch or not, the umpire did not make the call and call him out. Even though I can say Tabata made no attempt to get out of the way, I'm just a fan, but the umpire is entitled to make that call and call him out.

Rule5.05
He is touched by a pitched ball, which he is not attempting to hit unless (a) The ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter or (b) The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball (MLB.com) 

Even though this is a rule, it very rarely gets called. I'd like to see the MLB re-evaluate the rule, because it is a crazy end to what could have been a perfect game. However, that’s what makes achieving a perfect game so hard, everything has to match up and fall into place.  Sometimes, even though it stinks, that's just what happens in baseball. 

Max Scherzer ended up having the next batter pop out, and he finished with a no-hitter, which is still an impressive achievement. He finished the game with class, and exemplified what it means to Play Like a Champion. 

World Cup Coaching

Today's blog post was written by Jennifer Jasper.  Jennifer is a senior Marketing major at Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Today Founder and Director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan. In addition to her studies, Jennifer also served as the goalie for the Notre Dame Women's Soccer Team.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to go to the FIFAWorld Cup Final between Germany and Argentina. It was honestly one of the best days of my life. I have been playing soccer since I was three years old, and I was about to go into my final collegiate season. It was incredible to see some of my favorite players including Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer, and Bastian Schweinsteiger compete and play for the highest award in the soccer world. These players and that game will be remembered for the next several decades, but in ten years, I doubt people will be talking about how great a coach Joachim Low was. So for my post, I want to talk about the some of those that will not be featured on the highlight reel--the coaches of the World Cup.

photo courtesy of lawyerherald.com

There are two coaches I want to focus on, Joachim Low and Jurgen Klinsmann. These two coaches are very similar and are revolutionizing the sport with their coaching tactics.  Klinsmann is currently the head coach of the US national team while Low is the German national team head coach.  Before he came to the US, Klinsmann was in Low’s spot as the German head coach and is considered Low’s mentor and good friend.  Together, these two coaches created a new style of play; some call it the “blitzkrieg” due to the fast and furious speed of play. While both are considered as co-creators of this philosophy, they are still different types of coaches.

Klinsmann is the charismatic motivator, and this can be seen throughout his coaching career.  In interviews, Klinsmann constantly makes jokes and turns his success around to his players rather than focusing on what he did well.  He is respected by his players and this respect enables him to effectively coach. However, this does not mean he is best friends with his players. Klinsmann practices tough love with his players, and is not afraid to discipline them when they are acting out. I believe this leads to a stronger team. When Klinsmann was implementing his new style of play in Germany, he received criticism from both players and the public for switching from a static defensive style to a dynamic attack style. They claimed he was forgetting the roots German soccer was based on. Despite all the criticism, Klinsmann continued with his new strategy and they placed third in the 2006 World Cup. I think this shows how great a coach Klinsmann truly is; the man was probably going to be fired if the team was not successful at the World Cup, but he decided to go ahead with his controversial style anyway. I believe that Klinsmann knew that if anyone could transition to this style of play, it would be his Germans, and he knew it was only a matter of time before it started clicking.  In the end, Klinsmann was the coach, and despite the criticism from all ends, he knew that as coach, no one should control his decisions.  His dedication to implementing this style has carried over to the United States Team, too.

photo courtesy of  newsprovince.in

Klinsmann is considered the one who originally came up with the new soccer philosophy, but Low is considered the technical mastermind. Low was with Klinsmann every step of the way as his right hand man in Germany. After Klinsmann stepped down from the head coaching position, Low went on to develop the philosophy further through his unique lineups and attention to detail. Low’s players also respect him like they used to respect Klinsmann. Low also demonstrates a tough love type coaching. He is strict in his practices, but that does not mean he is all work no play. Often there are videos or pictures of the team playing soccer-tennis or soccer-golf. These games help lighten the mood at practice and help them release whatever distractions they have in order to focus on soccer.  You can also see him playing smaller games such as 5-on-2 with his team.  This helps the coach monitor what his team is doing and focus more on each individual. I think this also creates transparency for Low’s players.

I think it is crucial to have a coach who is confident in the style of play he or she wishes to coach, but their players must also respect him or her. These coaches need to earn the respect of their players too.  I think this is why coaches such as Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low have been successful and have been so revolutionary.  The confidence of a coach and team, and the mutual respect between coach and team are fostered by coaches who strive to build teams of talent and character, which is just what Play Like a Champion Today promotes. 

The Jasper family at the World Cup in Brazil, June 2015. The author is on the far left.

One and Done

Today's blog post was written by Remy Lewis.  Remy is a Psychology Major at Purdue University North Central and is a former Division One Track and Field Athlete at Indiana State University.  He is currently an intern with Play Like a Champion.  He is also a Coach, Scout, and Trainer for Sports Prep NBA.

When it comes to the "One and Done" rule for college basketball, many believe it is bringing shame to college sports by disrespecting the fans, and the schools. The rule simply requires athletes to be 19 to be eligible for the NBA draft. Those who may not have the grades to get into a college choose to play overseas for a year until they reach 19 years of age. Many coaches, administrators, and other experts have been searching for a viable solution that would benefit all involved.  It seems to me that "one and done" allows young stars to use college as a brief stepping stone to the NBA.  These young athletes aren't going to college to learn or to represent their school with pride, they are going because it is a rule. High school athletes are looking for the best schools in their sports to essentially find the team that will provide them with the most exposure against the best competition to prove they are ready for the professional ranks. Can you really blame them? They are extremely talented, have played for years, and have been recruited by top agents and coaches for years.  Many of these agents have described the riches that await them in the NBA. The young athletes are being told to go to a college because it is the rule, and after a year they will be guaranteed a contract (and the millions that come with being a professional athlete).  Well, when you are 18-19 years old and you are being told you will gain a contract worth anywhere between $1-3 million, how can you say no? I am sure most of us would agree to that kind of money and the chance to improve our skills and make more when the contract ends.

I recently read an article (One and Done rule must be done with immediately.) that proposes a viable option to the "one and done" rule by adopting the draft rules used by Major League Baseball. These rules basically state that if you are a high school graduate and have not played for a college team, you are eligible for the draft. Once you have been drafted, you can either choose to go to that team where you may or may not be signed based on draft pick, or you can choose to attend and play for a college instead (as long as you haven't signed with an agent). When you take the college route, you must either be 21 years of age or have finished your junior year to be eligible for the draft again.

This rule, however, has many foreseeable kinks in the armor. Sadly, the athletes are motivated by money. If the basketball player cannot be drafted out of high school to sign a contract, they would likely choose to go overseas instead of being forced to stay in college for 3 years, which would lead to fewer athletes playing for the college teams. The issue the athletes have is that they want the freedom to make their own decisions, while college fans are confronted with a new starting five every year. It is not that athletes cannot be great coming from high school, because we have seen great careers out of players such as Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant. However, these players were a rare breed and ready to make an impact among the NBA players.

The real issue in my eyes is that we are sending kids to the NBA and they are neither physically nor mentally prepared for that type of life style.  As a solution to "one and done", I propose pushing the NBA draft eligibility age from 19 to 21.  Any college, or overseas player that is 21 or will be turning 21 during that current season can be eligible for the draft. Reasons behind this idea are that the athlete has now had to take care of himself for 3 years, he has learned more about the world as an adult, and has physically and mentally matured. For those in college, they may find a subject they like and decide that that graduating with a degree will benefit them later on, or if they choose to go to the NBA and the career does not pan out, they only have one year of courses to take in order to receive a degree.

It may still feel like we are forcing the athletes to go to school, but our young men need more than just a college freshman education level. Especially since they will be thrown into a world of business that they do not comprehend. Satisfaction would be improve for the fans, the coaches, the programs, and the players. Since NBA players will be required to be 21, colleges will stop hemorrhaging young talented players, and the players will learn how to work and grow as a team. A player who can keep his level of play at #1 pick level for 3 consecutive years is a player much more worthy of being the face of the franchise, and the face of a college program.

The Impact of Coaching on Parent-Child Relationships

Today's blog was written by Ryan Baer.  Ryan is a Junior Business Major and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Founder and Director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan.  

While I was not an amazingly gifted athlete in high school or college, I was fortunate enough to enjoy some athletic success as a child.  While this was inherently rewarding, one thing that made it uniquely special was the fact that my father frequently coached the basketball teams I played on growing up.  My involvement in multiple basketball teams enabled me to compare and contrast how my relationship with my father affected me, and I believe that this relationship is one that ought to be analyzed in great detail, given the large degree of involvement parents have in coaching youth sports.

While many parents who become involved with youth coaching do not have much experience studying coaching itself, my father was very involved in an organization which is similar to Play Like a Champion, called the Positive Coaching Alliance, which attempts to emphasize the significance of positive reinforcement in youth sports.  It was a very rewarding experience to receive words of encouragement from my father in an athletic setting, and I believe my teammates also appreciated his approach to coaching as well.  While the team he coached was not particularly competitive, I occasionally felt that he tried to make me work harder than some of the other players, in an attempt to demonstrate that my playing time was unrelated to our relationship.  Some times were particularly trying, but I believe having this relationship in an athletic setting granted me a greater perspective on the difficulties of parenting, an issue which can be difficult to grasp for a child.  I realized that he had my best interests at heart, and that understanding transmitted to other aspects of parenting as well; I was able to realize than in all aspects of parenting, both my father and mother were looking out for my best interests, even if I disagreed with (or tested) their methods on occasion.

Achieving success on this team enriched the relationship I had with my father, as it was something we could work for and aspire to together.  I think this is particularly unique and rewarding for a child, as most parenting decisions tend to be more unilateral than collaborative.  The benefit of this relationship became clearer to me in comparison to other teams I was involved in, where my dad was not involved in coaching.  While I certainly enjoyed the success I was able to achieve on these teams, I noticed that I derived less pleasure from these results, because a person I loved and cared about was less directly involved.  There certainly are risks in having exclusively parent coaches, as they may be less experienced in the nuances of successful coaching; however, having a parent who was an experienced coach proved to be an extremely rewarding experience for me.  I believe that more parent coaches should become involved in organizations such as Play Like a Champion or PCA, to ensure that this delicate relationship is able to be managed effectively.  Part of that responsibility falls on the parent themselves, to become actively involved in such groups, but that's why I'm glad Play Like a Champion is now reaching parents and coaches in over 35 states and several countries in their effort to reach out to parents on a more local level as well, providing informal and easy-to-attend workshops to encourage participation and improve the culture of youth sports.  While the parent-coach relationship is one that must be managed carefully, my own experiences have suggested that there can be a unique and great deal of benefit for both parties in the proper environment.

Recognition Has No Gender

Today's blog post was written by Remy Lewis.  Remy is a Psychology Major at Purdue University North Central and is a former Division One Track and Field Athlete at Indiana State University.  He is currently an intern with Play Like a Champion.  He is also a Coach, Scout, and Trainer for Sports Prep NBA.

In an age where sports are often dominated by men, women have made countless strides towards gender equality in all sports. Thanks to Title IX and overall cultural advancement, these days you can find men and women with generally equal opportunities to participate in sports at the high school and college levels--and at some schools, the women's teams often outperform the men.

But what about the publicity? What about the recognition? Are we giving equal opportunities AND recognizing and publicizing the highest levels of achievement? Some who may be stuck in the past may feel as if we have given the female athletic community enough for them to be satisfied, but the female athletic community, and those of us who may coach superb female athletes would tend to disagree.

Photo Courtesy of usssapride.com

How many of you recognize this symbol to the left? Until recently, I didn't know that we had a National Professional league for women playing fast pitch softball. This fast pitch league currently features 5 teams with many of the top college softball players in recent years. Some form of this league has been prevalent since 1997, but has reshaped and reformed itself in a bid for national recognition. According to its history, it has been shown on national television including its championship games. At one point, teams from the league competed with Olympic teams from around the world during the regular season. Now it is working on expansion so that it may have many home grown competitive teams just like Major League Baseball, then some of its All-Stars could represent the U.S. in the Olympics.

Photo Courtesy of WNBA.com

Other than few sports fans at the University of Notre Dame, who can recognize this picture? For those of you that may not watch enough ESPN, this is a photo of Notre Dame Women's Basketball Guard Jewell Loyd who was drafted as the #1 overall pick in the WNBA. The WNBA draft was held last week on April 16th 2015, a fact which went largely unnoticed accept in key media markets that either fed players or host teams. Jewell was a 2015 Consensus All-American who helped lead her team to the National championship game against UConn.

Where were you during last years NPF (National Pro Fastpitch) championship game? Or do you remember who won the WNBA Championship Game last year? (Phoenix.)  How can we not promote these types of events for our athletes? Some of these women represent our country in the Olympics, and many of them represented our favorite collegiate programs with pride. The athletes are out on the field or court for the name on the front of the jersey and the love of their game. We will never see women reach the status of men in professional of even collegiate sports until we begin to recognize these women for the amazing athletes they are.  Play Like a Champion strives to promote equal opportunities for all athletes of all ages, but the rest of the country still needs to realize that the women participating in professional sports are not only some of the top female athletes in our country, but some of the most outstanding athletes in the world. We should all give them the respect, support, and recognition they have earned and deserve.