Parent Coach Desk

Search Friday Letter About

During

In the game

Coaching execution, in-the-moment decisions, and the strange job of coaching your own kid in front of the team.

The hard moments

the Parent Coach Desk

Sideline etiquette for youth sports parents

What to do, what to skip, and the unspoken rules every coach wishes parents knew.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Why we exist. Three things youth sports is for.

Have fun. Learn the rules and how to be a good teammate. Want to come back next year. Everything on this site exists to help with one of the three. The fourth, hidden challenge: doing all of this while coaching your own kid.

Keep reading →

The hard moments

the Parent Coach Desk

What parents shouldn't do at youth sports games

Eight behaviors that ruin youth sports for everyone, including the kid you came to watch.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Reading the Ref: When to Say Something, When to Shut Up

One bad call doesn't lose the game. Your reaction to it does.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Game Day When Your Kid Is on the Bench

They know they're not starting. Your job is to support what they can control.

Keep reading →

Season operations

the Parent Coach Desk

The team mom you don't want to be

Five archetypes to avoid. How to be the team mom people thank in November.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The Group Chat That Saved My Season

Three parents. One thread. Thirty-seven hundred messages of actual help.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Longer read · age 13–14

America has a missing rec layer.

Good youth rec. Aggressive travel. No just-for-fun high school. It comes back at college intramurals. The hole in the middle is where the most kids quit.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Managing Substitutions Kids Actually Buy Into

You're not sneaking subs past them. You're explaining the decision before the game.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Longer read · Baseball · age 8–10

Coaching your own kid in front of the team

I made the lineup at midnight. My wife asked why I was crying in the kitchen. Five seasons later, I think I finally have it figured out. Sort of.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Game Day: When to Call a Timeout

Three reasons. Everything else is coaching theater.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The parent who screams at their own kid in the bleachers

Everyone hears it. Most people pretend they didn't. What to do.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The dad who corners coach in the parking lot

Coach is loading his car. The dad is not letting him leave. What to do.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

When another parent says something racist at the field

It happens. The script for the moment, and what comes after.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Baseball · age 5–7

The 5-7 Lineup Card: A Fair Rotation in Three Minutes

Every kid plays half the game. Build it the night before. Post it before first pitch.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The Unwritten Rules Every League Has

The stuff nobody tells you but everyone knows.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Travel-Ball Politics: How to Stay Out

The drama happens. Choosing not to participate.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The 15-Plus Game-Management Rule Book

What actually matters in serious competition.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The cheer that embarrasses your kid

He played well. You yelled. He gave you the look. The cheer rules.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The bench reaction your kid will remember

He got pulled. He's on the bench. His face is checking yours. The reaction matters.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

When a parent yells at the ref

Could be your team. Could be the other team. Could be you. The rules.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

When your kid gets hurt mid-game

He goes down. He's not getting up. The first ten seconds. The next ten minutes.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The double-header recovery plan

Two games in one day. Two hours apart. The plan that gets the team through.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The 13-14 Sportsmanship Rules

What actually gets kids in trouble.

Keep reading →

The hard moments

the Parent Coach Desk

Your Kid Is the Worst on the Team

They know. The team knows. You're the only one pretending otherwise.

Keep reading →

Season operations

the Parent Coach Desk

The 13-14 Practice Plan That Respects Their Time

Fifty minutes. One problem. One focus. They know when you're wasting it.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The 11-12 Substitution Rules Every Parent Should Know

How playing time actually works at this age.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The 11-12 Ages: The Team Meeting When Things Have Gone Sideways

Something broke. Here's how to talk about it without pointing fingers.

Keep reading →

Season operations

the Parent Coach Desk

The Mid-Season Tune-Up at 11-12

One thing. One practice. Reset without starting over.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

The 8-10 Mercy Rule and Why It's a Feature

Competition is good. Running up the score is not. The mercy rule teaches both.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Talking to a Parent Who's Coaching From the Stands

They're trying to help. They don't see what they're actually doing.

Keep reading →

Season operations

the Parent Coach Desk

The 8-10 Practice That Doesn't Drag

Forty minutes. One game. One fix. They remember what they played, not what you drilled.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Baseball · age 5–7

Why Tee-Ball Doesn't Have Strikeouts

The rule exists for a reason.

Keep reading →

the Parent Coach Desk

Rec Ball at 5-7: Why It's the Right Answer

The foundations are here. Everything else comes later.

Keep reading →

Season operations

the Parent Coach Desk

The First Practice Plan (5-7 Years Old)

Twenty-five minutes that work for this age group.

Keep reading →

The Friday Letter

The Friday Letter

One short read every Friday from the Parent Coach Desk. Easy unsubscribe.

Get the Friday Letter

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe whenever. By subscribing you agree to our privacy notice.