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OT: HS Coach fired for expecting players to go to offseason weight room sessions…

The funniest part of the story is he ultimately went to play basketball at FDU, which is impressive in its own right since he’s only like 5’10”. He said one day the FDU lacrosse coach came up to him and found out he was from Long Island. The coach said you should play lacrosse for me. My friend said, I’ve never picked up a lacrosse stick in my life. I loved baseball growing up. Coach said, I guarantee you are better at lacrosse than most of the kids on this team from just growing up on LI. He said what the hell, did a workout and played 4 years of college lacrosse.

Some kids are just better athletes.
And some coaches are just dumb.

These are hard lessons to learn for most parents, especially if they’ve forked over thousands of dollars and countless hours into private training for kids ever since they were 7.
My boys came late to hockey because we told them…you can be a hockey player if you want, but we are not going to be a hockey family.

- Inline on roller blades outdoors near the beach was first. That was great for kid and parent.
- House league at normal hours and times for intro to ice.
- Middle school league made up of teams likely where most of the kids would go to HS. Funny to see “representatives” from high schools from all over, and I mean all over, watching those games.
- High school season and a really mellow season of spring/summer of HS teams (make it when you can, if you had to work or were playing a spring sport like my guys did, lacrosse, no worries or consequences).
- NO travel, ever.

Come college they ended up at a school that had a DIII program and both ended up making the team.

Scholarship? Nope. But lots of fun and saved me a ton of money compared to what some of their teammates parents laid out all those years.

Have family on the other hand though who did the exact opposite for soccer. Older niece got a scholarship to a CAA school and her younger sister will probably get something too.

Not sure how the ROI worked out with all of the money, time and travel spent on everything that goes with it, but everyone seems happy with it.

Funny though, my boys DIII games got a lot more people in the stands than my niece’s D1 team did.
 
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My boys came late to hockey because we told them…you can be a hockey player if you want, but we are not going to be a hockey family.

- Inline on roller blades outdoors near the beach was first. That was great for kid and parent.
- House league at normal hours and times for intro to ice.
- Middle school league made up of teams likely where most of the kids would go to HS. Funny to see “representatives” from high schools from all over, and I mean all over, watching those games.
- High school season and a really mellow season of spring/summer of HS teams (make it when you can, if you had to work or were playing a spring sport like my guys did, lacrosse, no worries or consequences).
- NO travel, ever.

Come college they ended up at a school that had a DIII program and both ended up making the team.

Scholarship? Nope. But lots of fun and saved me a ton of money compared to what some of their teammates parents laid out all those years.

Have family on the other hand though who did the exact opposite for soccer. Older niece got a scholarship to a CAA school and her younger sister will probably get something too.

Not sure how the ROI worked out with all of the money, time and travel spent on everything that goes with it, but everyone seems happy with it.

Funny though, my boys DIII games got a lot more people in the stands than my niece’s D1 team did.

Hockey is a physical sport. Were there any kids just bigger and stronger who were putting kids at risk just part of normal play?
They didn’t really belong in the house or town leagues?

Part of my point - there is a place for club or higher level teams with more skilled players.
Town rec leagues don’t adequately serve all kids.

My daughter is turning 8 and played coach pitch softball this fall. Due to her age (2nd youngest on the team) she will have to play coach pitch until spring 2026 before U10.

We had to literally tell her not to throw it so hard at some teammates because they couldn’t handle it.
Some were playing softball for the first time.
There was one girl (who was also 1.5 years older) that should could throw with.

Now the team shouldn’t cut those other girls just because they were new.
But my daughter shouldn’t also have to be told “well it’s the town team so just deal with it.”

She asked out of softball for the spring.
Asked if she could play on the town travel U8 baseball team instead (her brothers team from the year before so she saw them play.)

Tried out against the other boys in her grade and easily made the team.
If she had to play only coach pitch, no advancing on throws, 6 pitch at bat limit for 3 more seasons - no way she sticks with softball.
Even with all girls and her friends she wanted to change.
 
I’m still waiting for someone to explain let kids be kids means.

This is going to sounds snarky but I think it means…..

Tell your kids no they can’t play a “out of season sport” if they want to?

Baseball in the fall? Not allowed. Can only play soccer or football.
Spring soccer? No! Baseball or lacrosse only.
Dont even think about throwing a football come spring.

They should be outside playing with their friends but only the appropriate sports with their friends.

Let kids find their own way and pick the sport they want. But they can’t pick only 1 sport. They have to find the 4 season appropriate sports they want.

Oh and they can only play with the kids on their street. No making friends with kids in other towns who may have similar ability levels. You are restricted to the talent level of your town.

It’s a really weird thread honestly.
 
My boys came late to hockey because we told them…you can be a hockey player if you want, but we are not going to be a hockey family.


Funny though, my boys DIII games got a lot more people in the stands than my niece’s D1 team did.

Depends on the DIII schools. Some DIII schools are better than DIII for hockey. RPI, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Union, for example, play serious hockey.
 
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Holy crap you’re about to get blasted by some here for saying that kids should play in whatever HS they want to play, not in their home school.

In my HS area, kids moving between high schools became regular. My high school was around 10% Hispanic 20 years ago and now its over 75%. Its hard to put a football team together because most kids want to play soccer. Football players will be allowed to be on another school's team. Some teams just merge if they are close together. Some schools also offer official girl's flag football and that increases some movement.
 
so- Ace is like 6ft10 and I am sure was very tall and lanky at an early age- Mom/Dad both played college BB and his aunt was in the WNBA...Do we even have to go into Dylan's background...These are sort of 2 bad examples.

But the average kid in america and some who will go on to play at least college sports or maybe into low minors in baseball- well, they typically fall into the baseball/football/soccer/lacross size of player. Maybe a few get growth spurts...but with these kids - playing mult sports will almost always be beneficial.
Look at a lot of football linemen- offense and defense. Wrestling and Basketball...The balance and footwork from those sports puts any football lineman ahead of a counterpart that only played football.
100%

growing up we had the follow the sun approach to sports and it bears fruit as you use different muscle groups and develop varying levels of maturity playing multiple sports

specialization is grossly overrated and used by clubs trying to capitalize on parents trying to live through their kids or the parents trying to get scholarships for their kids. for some yes, it makes sense but for I'd wager to say for 95% it doesn't matter.
 
That's BS. Look at the kids playing in college. Many of them played multiple sports in HS. I believe to this day it better prepares them for college athletics.

A relatively newer aspect of athletic training is showing-up more - "facia training."
Facia tissue is what sheaths muscles, tendons etc and "models" a person's musculature.

Facia tissue is pretty interesting because the tissues can shift in composition and alter function - a body can re-sculpt according to training and use. A gymnast with more elaborate tissue integration will have facia that's different from a swimmer. Fascia training takes longer

Playing multiple sports can help overall development and integration. Training fascia isn't like working out specific muscles and movements in isolating exercises. Facia structure is integrative and develops better in coordinated movement and stresses. A kid playing the same sport will gain some mastery of course but having the extra resources can help performance and injury avoidance.

This all made sense to me and I've long suspected all the isolating training machines and lifts invite "muscle viruses" and imbalances. Benching/squatting to max limits all winter seems dangerous to me. Playing football helps because of all the movements and stresses.

I noticed playing basketball really helps some football positions. OBs who played baseball (Brady, Wilson, Elway and more often have best arms. When Mahomes makes those underarm pitches its like watching a SS flipping ball to 2B. You can tell he played baseball (Met father coach didn't hurt)

A slip or fall can be moderated by some football conditioning - you have "cat muscles" that can facilitate landing. Even being in a pile over a tackle, fumble, block etc enhances certain movement memories - you learn how to move with the pile and adjust automatically. I see QBs who suffer more from lack of contact skills.


What They Didn’t Teach Us About Fascia in Grad School​

Improving Fascial Resilience for Sport Performance​

Activating Your Greatest Potential: Fascia Training for Athletes​

 
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Hockey is a physical sport. Were there any kids just bigger and stronger who were putting kids at risk just part of normal play?
They didn’t really belong in the house or town leagues?

Part of my point - there is a place for club or higher level teams with more skilled players.
Town rec leagues don’t adequately serve all kids.

My daughter is turning 8 and played coach pitch softball this fall. Due to her age (2nd youngest on the team) she will have to play coach pitch until spring 2026 before U10.

We had to literally tell her not to throw it so hard at some teammates because they couldn’t handle it.
Some were playing softball for the first time.
There was one girl (who was also 1.5 years older) that should could throw with.

Now the team shouldn’t cut those other girls just because they were new.
But my daughter shouldn’t also have to be told “well it’s the town team so just deal with it.”

She asked out of softball for the spring.
Asked if she could play on the town travel U8 baseball team instead (her brothers team from the year before so she saw them play.)

Tried out against the other boys in her grade and easily made the team.
If she had to play only coach pitch, no advancing on throws, 6 pitch at bat limit for 3 more seasons - no way she sticks with softball.
Even with all girls and her friends she wanted to change.
At the lower levels there is no checking so the size thing isn’t as much as a concern.

And have no issue with the club scene for any sport, just not for me and my kids, as I mentioned earlier. Works for other members of my family, so good for them. But it’s girls soccer.

Thoughts on girls wrestling or boys playing field hockey, like the rest of the world?

My older one was always the smallest. From the time he started all the way through college. He gets to school and there are lots of forwards and less defensemen. Since he was a pretty good skater (just kept getting better as he got older) and wanted to get on the ice he offered his services on the blue line. Ended up being paired with the best defenseman on the team and specials on the PK, even 5 on 3 situations.

First shift, first game he gets blasted by a much bigger forward on a rush. Like really leveled where as a parent you’re like…yikes! Head smash the whole thing. He bounced right up and followed the play.

Luckily only myself and my late Dad (who was a great athlete-it skipped a generation for my brother and I LOL) saw the play. My Wife, his grandmothers and other grandfather missed it.

He had fun, his brother (still playing) had fun and so did I.

Depends on the DIII schools. Some DIII schools are better than DIII for hockey. RPI, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Union, for example, play serious hockey.
Of course.

Same can be said for some other sports too.

Salisbury, for example, is DIII for lacrosse and they are pretty, pretty good.
 
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At the lower levels there is no checking so the size thing isn’t as much as a concern.

And have no issue with the club scene for any sport, just not for me and my kids, as I mentioned earlier. Works for other members of my family, so good for them. But it’s girls soccer.

Thoughts on girls wrestling or boys playing field hockey, like the rest of the world?

My older one was always the smallest. From the time he started all the way through college. He gets to school and there are lots of forwards and less defensemen. Since he was a pretty good skater (just kept getting better as he got older) and wanted to get on the ice he offered his services on the blue line. Ended up being paired with the best defenseman on the team and specials on the PK, even 5 on 3 situations.

First shift, first game he gets blasted by a much bigger forward on a rush. Like really leveled where as a parent you’re like…yikes! Head smash the whole thing. He bounced right up and followed the play.

Luckily only myself and my late Dad (who was a great athlete-it skipped a generation for my brother and I LOL) saw the play. My Wife, his grandmothers and other grandfather missed it.

He had fun, his brother (still playing) had fun and so did I.


Of course.

Same can be said for some other sports too.

Salisbury, for example, is DIII for lacrosse and they are pretty, pretty good.

Actually, one of my daughters best friends (7yo girl also) has played flag football the past 2 years and does wrestling against the boys.
My daughter isn just a phase until she can play real softball. Not sure about the other girl.
My son's U9/3rd grade travel baseball team had a girl this past fall. One of the best players on the team (and helped inspire my daughter to look to join the baseball team).

Her baseball team actually also has a 1st grade playing up who made the team.
2nd grade boys must be pretty bad if a 1st grader and a girl made the team.

Good point about the no checking so size differences aren't that much of a concern for younger hockey.
That's grest he took the hit and kept going.

Kids can play anything except hockey! Isn't it a ton of gear and it all smells?
And ice time is 4am?
 
Actually, one of my daughters best friends (7yo girl also) has played flag football the past 2 years and does wrestling against the boys.
My daughter isn just a phase until she can play real softball. Not sure about the other girl.
My son's U9/3rd grade travel baseball team had a girl this past fall. One of the best players on the team (and helped inspire my daughter to look to join the baseball team).

Her baseball team actually also has a 1st grade playing up who made the team.
2nd grade boys must be pretty bad if a 1st grader and a girl made the team.

Good point about the no checking so size differences aren't that much of a concern for younger hockey.
That's grest he took the hit and kept going.

Kids can play anything except hockey! Isn't it a ton of gear and it all smells?
And ice time is 4am?
Only for travel😉 House and HS (regular and spring/summer) were normal times.

And it doesn’t smell that much until puberty. At least to my nose. LOL

But when I added a mudroom with a covered porch I had the carpenters add some hooks to keep it all outside.
 
Anyone touch on the social media aspect of it ? Kids and trainers are all posting highlight training videos of themselves all over the place…and I mean like 10 year old kids on the local travel team.
Then there are guys like geo all over the place promoting. (Smart business move). But it’s pretty wild. .
You also have game changer and you can literally watch all these youth games on the app. Its crazy . The amount of stimulation and constant attention and I am surprised more kids (and parents for that matter ) don’t burn out !
 
Wow finally read this article and didn't realize this was Park Ridge where I went to High School

Sports have become out of control in many ways...I feel bad for this guy
 
Anyone touch on the social media aspect of it ? Kids and trainers are all posting highlight training videos of themselves all over the place…and I mean like 10 year old kids on the local travel team.
Then there are guys like geo all over the place promoting. (Smart business move). But it’s pretty wild. .
You also have game changer and you can literally watch all these youth games on the app. Its crazy . The amount of stimulation and constant attention and I am surprised more kids (and parents for that matter ) don’t burn out !
it's a money grab
none of these kids need all of this at the ages being discussed here
 
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No aspect of any extra-curricular activity should be mandatory, nor should there be exemption from playing time, making varsity or other similar repercussions for not participating.
As a longtime coach this is kind of a catch 22. All workouts out of season need to be voluntary and generally the kids who do them will be the biggest and strongest kids but a lot of time our best players are multi sport athletes who miss most voluntary workouts. Then so much of the workouts do not reflect what the kids need to do to be successful and don’t actually make them better at there sport
 
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