Category Archives: Youth Basketball

Best part of youth basketball comes when a team is all grown up
September 23, 2019

Youth basketball is not broken.  It’s alive, well and thriving. Team USA finished seventh in the World Cup earlier this month, and coaches and fans point to youth basketball as one of the primary reasons for that failure.  Oh sure, the point of kids playing basketball is to win championships. Tens of thousands of boys […]

Focusing entirely on basketball has costs, but is necessary – and the rewards are great
July 16, 2019

ESPN.com posted an interesting two-part series last week focusing on the harm caused by young athletes focusing entirely on basketball.  It was well-researched, interesting, and probably scared the hell out of a lot of parents whose kids dream of playing college basketball and maybe even the NBA. One thing it failed to mention is that […]

Bad sports parents getting worse – screwing up a very good thing
June 28, 2019

When I was a kid playing any sport with a ball and scoreboard, parents used games and practices as a babysitter.  They napped, partied, played golf, relaxed, or whatever the hell else they felt like doing when kids weren’t bouncing off the walls in their homes and neighborhoods. At my high school soccer games, most […]

Colorado youth baseball brawl latest example of sports parenting run amok
June 20, 2019

A 13 year-old volunteers to umpire a little league game being played by seven year-olds.  It’s a recipe for disaster in Lakewood, Colorado. Parents are idiots. This has somehow become our society.  It’s not that all games end in brawls, but at virtually every rec or travel league baseball game this summer across America, at […]

Coaching youth baseball demands you prioritize fun for players
May 18, 2019

When I asked my old boss how I should grade myself as a youth baseball coach, he said, “That’s easy.  How many kid play next year?  If they all play, you were great.  If none play, you were terrible.” Best answer ever. The way to get kids to play the following season is to make […]

Top 10 great tips for sports parents who want their kids to earn scholarships
July 15, 2016

Okay, the headline is a bit of a lie.  If your child is going to be coveted by coaches for his or her athletic ability, you will have virtually nothing to do with making that happen. Coaches know what they want, and they recognize it quickly.  The most helpful thing a parent does for a […]

Pat Mullin’s EG10 17U squad wins Adidas Gauntlet regular season crown
May 27, 2014

by Kent Sterling Against some of the highest ranked boy’s basketball players in the country, Indiana’s own EG10 Central Stars 17 & under team finished the unique regular season of the Adidas Gauntlet with a 14-2 record. This is nothing new for coach Pat Mullin who has won with lesser known talent in the past. […]