Team Moms

Summer Madness

The idea of “dumbed down” sports is a scary concept for some. It can be hard for many adults, especially coaches, to accept. The mere idea of doing so can bring their coaching into question and evoke feelings of hesitation, resistance and fear. Many are often quick to admit, “My dad never ‘dumbed down’ sports for me, and I turned out fine.” However, watch a seasoned coach try to teach a young child without “dumbing down” sports, and they fail miserably. Still, purists claim “dumbed down” sports coaching is anything but natural.

I never played soccer. Growing up when and where I did, there was none even to watch, until I went to college. After college, the next soccer game I saw was when my 5-year-old daughter played in Southern California AYSO. I wanted to be a part of the support, but could not coach, could not referee, and did not want to work in the snack bar. Coach sez, "We need a Team Mom." I sez, "I'll do it!". Coach sez, "Great!" I ask, "What does a Team Mom do?". So they sent me to a meeting where I met all the others and we learned what to do and what not to do.

The relative age effect adversely impacts children who have a birthday before the "cut-off" date. How do different sports arrive at these "cut-off" dates. Baseball has picked May 1 as their date. Does anyone know why it is May 1? Clearly children who have birthdays in the March/April dates are at a disadvantage. Why is it not on January 1? Anybody know or have any ideas of a way to equalize this RAE factor.

For three days over Memorial Day weekend, it was my honor and sincere pleasure to be the keynote speaker and a guest observer at the 2009 National Annual General Meeting of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) in Dallas, Texas. The majority of the more than 700 folks in attendance were regional commissioners-the true backbone of the AYSO. The AYSO has long been at the top of my list of best national youth sports organizations. They have the right values, mission statement and an amazing number of dedicated volunteers and staff.

It's been awhile since my last blog post. I kept trying to sit down and write what was on my mind, which has been a lot of things, and everytime I tried, I just pushed it away and did something else. I want to write about the US Nationals we attended in early May, the national that proceeded Oregon. I want to write about the weeks of health issues, stress, anxiety and preparation that followed. I have thoughts on New Mexico, a trip that just finished up and finally, I want to write about the ins-and-outs, emotions, drama, fellowships, of all this racing and traveling.