Category Archives: All The Rest

(Let me first start by saying that I’m not advocating running a 12U practice without a practice plan. That is not advisable. This is a tale about how I accidentally ran a practice without a plan and how it worked out pretty nicely. Last Thursday I arrived at practice thinking I was going to assist,Continue reading “How to Coach a Winning Practice Without A Practice Plan”

“We haven’t had a team meeting since March 12.” Brent Brennan is the Head Football Coach at San Jose State. He’s in charge of over 100 young men and oversees a staff of over 20. His team only recently returned to campus in limited capacity, but Brennan says it’s still messy and complicated. In theContinue reading “The Connection We Crave”

When quarantine began, many athletes found themselves sidelined. Not because of an injury, but because the world hit the pause button. I coach for a beach volleyball club and we had been discussing the roll out of a mental training/mindset/performance program for some of our select athletes. When our sports were put on hold, weContinue reading “Resetting your Game in 30 Days”

I mean there’s some kind of tension right now. It’s not just me. You feel it right? Tension at the grocery store standing on dots too far away from anyone to make small talk (something I relish in, I’ll admit). Tension in my home as our conversations shift from this and that to conversations aboutContinue reading “On Risk and Responsibility”

Not sure what terminology you used the past ten weeks in America – I realize the timing is different for different parts of the world as is the language used for what staying inside is – but regardless of jargon, for most of us, sports were pretty much shut down globally for some time. InContinue reading “Ten Things We Learned About Sports From Ten Weeks Inside”

In early April, I was supposed to speak on a panel at a global sports summit with the Global Sport Institute on the topic of mental health and student athlete populations. The panel had a former wrestler from Arizona State University, Ryan Milhof, who had been public about his mental health struggles as well as Kristin Hoffner,Continue reading “Is Sports Culture Toxic to Athlete Mental Health?”

Location: Durham, North Carolina. Date: Late November/Early December, 1994 Event: worst game of my collegiate career. There are only two details I remember about this match. That I played the absolute worst match of my collegiate career and the epic tantrum I threw in the locker room after. Now, if you want details of saidContinue reading “Chicken and Broccoli: Putting Whole Thoughts Into Your Mind”

I try to keep this blog to sports content as much as possible, but the truth is, I’m not just a former athlete, mom and wife, turned coach … I’m also just a regular person with regular issues and stuff I deal with like everyone else. I don’t have all the answers, but I doContinue reading “Diagnosis. Human: A Story of Childhood Anxiety.”

There are two times my brain is quiet and still: when I’m sleeping when I’m training. See, I’m a processor. I am constantly taking in information whether spoken or sensory or relational dynamics or environmental or that mosquito that just landed on your leg and now I’m focused on … (slap. sorry). I don’t tryContinue reading “Why I Like Training “By Myself””

Two years ago, I made the decision to get back into coaching. I didn’t come from a particularly decorated coaching career (if you can even call it that). A short three-year stint as a club coach in Southern California for a 16-3’s team and one season as the 4th assistant at Long Beach State (basicallyContinue reading “Coaches in China Shops – What’s Your Role in Coaching Youth Sports?”