EVERY CHILD DESERVES ADULTS WHO PROTECT THEIR LOVE FOR THE GAME.
Coaches • Parents • Mentors • Leaders
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Coaches • Parents • Mentors • Leaders /
WHO DO YOU INFLUENCE?
COACHES • PARENTS • INSTRUCTORS • MENTORS • ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS
Every adult in youth sports leaves an imprint.
The question isn’t whether we influence young athletes.
The question is what kind of influence we choose to have.
THE GAME IS ABOUT MORE THAN THE SCORE.
CHILDREN MAY FORGET THE SCORE.
THEY WILL NEVER FORGET HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
PROTECT THEIR LOVE FOR THE GAME
Youth sports should build children - not break them.
Protect Their Love for the Game is a movement built around a simple belief:
The greatest responsibility we have as parents, coaches, and instructors isn’t developing better athletes. It’s helping develop better people.
Strong confidence • Stronger CHARACTER • A lifelong love for the game
THEY DON’T NEED PERFECT COACHES. THEY NEED ADULTS WHO REMEMBER WHAT REALLY MATTERS.
Young athletes don’t need adults who never make mistakes. They need adults who are willing to listen, encourage, teach, and grow alongside them.
They need coaches and parents who understand that confidence is built in moments - and it can be damaged in moments, too.
SEE THE CHILD BEFORE THE ATHLETE.
TEACH BEFORE YOU CRITICIZE.
ENCOURAGE MORE THAN YOU CORRECT.
LET THEM KNOW THEIR VALUE IS NEVER DETERMINED BY A SCOREBOARD.
SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, WE LOST SIGHT OF WHO THIS WAS SUPPOSE TO BE ABOUT.
The pressure to win.
The fear of falling behind.
The obsession with rankings, trophies, exposure, and scholarships.
The belief that more is always better.
When the adults want it more than the children do, something has gone terribly wrong.
Youth sports were supposed to be a place where children learned, grew, competed, built confidence, made friendships, and fell in love with the game.
But too often, the adults have changed the experience.
AND SOMEWHERE IN ALL OF IT, WE FORGOT ABOUT THE CHILD.
It’s time to change that.
THE GAME WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT THE ADULTS.
THEY DON’T NEED US TO WANT IT MORE.
THEY NEED US TO REMEMBER WHO THE GAME BELONGS TO.
For too long, youth sports have been shaped by adult expectations instead of childhood experiences.
Winning became more important than learning.
Exposure became more important than development. Schedules became more important than childhood.
And somewhere along the way, we started asking children to carry pressures that were never meant to be theirs.
LET THEM PLAY.
LET THEM LEARN.
LET THEM LOVE THE GAME.
WHAT IF WE CHANGED THE QUESTION?
Instead of asking, “Did we win?” What if we asked, “Did we get better?”
Instead of asking, “How did they perform?” What if we asked, “How much fun did they have?”
Instead of asking, “What do they need to improve on?” What if we asked, “What do they need from us to help them grow?”
WITH A DIFFERENT QUESTION.
THAT IS WHERE CHANGE BEGINS.
Not with another tournament.
Not with another practice.
Not with more pressure.
IT BEGINS WITH US.
so what can we do?
CHANGE DOESN’T REQUIRE US TO BE PERFECT
IT REQUIRES US TO BE INTENTIONAL.
START WITH THE MOMENTS THAT MATTER
SEE THE CHILD BEFORE THE ATHLETE
TEACH BEFORE YOU CRITICIZE
ENCOURAGE FAR MORE THAN YOU CORRECT
GIVE THEM PERMISSION TO FAIL
LET THEM KNOW THEIR VALUE IS NEVER DETERMINED BY A SCOREBOARD OR STATS.
WHAT IF ENTIRE ORGANIZATIONS WOULD MAKE THIS COMMITMENT?
THE pROTECT THEIR LOVE FOR THE GAME ORGANIZATIONAL PROGRAM
INTRODUCING:
BUILD THE CULTURE YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO EXPERIENCE.
Protect Their Love for the Game isn’t only a message for individual coaches or parents.
It’s an opportunity for entire organizations to make a commitment to the children they serve.
The Protect Their Love for the Game Organizational Program brings coaches, parents, instructors, board members, and organizational leaders together around a shared philosophy -one that puts the development of the child alongside the development of the athlete.
Because when everyone is pulling in the same direction, we don’t simply change the way a team operates.
WE CHANGE THE CULTURE CHILDREN GROW UP PLAYING IN.
REAL CHANGE DOESN’T HAPPEN WITH ONE COACH.
IT HAPPENS WHEN AN ENTIRE CULTURE CHANGES.
LET THEM KNOW THAT THEIR VALUED
IS NEVER DETERMINED BY A SCOREBOARD
WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM INCLUDE?
MORE THAN A PRESENTATION. A FRAMEWORK FOR CULTURE CHANGE.
#1 - LEADERSHIP
BUILD THE CULTURE FROM THE TOP DOWN.
Board Members, directors, administrators, and organizational leaders establish the expectations and philosophy that guide the entire organization.
#2 - COACH EDUCATION
DEVELOP THE PEOPLE WHO DEVELOP THE ATHLETES.
Give coaches practical tools for teaching, communicating, correcting, encouraging, handling failure, building confidence, and developing athletes without losing sight of the child.
#3 - PARENT PARTNERSHIP
GET THE SIDELINE AND THE HOME ON THE SAME TEAM.
Help parents understand the enormous influence they have before, during and after competition - and how their words, reactions, expectations, and support can either strengthen or diminish a child’s experience.
#4 - A SHARED COMMITMENT
ONE ORGANIZATION. ONE STANDARD. ONE MISSION.
Create common expectations and language for coaches, parents, instructors, leaders, and everyone else entrusted with influencing young athletes.
#5 - CONTINUED SUPPORT
MAKE IT MORE THAN A ONE-DAY MESSAGE
Provide tools, resources, reminders, and continued reinforcement that help organizations carry the principles of Protect Their Love for the Game throughout the season.
CULTURE ISN’T WHAT AN ORGANIZATION SAYS IT BELIEVES. CULTURE IS WHAT A CHILD EXPERIENCES EVERY DAY.
When leaders, coaches, and parents share the same mission, young athletes feel the difference.
Changing the culture of youth sports takes more than good intentions.
It takes education, communication, accountability, and a shared commitment from the adults entrusted with our children.
The Protect Their Love for the Game Organizational Program is designed to bring everyone together around that commitment.
one message. one standard. one commitment.
protect their love for the game
The protect their love for the game organizational program helps youth SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS turn good intentions into a SHARED CULTURE— one that develops athletes while protecting their confidence, character, joy, and love for the game.
join the movement
this starts with you
You don’t need to be a perfect parent, coach, instructor, or leader to make a difference. You simply have to decide what kind of influence you want to have on young athletes
This isn’t about agreeing with a slogan. It’s about changing what children actually experience — in practices, games, car rides home, dugouts, sidelines, gyms, and homes.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO CHANGE YOUTH SPORTS EVERYWHERE.
YOU JUST HAVE TO CHANGE WHAT A YOUNG ATHLETE EXPERIENCES BECAUSE YOU WERE THERE.
THE COMMITMENT
Protecting their love for the game starts with a decision.
i will see the child before the athlete.
i will teach before i criticize.
i will encourage more than i correct.
i will give them permission TO fail.
i will never let a scoreboard determine their value.
i will protect their love for the game.
now live it
the commitment isn’t something we say. it’s someTHING they experience
AFTER THE TOUGH MOMENT — encourage before correcting.
AFTER THE LOSS — remind them, their value didn’t change.
AFTER THE MISTAKE — give them permission to fail.
ON THE RIDE HOME — let them know your love isn’t tied to performance.
AT THE NEXT PRACTICE — teach, develop, and believe in them.
WHEN THEY’RE STRUGGLING — see the child before the athlete.
the movement doesn’t begin with words.
it begins with what a child expeRIENCES next
THERE’S A PLACE FOR YOU IN THIS MOVEMENT
every child is influenced by more than one person.
PARENTS. COACHES. INSTRUCTORS. LEADERS. OFFICIALS. EDUCATORS.
DIFFERENT ROLES. DIFFERENT RESPOSIBILITIES. ONE SHARED mission — TO MAKE SURE THE YOUNG ATHLETES IN OUR LIVES LEAVE THE GAME WITH MORE CONFIDENCE, STRONGER CHARACTER, AND A GREATER LOVE FOR THE GAME THAN WHEN THEY ENTERED IT.
choose how you want to make a difference
One mission. many ways to live it
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
A BOOK STARTED THE CONVERSATION. A MOVEMENT CAN CHANGE THE CULTURE.
