The newsletter
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One issue a week for parents of youth athletes: five sports, the camps worth knowing about, and coaches explaining what actually matters. Every issue stays readable here, in full, with no signup wall.
Latest issue: No. 24 — week of 14 September 2026
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Issues
Issue No. 24 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five real financial scams from this year, each boiled down to one specific question that could have caught it before the money was gone.
Issue No. 23 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five real stories about adults losing control at youth games, each boiled down to one direct takeaway you can actually use.
Issue No. 22 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five more pieces of advice, checked a year later — concussion research, a $100K NIL decision, early specialization, what not to do at 10U, and a coach's line on parent conduct.
Issue No. 21 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five pieces of advice we're revisiting a year later — the three roles for a football parent, the 70/30 rule, position flexibility, disappointment, and the relative age effect.
Issue No. 20 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five more topics, boiled down — the sideline test, the practice-to-game ratio, why development is a slow burn, prep to beat people, and the recruiting email that actually gets read.
Issue No. 19 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five topics, boiled down to their bullet points — a position standoff, an overlooked recruiting path, the touches gap, a 5-part plan, and why one coach waits to recruit talent.
Issue No. 18 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five more common assumptions, tested against what actually happens — youth football safety, hard work vs. the right work, the club soccer pyramid, and what recruiters really watch for.
Issue No. 17 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five common assumptions in youth sports, tested against reality — camps, growth spurts, playing time, tournament schedules, and JUCO softball.
Issue No. 16 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five more real questions from parents, answered straight — what to look for in a program, the shoe circuits explained, and the September 1st recruiting myth.
Issue No. 15 — Week of September 14, 2026
THIS WEEK Five real questions parents actually asked us, answered straight — about big kids, tall kids, hard throwers, age-group changes, and whether D3 is worth it.
Issues 9 through 14 are not posted yet. They are on the way; the archive jumps from No. 8 to No. 15 until then.
Issue No. 8 — Week of September 7
What the concussion research actually says, why a $100K NIL offer wasn’t enough to make one player leave his program, and what NOT to do with a 10-year-old ballplayer.
Issue No. 7 — Week of September 7
The real practice-to-game ratio research recommends for young players, why disappointment belongs to the athlete and not the parent, and the softball clock almost nobody explains.
Issue No. 6 — Week of September 7
The practice-to-game ratio most American teams get backwards, why patience beats urgency in academy soccer, and the recruiting email that actually gets read.
Issue No. 5 — Week of September 7
The recruiting path most basketball families never hear about, why some coaches wait years before recruiting a talented player, and a position conflict every football parent eventually faces.
Issue No. 4 — Week of September 7
What 'safety' really means in a youth program, the club soccer pyramid explained in plain language, and why more tournaments can mean less development, not more.
Issue No. 3 — Week of September 7
The camp that builds a skill vs. the camp that just shows it off, why a growth spurt can make a kid temporarily worse, and the JUCO pipeline most softball families never hear about.
Issue No. 2 — Week of September 7
How the shoe circuits actually work, why academies care more about touches than tactics, and the September 1st myth that stresses out more softball families than it should. Five camp spotlights, five trainer picks, and chicken and rice bowls that reheat all week.
What is in an issue
- One article per sport, written by or with a coach who does the job — every piece from No. 15 on has its own page.
- A camp spotlight per sport, with dates, ages, cost, and a registration link that goes straight to the camp.
- Five trainer picks pulled from the trainer directory.
- Ten reasons youth sports matter, rotated every issue, and one meal-prep recipe with a grocery list you can copy.