Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Mike Popovec, president and CEO of Recruit U, a company that helps high school athletes market themselves to colleges. He discusses the intense pressure many aspiring college athletes feel in order to impress recruiters on the one day they show up to the game. High school athletes can make opportunities for themselves by taking an active role in their recruitment by calling coaches, seeking out scholarships, and appealing to colleges by expanding their resume

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Tom Farrey, ESPN reporter and author of the book "Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children." Farrey based his book on visits to youth sports teams around the country. He talks about how far parents will go to create child athlete entertainers. He offers solutions to the problems created by today's win at all cost mentality.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews John Woods, a partner with Speed To Win, about parents' role in performance training. He argues that parents often don't understand the difference between fitness and performance training and that the benefits of performance training last a lifetime in kids' muscle memory.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Tommy Weber, a former pro baseball player who has coached Div. 1 teams for 22 years, about the value of unstructured play: how it enhances creativity and passion for the game--and how this affects sports kids' mental game.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio Interviews Stephen Raghoobarsingh, Author of the new book, "The New Game Plan: Using Sports to Raise Healthy, Happy, and Successful Kids." He discusses how the "winning it at all costs" mindset in sports often leads to negative character traits off the playing field. We need to change our perception of success and use sports as a vehicle to develop character traits that can be beneficial and rewarding in all aspects of life, he says. Mental game expert Dr. Patrick Cohn

Ultimate Sports Parent Video interviews Ryan, a division1 wrestler, about his parents' influence on him throughout his life.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Sean Brawley, a former top-150 world tennis pro and an expert in the "inner game" coaching philosophy. He discusses the inner game of sports parenting, which emphasizes open communication – how to talk so kids will listen and how to listen so kids will talk. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Steve Horan, founder of sportsparent.net and an expert in community health improvement. He asks the question: With the numbers of kids involved in youth sports – 30 to 40 million at any given time – what are we as parents and coaches trying to accomplish and what is the educational purpose of sports? He explains how the end product of youth sports is to enhance life skills in order to help young athletes become happy and successful adults. Youth sports can

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio Interviews Michael Sachs, Professor of Kinesiology at Temple University and author of the book, “The Total Sports Experience for Kids: A Parents’ Guide to Success in Youth Sports.” He discusses the importance of how parents and coaches define success in young athletes. As opposed to defining success on winning and losing, he argues that putting forth 100% effort and having fun are the most critical aspects to success for young athletes. It is the responsibility of the

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Fred Engh, founder and CEO of the National Alliance for Youth Sports, and author of the book, "Why Johnny Hates Sports". He discusses how youth sports programs remain largely unchecked, with no certification programs, coaches training, or established parent codes of conduct. He argues that the purpose of youth sports is not to win or make the all-star team, but to teach kids valuable life lessons of honesty, good-sportsmanship, and fair play for ethical and

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Dan Doyle, founder and executive director of the Institute for International Sport and the co-author of the Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting about how to develop a sports parenting philosophy. He talks about how parents can help kids develop self-reliance and self-respect, when to call the coach—and when not to call the coach. He explains the difference between being involved in sports and over-involved. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn offers

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Michael Wood, chief fitness officer at KoKo Fitness and father of 7th Grade Juliea, who is a starter for her high school basketball team. Wood talks about his daughter’s mental game challenges and strengths. Mental Game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn talks about classic challenges for kids who play “up.”

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Joe Bouffard, active director of Youth Football USA, about the benefits of trained youth coaches. He says that it's hard, especially in football, to find coaches who can teach the technical sport. He also stresses the importance of finding coaches who have a teaching philosophy and want to instill in young athletes a love and passion for sports. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Larry Lauer, Ph.D., director of coaching education and development for the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, about how parents can strike a balance between motivating their kids in sports and pressuring them. His comments are based on a study funded by the US Tennis Society that applies to parents and kids in all sports, he says. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Simon Mulverhill, executive director of Kids Sports Network--which provides certification programs for volunteer coaches—about how parents can best prepare themselves to coach young athletes. He explains why volunteer coaches should understand their reasons for coaching, how they can boost their knowledge of specific sports, the importance of teaching life skills--and why volunteer coaches may need insurance. Mental game expert Dr. Patrick Cohn provides

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews David Jacobson, marketing communications manager for the Positive Coaching Alliance, about the Alliance’s new National Conversation on Coaching effort. How are people responding to tough questions about coaching? What are people writing in about? What’s on the minds of sports parents today? Providing commentary is mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Jerry Reeder, national program consultant for the American Sport Education Program about how kids can focus on being athletes first and on winning second. He stresses that it’s important for parents to understand this philosophy. He describes how he asks athletes to establish performance goals rather than focusing on outcomes and gives examples of other ways to de-emphasize winning.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Bill Mumford, former director of tennis for the U.S. Tennis Association's National Tennis Center, about how to help youth tennis players improve their mental games. He stresses a play-based approach. Beginners should be exposed immediately--but gently--to play and competition so they can begin dealing with the mental pressures right away, he says.

Ultimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Rob Gelphman, a baseball coach and former director of marketing for National Youth Sports. He provides tips for boosting kids’ confidence by complimenting them for doing the little things—like backing up the base. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn talks about the significance of rewarding such positive behavior and helping kids focus on what’s important.

a quick video from our spring break cruise