WEBVTT - Ep 97: Seth Davis 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.560 If you want your kid to be a Division one 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:08.600 athlete and he's ten years old, what you want most 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:11.480 of all is for that court or that field to 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:12.680 be his happy place. 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.960 You want him to go to. 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.040 Practice with a smile on his face, seeing his friends 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:18.119 and running onto. 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:19.680 The field because he loves being there. 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:23.079 The competition and the drive, and the skills and the 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.439 strength and conditioning that can all come later. 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.680 This is the Reform Sports Project, a podcast about restoring 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.879 healthy balance and perspective in all areas of sports through 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.400 education and advocacy. Hi, this is Nick moncor from the 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:40.560 Reform Sports Podcast. Today, I'm speaking with Seth Davis, senior 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:44.800 writer for The Athletic covering college basketball and studio analysts 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.239 for CBS. Prior to joining The Athletic, Seth worked as 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:51.159 a writer for Sports Illustrator for twenty two years. The 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:54.600 author of six books, including New York Times bestseller Wooden, 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.160 A Coach's Life, Seth was recently inducted into the US 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:01.880 Basketball Writers' Associations Hall of Fame. Seth and I discussed 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:05.040 the transfer culture at the youth and collegiate levels, why 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.360 early sports specialization is doing our kids a huge disservice 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.000 and now playing a sport in college significantly changes your 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:15.440 college experience. Seth Davis, Man, I can't thank you enough 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.280 for hopping on bro. This has been something I've been 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.679 looking forward to when we finally make the time. You're a 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:21.200 busy man. 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.400 Well you're pretty busy too, but I appreciate your your 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:27.640 dog in pursuit, your pleasant persistence is what I try 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:29.880 to counsel people who want to get into this business. 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.399 So I appreciate you chasing me down. I'm happy to 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:32.680 do it. 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:35.200 Well, I appreciate you, man. And we're talking youth sports, 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:37.560 athletic development, kind of everything in between. I know you're 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.920 a father, you know you cut your teeth, and you know, 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.080 being a journalist and being in broadcasting all those things, 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.280 and you know, I would love to start here, Seth. 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:49.440 You've been covering college basketball for you know, twenty thirty years, 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:52.120 whatever the exact number is, and you know there's been 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:56.280 a major shift in youth sports, the professionalization and youth sports, 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:58.120 and now you're seeing I think a lot of that 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:00.600 in college sports, where they're calling it the professionation of 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.400 college sports, which I think you could probably certainly call 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:06.480 pro sports now. But from your vantage point, as someone 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.760 who's been following the college athletics so intimately for so long, Like, 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:12.160 what have you seen or have you seen things that 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:14.720 have maybe trickled up from youth sports? And I mean 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:16.960 maybe you could speak from your experience as a sports 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.160 parent as well as from your perspective as as a 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:21.320 journalist and someone who covers the college game. 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:24.200 Well, I think we sort of need to divide and 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:27.799 conquer what we're talking about. Right, So when you talk 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.640 about the sort of professionalization of college sports, and of 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.320 course in many respects it's been pro sports for a 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:37.400 long time with money coming in and then money you know, 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:42.040 escalating astronomically, I think there's a lot of good that's 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.040 coming out of that. Quite frankly, I mean I've felt 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:47.240 for a long time that these college athletes should have 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:49.680 every opportunity to monetize themselves. 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:51.639 And you know, it's not always about money. 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:55.000 It's about exposure, it's about work experience, it's about pro experience. 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.400 There are a lot of ways to sort of capitalize 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:00.720 on their work and their opportunit and like all of 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:02.400 us want to do and all of us were able 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:04.320 to do when when we were in college, I think 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:07.760 there's a lot of good that comes out of it. Certainly, 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:11.919 what is happening right now in college sports, specifically in 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:16.840 basketball and football, is the transfer and the rampant transferring. 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:20.040 Now everyone is talking about, well, the portal change. All 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:24.560 the Transfer Portal did, Nick was give everybody an online database. 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:28.000 So you know, in the past, before the portal was 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.160 created several years ago, if you wanted to transfer, it 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:32.920 was all kind of word of mouth, and then now 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:33.400 I guess. 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:34.480 It's a little bit of social media. 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:36.680 It wasn't ever hard to get the word out, but 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.120 now it's this mass database of one stop shopping. So 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:44.240 it's really made that part of it easier for everybody, 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.800 easier for the players, easier for the coaches. You know, 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:49.160 when you're if you're looking to bring in transfers, you're 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:50.240 not working the phones and. 0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:52.360 You know, trying to talk to a million different people. 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.240 You can just go right into the portal and see 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:57.400 who's available and start to work from there. 0:03:57.720 --> 0:03:59.880 The major change that happened, and. 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:02.200 I kind of evolved on this neck I'll be honest, 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:05.520 is getting rid of what's referred to as the one 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:10.320 time exception, which is that you know, if you transfer 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.200 in the past, if you transfer, you had to sit 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.280 out for one year at your destination school. You can 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:17.920 still practice, go to school, be a student, all those things, 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:20.520 but you couldn't play in the games. That was the 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:24.680 only distinction. And you know, the issue became that that 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:27.560 exception did not exist only in a couple of sports. 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:29.880 It was football and basketball. 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.440 I think it may have been like hockey, baseball, something 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:36.200 along those lines. But every other sport in the NCAA 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:38.800 you could transfer and not have to sit out. And 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:42.919 that was eventually, you know, the wall that could not 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.960 stand the oncoming momentum of the ocean. 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:47.680 It just it just didn't hold. It just never made 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:48.279 any sense. 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:53.279 So that's really what opened the floodgates, that transfer change 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:57.160 plus the portal. And you know, the idea is that 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.800 the first time you transferred, you don't have to sit out, 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:01.479 but if you want to transfer a second time, you 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:02.280 do have to sit out. 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:04.080 And now, of course people are trying to get rid 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:04.360 of that. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.800 You know, they're saying, well, coaches can hop around, kids 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:08.240 should have the same opportunity. 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.000 I don't necessarily agree with that, but that's where we are. 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:12.919 So I guess it's a long way of answering the 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.800 question of whether it's trickling down or trickling up. 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.440 Certainly, what I have experience with my kids, I've got 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:21.200 three boys. 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.880 We've been mostly a soccer family, playing both club soccer 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:27.600 and you. 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:30.560 Know rec league, ayso soccer and then for their high 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:31.359 school arsity. 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:35.080 And my youngest came up through the club soccer system 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:35.839 and now he's. 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:37.880 Really into baseball, so he's. 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.760 Playing little league and he's also on two different club teams. 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:43.200 When I hang up with you, I'm taking into practice 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:45.520 and it's a great thing. But what I'm seeing is, 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.240 you know, these kids are hopping around from to team, 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:49.200 club to club. 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.280 And frankly, a lot of that happens. 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.840 Because of the clubs themselves. I mean, I had a 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:56.600 son who plays goalie. He's a really good goalie. 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:57.520 He was literally like. 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:00.200 Ten years old, and he played with his team with 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:02.200 all of his friends and it was like this great experience. 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:04.760 Ane of them are these great high level athletes. And 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:06.040 at the end of the season the. 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.120 Coach replaced him with another goaliecause he said he was 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:12.120 too small, Like he's ten, you're talking about. So, you know, 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:15.640 coaches changed coaches all the time. See the clubs change 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.159 coaches all the time they cut kids left and right. 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:19.840 They're rolling it up. 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.440 They're asking them to specialize twelve months a year and 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.360 spend all kinds of money. So, you know, try to 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:27.640 explain to these coaches like Tom is a rails against 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.320 the whole transfer culture. I'm like, you know what, by 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.360 the time they get to you, it's over. I mean 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.800 they've They've just been raised in the culture where, hey, 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:36.120 I'm playing for this team. 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.080 You know, is the coach going to play me minutes? 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.039 No, And I'm going to hop to another team where 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:43.560 I'm going to have an opportunity to play. And you know, 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.359 they the coaches will rail against players. Oh they're not 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.240 sticking it out. But I'm like, well, oh, I'm a second. 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:51.680 You're bringing in transfers ahead of them. So this is 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.039 what's happening a lot nick where let's say you have 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:57.320 a sophomore who hasn't played much his first couple of years. Now, 0:06:57.520 --> 0:06:59.800 normally he's tracking as a junior to go for a 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:02.000 lot of minutes. Now the coach is going to bring 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:04.720 in a transfer, a fifth year guy from another. 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:05.479 School at his position. 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:07.640 Well, the coach isn't sticking it out with me, but 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:09.000 you want me to stick it out with you. 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:09.760 That's not right. 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:12.880 So it's been an interesting kind of a free for all. 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.400 I think it's a net plus all around, but there 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:18.760 are definitely some concerns and drawbacks as we manage this 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:22.000 new age, you know, combined with the name image and 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:25.280 like this money that's available and kids you know, basically 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:27.240 you know, dealing themselves out to the highest bidder. 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:29.440 I mean, it's a big time change in college sports. 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.160 As I'm listening to you, I'm thinking, I'm like, you know, 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.440 when you're talking about cole First of all, when you're 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:37.160 talking about college aged athletes, I mean you're talking about 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:39.680 sure they're adults, but they're young adults. 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:39.880 Right. 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:41.880 There's a major difference between an eight year old and 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:43.480 an eighteen year old, right, a twenty year old and 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:46.080 a ten year old. But the coaches that are coaching 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:48.160 you mentioned Tom Is, I mean, you know, if he 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.520 doesn't win, If a coach doesn't win, they can lose 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:54.240 their job the next year. You know, there's definitely an impact. 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:56.480 So we talk about that fifth year senior bringing someone in. 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:59.040 I get that. The problem is I feel like at 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.080 times some of these you know, youth coaches where you 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.400 can also argue that they're livelihood's at stake, right, So 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:06.840 it's like this tug of war. You know, we're we're 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.960 big proponents of you know, make sure we're allowing kids 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:13.880 the opportunity to enjoy the experience all of those things. However, 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.440 there's such an emphasis on winning and for that same reason, right, 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:18.880 how do you deal with as a parent, I mean, 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:20.520 you don't want to pay these fees to go have 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:22.880 your kid playing a terrible team, or how do you 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.360 juggle the whole winning versus you know, my kid needs 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.600 to develop, he likes to be in this club. He 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.320 likes to be in this situation. Like when you're signing 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:33.080 your kids up, is it important for you as a 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:34.760 parent to have your kid be playing for the quote 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:36.960 unquote best team or the most competitive team that's going 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:38.760 to win the most trophies at very young ages. 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:41.960 Well, I will say this, and I'm not trying to 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:43.599 you know, be high for louton. 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:45.079 On a high horse or whatever. 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.280 But I come at this from a very different perspective, 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:52.400 largely because of what I do for a living, you know. So, 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.360 Like I mean, I am around very very high level 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:59.680 athletes a lot, and I talk to the highest level 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:00.920 of co which is a lot. 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:05.240 I know what a real high level athlete looks like. 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:10.520 And my kids unfortunately have my DNA, so at their level. 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:13.480 And the kids they're playing with these are not super 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:14.480 high level athletes. 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:17.480 Now, a lot of them do aspire to play after 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:19.559 high school, and I always try to talk to them 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:21.840 and talk to their parents about like, well, you know, 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:23.840 why do you want to play college soccer? 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:26.880 Why do you want to play college volleyball? Because you know, Like. 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.400 I have a young cousin who graduated Wisconsin a. 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:31.360 Few years ago. He was an All Big Ten soccer 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:32.239 player at Wisconsin. 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.920 Great experience, loved Madison, loved everything about it, but. 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:39.760 It was not a normal college experience. 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.600 I mean, your life is dominated by the sport, so 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.240 if you don't truly love it he and he did. 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.360 Then it may not be the best thing for you. 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:49.280 So I think a lot of times they get caught up. 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:53.480 So my biggest thing, Nick, my number one biggest thing 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:57.000 is the coach. And I'm not talking about what he 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:00.400 knows about soccer. I'm talking about the kind of person 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.320 he is, the deaner he has, and the way that 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:07.079 he communicates and most. 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:10.280 Of the time frankly, I'm disappointed. We've had some great guys. 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:12.880 And look, I get look what you're saying about the 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:15.200 winning thing, Like I get that, Like it is the. 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.040 Coach's job to win, it is the club's job at 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:20.360 a certain level. That's the world that we're in. 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:22.720 And it's like, hey, if he cuts to say, hey, 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.440 you know, this is what we signed up for, Like 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:28.080 no one's promising you anything. And so it's tough and 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:29.760 it's hard when families go through it. 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.760 But to me, you know, there's too often a lack 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:33.640 of communication. 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.640 There's too often, like I think that a coach, any 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:42.680 good coach, if a player isn't doing something right, the 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:46.720 good coach blames himself or herself. First, I'm obviously not 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:50.280 doing something right. What I see too often in the 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:53.000 U sports culture, frankly, Nick, is the coach is blaming 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:55.240 the players and this and that, and it's like, well, it's. 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:56.880 Your job to teach them these things. 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.640 It's your job to get them ready or to your 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.440 point about wanting to win. Like you know, I've seen 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.680 coaches take over teams and they get rid of seven 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.520 kids and they bring in seven more who are better, 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.120 and the team does better. And the coach thinks that 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:14.760 he's done something great, Like, it's got nothing to do 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.440 with you as a coach, Bro, you brought in better players, Like, 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:18.440 don't kid yourself. 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:19.920 I've seen situations, you know. 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:22.599 I still laugh about this with my wife because my 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:24.600 oldest son ended up planning for this guy. 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:25.280 We loved him. 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:28.480 But when we first came to our community, there was 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:32.760 a coach in town who was like dominating the league, 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:35.200 was always a great coach. I'm like, yes, I think 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:38.160 he's a very good coach. He also has the best players. 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:41.240 And so because they did well in the league, they. 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.720 Moved up a level. Nick, I'll give you one guess 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:46.640 what happened. They didn't do so well. 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:51.520 So I think people just don't have a great perspective 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:53.000 on things. 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:55.040 They want what's best for their kids. 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:57.720 They think their kid is better than another kid. They 0:11:57.720 --> 0:11:59.439 want their kid to go to college. But is it 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:01.960 really for the right reasons? Is it just bragging rights? 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:06.840 Are you living vicariously? The parental treatment of referees is abhorrent. 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:10.480 It's just awful, you know. I always try to say, like, 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:14.200 if the ref sucks, it's because your kids sucks, you know, 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:15.960 like your kid's not a pro. 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:17.480 Therefore the ref isn't a pro. 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:19.840 So the only thing you need to be saying and 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.839 that referee is thank you for being here, because, as 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.320 you well know, there's a crisis and referees. So I 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.079 see a lot of things I don't like. I'm a 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:29.720 little bit detached in that regard. I will say, I 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:34.240 love I love my kids playing sports. I love them 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:35.680 being active, I love. 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:36.640 Them being part of a team. 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.920 I love them working out and practicing and trying to 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:43.160 get better and working on their bodies and their conditioning 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.040 and whatnot. So it's been in that plus, but I 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:47.400 certainly see some things that I like. 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:50.720 When we come back, Seth and I discussed the importance 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:54.600 of coaches being honest with both players and parents. Before 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:56.760 we go to break, I wanted to share another update 0:12:56.760 --> 0:12:58.800 with you from our friends at Team Staff. On an 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:02.880 earlier episode of this podcast, Peter Francillis, CEO of Team Snap, 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:06.360 shared how we saw technology evolving within the youth sports industry. 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:09.040 While Team Snap has been busy this summer expanding the 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:12.920 capabilities and functionality of their industry leading platform, they also 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:16.360 recognize that change can be uncomfortable or simply overwhelming for 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:19.600 some users. So to help support their platform users, both 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:23.520 existing and newcomers, Team Snap is hosting another free webinar 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:27.400 called Beyond Basic Scheduling for Your Youth Sports Organization a 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.720 complete look in the Team Snap's Master Calendar. Join Team 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.800 Snap on Tuesday, August twenty ninth at one pm eastern 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:36.080 eleven am Mountain Time to learn how to use Team 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:39.200 Snap's new Master Calendar for more than just your youth 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:43.400 sports organization's basic scheduling needs. With the Team Snap Master Calendar, 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.480 administrators now have a centralized view of every team and 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:50.520 season scheduled event for their organization. During this free webinar, 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.679 you'll get a complete look in on how to efficiently view, edit, 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:57.720 and access to your organization's team and season scheduled events 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:00.960 within the new Master Calendar available well. I'm the all 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.360 new Team Snap for business platform. Head to teamsnap dot 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.439 com today and register for the free webinar Bey I'm 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:11.360 Basic Scheduling for Your Youth Sports Organization on Tuesday, August 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.280 twenty ninth at one pm eastern eleven am Mountain Time. 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.280 When we left off, Seth and I were about to 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:25.760 talk about having open dialogue between coaches, parents, and kids 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:29.360 and his idea for multi sport clubs. So one of 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.360 the things that as you were talking about coaching there, 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.480 it made me think there's really you know, from a 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:36.400 youth perspective, a lot of times, you know, from the 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:39.120 recreation standpoint, a lot of those coaches are volunteers. But 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:41.040 then you know when you go to you know, a 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.120 club or a place where you got to you know, 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.440 pay X amount of dollars to play for the season, 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.400 or you know there's a fees could be outrageous, but 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:52.440 there's really no barrier to entry. You know, there's no licensing. 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:54.960 You know, anyone can brand themselves. You know, I played 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:57.760 college baseball and then I played a year overseas in Italy, 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:01.080 and you know I can come back from Italy, you know, 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.920 twenty plus years ago, brand myself as this guru and 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:08.080 be a great marketer and salesman, and you know, all 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:09.920 of a sudden, I can recruit kids and I'm this 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:12.160 great coach. Well, you know, I guess my point is, 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.200 like you kind of touched on it a little, but like, 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:18.080 what to you makes a great coach at the youth level, 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:20.200 Like I know we could talk about you kind of 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:22.240 touched on It's not always about wins. Some people can 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.640 get wins as a result of recruiting, right, But I 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:26.560 can speak for me as a parent, like I want 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.640 someone who genuinely shows an interest in my kid as 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:33.320 a human being, who wants them, you know, who makes 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:36.120 retention a big thing? I always say, you know, I 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:38.640 always grade myself as a coach, is do my kids 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:40.720 want to play the next season? Did they get better 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:43.120 from the first day to the last. How did my 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.960 most inexperienced player, you know, how did the kid that 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:48.440 first time playing baseball at ten years old? Does he 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:50.400 want to play again when he's eleven? Like that to 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:53.560 me is what constitutes you know, me being a good 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:55.760 coach or not. I guess what does it mean for you, 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:57.800 particularly if you got to pay a fee? Like what 0:15:57.840 --> 0:15:59.760 are some of those qualities you look for? Because a 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:01.440 lot of parents, a lot of coaches will hear this, 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:03.680 You're saying, it's not all about win. So what are 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.040 things that they can look for to really determine, you know, 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.440 from your vanishment, what makes a quality youth coach? 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.800 It's a great question. The number one thing is communication. 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:15.120 How do you talk to my child? 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:19.320 How do you communicate with us if he does something incorrect, 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:21.920 if he does something wrong, are you yelling and screaming 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:24.760 at him? Or are you are you demeaning him, or 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:25.960 are you correcting him? 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:29.600 Are you in it with him? If you I mean, I've. 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.280 Had situations where you know, my kid is starting one 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.360 game and then doesn't play the next and the coach 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:38.520 doesn't say why, Like, Okay, I get it, Like if 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:40.640 you don't want to play him, like that's fine, if 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.360 you want to cut him, that's fine, But be honest, 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:45.680 be straight with us and. 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:48.240 Talk to him in a way that is not the meaning. 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.200 You know, And you know, I'm not totally against you know, 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:55.520 yelling in whatever capacity. I mean, my oldest son played 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:56.440 for a coach when he was. 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:58.360 A little bit younger. The guy's name was Danny. 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.240 Used to joke like I joked at the high school, 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:02.240 and you know, they'd be like five field and they're 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:02.880 on the distance field. 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.560 You could hear Danny from from across the way. You know, 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:07.959 he was screaming and he was into his guys. But 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:09.680 it was pretty positive stuff. 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.239 It was energy stuff, and he had played some some 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:14.240 pro soccer, Like he could do no wrong in my 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:17.199 kid's eyes. But if a kid comes out of a 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:19.960 game and you're screaming at him, and again, I have 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:23.240 a wide berth for that, like yeah, like you know, 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:24.600 my wife will said, oh he's mad at him? 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:26.160 Is he's not mad at him, he's coaching him. 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:28.440 But are you going to come back to him after 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:30.040 the game and put your arm around him and say, hey, 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:31.560 I'm sorry, I got a little bit hot, but this 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:32.720 is what you. 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:34.760 Know, this is on me. I need to teach you better. 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:37.680 And then also communicating with families. 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:40.240 Like there should be a level of expectation. You know. 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:41.000 I had a situation. 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:44.520 I mentioned my youngest one playing baseball and he had 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:46.879 joined this team and he wasn't playing and it had 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:48.600 been a few games, and I'm just like, okay, look, 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:49.640