The Handshake vs. The Fist Bump in Youth Wrestling

I’m noticing a disturbing trend in youth wrestling this season.  The fist bump is starting to overtake the handshake among coaches when greeting the opposing wrestler at the end of a match. I believe youth coaches must stop this trend in it’s tracks before it goes any further. Traditionally, wrestlers always shake their opponents hand […]

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Four Alternative Methods to Yelling That Motivate Behavior Change in Kids

Yesterday I shared three facts about yelling at kids. These facts should motivate any parent or coach to stop using yelling as a tool for behavior change. Kids dislike people who yell all the time. Yelling at kids lowers their self-esteem and drives higher rates of depression. Yelling does not improve behavior and can instead […]

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Kids Don’t Like Coaches Who Yell – So What?

I did an unscientific survey this weekend among a handful of young athletes 12 and under.  I asked them two fairly straight forward questions. Surprisingly, almost every kid I talked with said they had a coach they didn’t like at one time or another. In addition, they all had the same reason for not liking […]

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