Jay DeMerit: Youth Sports Are Upside Down, Mentorship Matters & Develop the Whole Child | Ep 26
Jay DeMerit's path to professional soccer reads like a fairy tale, and he'll be the first to tell you it wasn't supposed to happen the way it did. No academy. No draft. Just a backpack, $1,800, and a willingness to knock on doors in the ninth division of English soccer. Within three years, he was captaining Watford in the Premier League. By 2010, he was a starter on the US World Cup team.
Amar Doman: Coaching Your Kid, Commitment to Community & Fighting the Focus on Phones | Ep 25
Amar Doman didn't make it as a professional athlete, but sport shaped everything about the man, the father, and the business leader he became. In 2021, Amar purchased the BC Lions and has been one of the CFL's most community-invested owners ever since.
Trevor Linden: Youth Sports Arms Race, Travel Tournament Traps & The Affordability Gut Punch | Ep 24
Trevor Linden played 19 seasons in the NHL, captained the Vancouver Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, and performed under the most intense pressure imaginable. But as a sports parent to his 8-year-old son? He's about as low-pressure as it gets.
Terry McKaig: An Overtraining Crisis, The Parent Guilt Trap & The Benefit of Being Cut | Ep 23
Terry McKaig built the most successful post-secondary baseball program in Canada's history at UBC, sending players to the MLB draft year after year. But if you asked him now, there are many things he would have done differently—especially in the first half of his coaching career.
Steve Mesler: Falling Means Learning, The Gift of Obsession & Keep Coaching Curious | Ep 22
Olympic gold medalist Steve Mesler (Vancouver 2010 bobsled) delivers a nuanced perspective on youth sports that challenges both the "winning is everything" and "winning doesn't matter" camps.
Brendan Morrison: Pyramiding Kids Too Soon, Managing Parent Expectations & Protect Referees | Ep 21
Former NHL star Brendan Morrison (900+ games, West Coast Express) shares hard-earned wisdom from raising four Division I athletes. He challenges the "elite" youth sports culture that's pyramiding kids too early, discusses why banning parent coaches is often misguided, and reveals how his children took completely different paths to high-level athletics.
Kim Gaucher: Open the Gyms, Increase Accountability & More Hoops with Less Structure | Ep 20
A 20-year veteran of Team Canada, Kim Gaucher shares her journey from a high school basketball star to a professional athlete and coach. She discusses the significance of youth sports in fostering social skills, resilience, and teamwork.
Geraldine Heaney: Less Time on Ice, Multi-Sport is Missing & Why Kids Need to Watch the Game | Ep 19
Hockey Hall of Famer Geraldine Heaney, who scored the game-winning goal in the first Women's World Championship and won Olympic gold, shares what's broken in youth hockey and her view on how to fix it.