Jason D'Rocha: Age-Appropriate Expectations, Pay Coaches Well & Improving Access Together

Jason D'Rocha didn't plan to spend his career in youth sports. A blown knee in grade 12 ended his dreams of playing university basketball, and what followed — a degree in child psychology, a summer camp job that lit something up in him, and an introduction to Sportball — became a calling he's never walked away from. Jason's now the Vice President of Sportball, the author of multiple children's books, and a father of two daughters who are very much in the thick of the youth sports world he thinks about every day.

Jason brings something rare to this conversation: he's simultaneously a child development expert, a career coach, a sport administrator, and a parent sitting in the stands trying to get it right. He's also someone who grew up in Toronto's inner city, where organized sport wasn't always accessible, which gives him a perspective on cost and inclusion that isn't theoretical, it's personal.

In this episode, Scott and Jason explore what it really means to build confidence in children through sport, why celebrating outcomes fails the 99% of kids who will never play at the elite level, and how a misalignment of expectations — from parents, coaches, and leagues — is at the root of so much of what's broken in youth sports today. Jason also shares what great coaching actually looks like, why getting parents out of the gym can be one of the most powerful things a program does, and what he tells his own daughters when sport gets hard.

If you're a parent trying to figure out how to support your child's athletic journey without stepping on it, this conversation is for you.