Supporting Youth Athletes

In a recent conversation on my YouTube channel with Pujji, we spoke about something very close to our hearts: the role corporates can play in helping cricketers upskill and stay ready for the next phase of their careers. Today, so many young players give everything to domestic cricket. But once that chapter ends, many of them are unsure about what comes next. Not because they lack talent or commitment, but because they never had access to structured training in areas outside cricket. This is where corporate involvement can create real impact. Whether it’s: career guidance, management education, training, leadership and communication workshops, fitness, wellness, or mental conditioning sessions, exposure to job opportunities after retirement. All of these can give players the confidence and choice they deserve. If we can create programs where corporates, state associations, and the BCCI work together, identifying players early (U-16, U-19, U-23) and supporting them through their journey, it can transform the ecosystem. Players will not only be better cricketers, they will become more prepared human beings. I truly believe that with the right support, many domestic players can go on to become successful coaches, managers, administrators, and leaders. Education opens those doors. This is why conversations like these matter. And this is why I hope more organisations step forward to build long-term, meaningful initiatives for our cricketers, the sport in general.

"If you only make them a better player on the field, boy, you have lost a great opportunity" Tony Dungy was head coach for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. In this video he provides some guidance for young coaches. Personally, I think this is great information for coaches of all ages and leaders in industry. Coach Dungy speaks about the importance of: 1) Getting to know your players 2) Connecting with players This approach fits very nicely with Ryan and Deci's (2000) model of self-determination theory, and in particular the basic psychological need of relatedness. When a coach gets to know his or her players and has a connection, it fulfils an athlete's basic psychological need of relatedness. The need for relatedness includes an athlete’s need to feel cared for by significant others such as a coach or team mates (Duda, 2013) and a secure sense of belongingness (Amorose, 2007). Techniques for coaches to enhance perceptions of relatedness 1) Develop the coach-athlete relationship The coach-athlete relationship is key to an athlete’s psychological needs being met (Amorose, 2007; Meageau and Vallerand, 2003), so coaches could work on developing their relationship with players and managing any conflict when or if it arises. 2) Promote positive relationships with other players  Coaches who work in team sports could devise activities that foster camaraderie among players to ensure that all players feel valued. This could also be achieved by not encouraging competition among team mates, or placing very little emphasis on the results of such competitions. Team building activities may also help athletes feel a sense of relatedness. 3) Listen and acknowledge – Coaches should listen to what their athletes say and acknowledge the feelings of athletes, rather than disregard such feelings (Amorose, 2007). This will help create trust between athletes and coaches, which is important in helping people feel cared for (Tessier et al., 2010). 4) Involve parents (IF COACHING YOUNG ATHLETES)  Amorose (2007) suggested that coaches should play an active role in involving an athlete’s parents, especially among younger athletes. This is supported by more recent research (e.g., Amorose et al., 2016; Gaudreau et al., 2016) who demonstrated the importance of autonomy support from parents. As such, coaches could provide information to parents regarding how they can be more supportive to their children and fulfil their basic psychological needs better. 

I regularly get asked what my role is, and often find it difficult to explain, a lot of the work that player support/care professionals do often goes under the radar as it can be sensitive and confidential to the needs of the player. It’s certainly a role that deserves more recognition for the impact they have within a high performance environment. Like so many roles, if people do not see it or experiance it themselves then it’s hard to relate or understand. To summarise some key points of my role to date: A player support/care officer generally focuses on managing the well-being and needs of the players & serves as a bridge between the players and the club, acting as a point of contact and support for the players in various aspects of their professional and personal lives. 🗣️Communication and Relationship Building: I help to establish and maintain open lines of communication between the players, coaching staff, and club management, build strong relationships with the players, gaining their trust and ensuring that their concerns and needs are heard and addressed. 🤝Player Support: I provide support to players in various areas, including relocation assistance, and accommodation arrangements, help navigate administrative processes and ensure they have access to necessary resource and services. 💼Personal and Professional Development: I assist players in their personal and professional development. This may involve workshops or training sessions on topics such as financial management, media training, career transition, and education opportunities. I also offer guidance and advice around opportunities beyond football. 🫶🏻Player Welfare and Well-being: I’m responsible for the welfare and well-being of the players. I coordinate with the club's medical staff to ensure players receive appropriate physical and mental health care. I also provide support in managing stress, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and accessing external support services if needed. 🤗Cultural Integration and Community Engagement: I support our international players & players from different cultural backgrounds, assisting in their cultural integration and adjustment to the new environment, as well as introducing them to community engagement opportunities. ‼️Crisis Management: I am responsible for dealing with any crisis situations that may arise in the players' lives, such as personal emergencies, legal issues, or media controversies. I provide guidance, support, and confidentiality, ensuring that players receive the necessary assistance while minimising negative impacts on their professional careers. Overall, my role is to be a dedicated support system for players, aiming to enhance their overall experience, well-being, and performance within the club. Creating a positive and supportive environment where players can thrive both on and off the pitch. It’s often a thankless job, but the intrinsic wins that only I see, makes it worthwhile. #football

Norway consistently wins the most medals at the Winter Olympic Games. With a population of just 5.6 million people, a big part of their success is how they treat youth sports—and it’s the opposite of what we do in the US. Here’s what we can learn from Norway: 1. Scorekeeping: In the US: Youth sports tend to be hyper competitive even at early ages. Leagues almost always keep score. In Norway: Scorekeeping isn’t even allowed until age 13. Removing winners and losers keeps the focus on the process not outcomes. It keeps kids engaged longer because it minimizes pressure (and tears) and maximizes fun, learning, and growth. The goal isn’t to win a third grade championship. It’s to love sport and keep playing. 2. Trophies: In the US: If you give everyone a trophy, you’re creating snowflakes who will never gain a competitive edge. In Norway: Whenever trophies are awarded, they are handed out to everyone. If getting a trophy makes young kids feel good, we should give them trophies. Maybe they’ll come back and play again next year!! As for the creation of snowflakes with no competitive edge—Norway’s athletes are tough as nails and all they do is win. 3. Prioritizing Fun: In the US: Far too often, the goal is to win. In Norway: The national philosophy is “joy of sport.” Youth sports in the US are driven by adults, ego, and money. Youth sports in Norway are driven by fun. Only half of kids in the US participate in sports. The number one reason they drop out: because they aren’t having fun anymore. In Norway, 93% of kids participate in youth sports. Fun is the foremost goal. 4. Playing Multiple Sports: In the US: There’s pressure to specialize early and play your best sport year round. In Norway: Try as many sports as you can before specializing as late as college. Norway encourages kids to try all types of sport. This reduces injury and burnout and increases all-around athleticism. It also helps promotes match quality, or finding the sport you are best suited for as your body develops, which is impossible if you commit to a single sport too early. 5. Affordability In the US: There is increasingly a pay-to-play model with high fees for leagues, equipment, and travel. This excludes many kids from playing. In Norway: It’s a national priority to keep youth sports affordable and therefore accessible for all. Kids aren’t priced out, which creates opportunities for everyone to participate (and develop into athletes), regardless of their parents’ income level. We could learn a lot from Norway: In the US, 70% of kids drop out of youth sports by age 13. This not only diminishes an elite-athlete pipeline, but it also destroys an opportunity for healthy habits and all the character lessons kids can learn from sport. In Norway, lifelong participation in sport is the norm. The goal isn’t to have the best 9U team. It’s to develop the best athletes. Those are two very different things. And Norway has the gold medals to prove it.

Trump Just Tried to Stabilize College Sports This weekend, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at saving college sports. I took time to read through it from a player development lens. My initial takeaway: It’s well written. And if the right people are in place to lead and execute it, this could bring much-needed stability to what has become a chaotic era in college athletics. The order clearly addresses a reality many avoid: College football is the revenue driver for most women’s and Olympic sports. It also highlights the growing financial pressure universities are facing and the debt they’re rapidly accumulating. Here’s what stood out to me: - Prioritizing academic success and graduation rates for student-athletes - Ensuring the transfer window does not interfere with the academic or competition calendar - Providing extended medical care for student-athletes after their careers end - Creating an agent registry to protect student-athletes from excessive commissions Here’s where I disagree: - Limiting eligibility to 5 years (I believe a 6-year window better accounts for injuries and real-life circumstances) - Restricting transfers to two opportunities (One immediate + one post-degree makes sense, but there should be an added opportunity if a coach leaves) From a player development standpoint, this is what matters most: - A return to structured, intentional development programming - More time to actually develop the student-athlete, not just manage movement - A critical opportunity to educate coaches on the value of player development systems - A chance to get back to doing the work that actually impacts lives Bottom line: There are pieces in this order that can restore balance to the student-athlete experience. Execution will determine everything. I broke this down deeper on this week’s Player Development Pod (link in comments). What’s your take on this order? #PlayerDevelopment

🎮 In a world of screens, gaming, and AI, youth sports matter more than ever. If your weekends look anything like mine, you're probably racing between youth sports games with cleats in the trunk, snacks in the back seat, and a schedule that would make a logistics team proud. Yes, it's tiring. But it's also one of the most important investments you can make in your child’s future. 💡 Because sports help your children engage the REAL world physically, mentally, and emotionally, and therefore teach what technology can't: 💪 Perseverance – pushing through when it gets hard 🧠 Humility – learning to win with class and lose with grace 🗣️ Leadership – stepping up when it matters most 🤝 Teamwork – working with different personalities toward one goal ⏱️ Time management – balancing sports, school, and life in real time 📊 Here's what the data shows: 94% of women in the C-suite played sports growing up 68% of top CEOs competed in college athletics Over half of Fortune 500 CEOs were high school athletes. These aren’t just fun stats; they are proof points that sports develop leaders. As AI continues to evolve, technical skills will be more accessible than ever. What will stand out are the human traits, character, resilience, and emotional intelligence. So if you're juggling practices, hauling gear, and cheering on your kids, keep going. You're not just raising athletes. 🏆 You’re raising future-ready, grounded leaders. What lessons are your kids learning from sports that no screen could ever teach? 👇 I’d love to hear your thoughts. #YouthSports #Leadership #Parenting #AI #Grit #Humility #FutureOfWork #Teamwork #ScreenTimeVsGameTime #CharacterDevelopment #SportsMatter

“When players are given permission to own their role instead of just performing it, they naturally become more confident, more adaptable and more creative.” A big part of my work is enabling players to execute their tasks, in their own unique way. In a way that is aligned with who they are. This fosters reaction time, problem solving skills and adaptability. Football is unpredictable. The best-laid plans can fall apart in an instant. The greatest players aren’t the ones who follow a rigid system perfectly; they are the ones who can adapt, make decisions in the moment, and create something new when the situation demands it. But to do that, you need space. Space to try, space to fail, space to trust yourself. The problem in modern football is that players are often boxed in—by tactics, by fear of making mistakes, by the pressure to perform. Many players overthink, analyzing every decision instead of flowing with the game. The key to peak performance is not rigid execution but allowing yourself the freedom to maneuver within the game’s structure. This means understanding your responsibilities, but also knowing that the game isn’t played in straight lines. It's fluid. And to be at your best, you need to move freely within the framework, adjusting and responding to the game in real time. If you only play in pre-programmed patterns, you become predictable. Predictable to your opponents, to your teammates, and worst of all—to yourself. Creativity thrives when you give yourself permission to explore different possibilities. Coaches play a key role in fostering this creativity. A structured approach with clear tasks is essential for team success, but within these tasks, players should have the freedom to maneuver—to put their own sauce over it. When a player knows their responsibilities but is also given space to execute them in their own way, it fosters authenticity, self-expression, and ultimately, confidence.

"Youth basketball has lost its way" The Luka Dončić Foundation spent 5 months researching youth hoops in the USA & the Balkans. They found burnout, highlight culture, financial barriers, win-first pressure & more are holding the game back. The Foundation performed 30 expert interviews, had 40 in depth convos with players, coaches and parents, collected 1254 survey responses, did 8 first-hand immersions in environments, and performed extensive analysis of the academic research. This is what they found in their report titled 'Inside Youth Basketball'... The good stuff across both regions: the game helps develop young people. Nearly half of basketball parents said their children have become better people through the game, while 64% say their children have made new friends. In the Balkans there are some key themes across the youth game: de-emphasis of the individual over the team, position-less play, discouragement of early specialisation in a single sport and a stable, single, club model with 'stability breeding success'. However, it's not all rosy in Europe. - 1/3 Slovenian basketball parents believe children must leave Slovenia to be successful - The female game is often overlooked - Clubs "win or they die". Funding depends directly on results Meanwhile, in the US, despite the landscape being a proving ground like no other, with role models in reach, boundless opportunity, and better opportunities for girls, issues still exist. Highlight culture is a major issue. 1 in 3 youth players have seen peers share highlights "even when they weren't good." A 15 second clip matters more than a season of solid play. 43% of US parents believe youth basketball focuses more on individual star power. Additionally, burnout is real. With AAU, there is no offseason. “Even pros take a break,” a veteran coach said. “But these are kids playing more basketball than NBA players.' More than 1 in 2 US parents believe their child has to play year round to remain competitive. And in the US, there is also a win-now culture, but instead it's to stand out and get noticed. 42% of US parents believe that coaches focus more on winning than developing players. Nearly 1/5th of US youth players change teams more than once per year. $873. That’s what the average family in the US reports spending per child each year on basketball program fees alone. As youth basketball becomes more professionalised, the costs keep climbing. As a result of the research, the Luka Dončić Foundation is proposing a new framework, 'The Total Hoops Approach' which puts development at the heart of the game, where fundamentals are celebrated like highlight plays, mistakes are opportunities & joy is as important as jumpshots. The whole report, aside from being beautifully designed, makes fascinating reading so I encourage you to check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eS3BXPcP

One of the most fascinating and often overlooked mechanisms in football is the system designed to reward youth academies for developing talent. When a player transfers for a significant fee, up to 5% of that transfer value is distributed to the clubs that trained him between ages 12 and 23 under the rules established by FIFA . Let’s look at a great example. Riyad Mahrez Development pathway: AAS SARCELLES FOOTBALL Youth academy Havre Athletic Club Professional development Leicester City Football Club Breakthrough transfer (~£450K) Manchester City Football Club Elite transfer (~£60M) A transfer of this size generates an estimated £3M solidarity pool, distributed to the academies that contributed to the player’s development. Stories like this highlight something very important: Grassroots academies invest years developing talent, often without knowing whether they will ever be rewarded for that effort. This is one of the reasons we are building Soccer Circular a digital passport designed to track player development pathways and help protect youth training rights in the global football ecosystem. #FootballBusiness #PlayerDevelopment #YouthDevelopment #FootballTransfers #SoccerCircular

A study by Ian Renshaw et al. highlights a critical shift in coaching—moving away from rigid, prescriptive drills toward Nonlinear Pedagogy (NLP), a method that fosters intrinsic motivation by allowing athletes to explore and adapt within a dynamic environment. Unlike traditional approaches that dictate how skills should be performed, NLP leverages constraints-led learning, where athletes refine techniques organically through real-game scenarios. The research found that when students were given the freedom to make decisions and discover solutions, their engagement and long-term motivation significantly increased. This approach aligns with what we see at the highest levels of sport. The best athletes don’t simply follow orders; they anticipate, improvise, and solve problems in real time. By prioritizing self-organization and adaptability, coaches can develop resilient, creative players who are invested in their own growth. The question for coaches is no longer, “How do I get my players to follow instructions?” but rather, “How can I create an environment where they discover the best solutions for themselves?” https://lnkd.in/gJZw2CEa