@CoachRaso

[Andrew K @CoachKurzawski]

The longer you’re around girls basketball, the more you realize how many parents are chasing a college scholarship for their daughter - for the money they’ll save on tuition, the bragging rights, or to keep living vicariously through their kid.

What’s surprising is how few seem to ask the most important question: Does my daughter actually love playing basketball enough to want to keep doing it for four more years?

[Bob Greenburg @BobGreenburg]

STAT OF THE DAY:
Pennsylvania High School Football Participation:
2024 ➡️554 teams-27,700 participants
1973➡️911 teams-72,880 participants

[Drill for Skill AAU @DFSAAU]

Congratulations to DFS Alum Alyssa Gillin @AlyssaGillin1 for making the Winter Academic All-PSAC Team! It's more than just basketball!! #DFSfamily

[Andrew K @CoachKurzawski]

Not long ago, basketball was a game for everyone. Now it’s becoming a game for the wealthy.

Parents are spending tens of thousands every year on training, gear, AAU circuits, prep schools - you name it. If you really want to understand what’s changing (and hurting) the game…start there.

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

Overprotected kids become unprepared adults.

Dawn Staley nailed it.🔥

You can’t shelter your child from every hard moment and then expect them to handle adversity when it counts.

Hard is the lesson.

Watch. Share. Bookmark.

[Nick Jones @CoachJonesACS]

By far the most frustrating part of HS is getting guys with terrible shooting mechanics. This is stuff that was supposed to be hammered out at the elementary/middle school ages but were simply passed through because they were athletes or could handle the ball.

If you did a case study which guys moved up a level in HS, College, Pro, had success or didnt have success, i'd bet so much of it centered around inability to develop a functional jump shot.

[Eliot Clough @EliotClough]

What did McCollum say to his team when they were down 10?

“He slammed his white board and broke his marker on the floor. Ink everywhere. … He was just telling us we sucked, and we were soft.”

[Tyler Tachman @Tyler_T15]

Ben McCollum on how he thinks prospective high school and portal players will perceive Iowa, considering what the program is accomplishing this season: “If you’re a tough dude, this is a good spot for you. If you’re soft and you like yourself way too much, this is probably not the spot for you. We just try to recruit tough dudes that want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and hopefully people see that.”

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

80% of kids quit youth sports by age 13.

Eli Manning says he hopes his kids say:
“I want to ride home with your dad.”

That tells you everything.

Parents:

The game ends with the whistle.
The ride home decides if they want to keep playing.

[@CoachRaso @CoachRaso2]

@CoachKurzawski The more , the better.

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

The Parent Poison…

Most parents want the best for their kids.

But sometimes, without realizing it, they slowly poison the very team their child is part of.

It rarely starts with something dramatic.
It starts small.

A comment in the car ride home.
“Why didn’t the coach play you more?”

A comparison.
“You’re better than that kid.”

A quiet complaint at the dinner table.
“That coach doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

Kids hear everything.

And when they hear it, something changes.

Doubt creeps in.
Blame grows.
Trust fades.

The mindset shifts from team first to me first.

What begins in the living room eventually shows up in the locker room.

You see it in body language.
You hear it in conversations.
You feel it in the culture.

Instead of unity, there are whispers.
Instead of accountability, there are excuses.
Instead of growth, there is resentment.

Great teams cannot survive that environment.

Because the best teams are built on three things:

Trust.
Sacrifice.
Shared purpose.

When players start believing the problem is everyone else, those things disappear.

Parents play a powerful role in a team’s culture whether they realize it or not.

The healthiest teams have parents who:

Support the program.
Encourage resilience.
Teach their kids to handle adversity.

They remind their children:

Work harder.
Be a great teammate.
Control what you can control.

They don’t feed excuses.
They build character.

And here’s the truth most people miss:

A parent’s influence extends far beyond their own child.

It affects the locker room.
It affects the culture.
It affects the entire team.

Great teams require unity, not whispers of criticism.

So the challenge for parents is simple.

Be the adult in the room.

Guard your words.
Model respect.
Support the team.

Because what starts at home always finds its way onto the court, the field, or the locker room.

And the best parents don’t poison the culture.

They protect it.

[Michael Stroup 🏴‍☠️🌊 @CoachStroup]

Parents who allow their kids to be coached hard are giving them a gift most young people today never receive — accountability.

[Spencer Ferrari-Wood @_CoachFerrari]

I cannot stress this enough:

PLAY MULTIPLE SPORTS IN HIGH SCHOOL

New teams, new roles, new bonds built, new opportunities to compete, etc.

College coaches love to see multi-sport athletes and prefer them over specialization.

This has never changed.

This is a hill I die on.

[Matt Lisle @CoachLisle]

Parents poisoning team culture through their kids.

Your whispers in the car become their words in the locker room.

Choose wisely.

[Jon Beck @CoachJonBeck]

Youth sports isn’t dying from lack of talent. It’s dying from overload. No free play, rest, recovery, off-seasons. Too many showcases & tournaments. Not enough development. Parent ego + social media pressure fuel the fire. We don’t need more exposure. We need better environments.

[Hoop Herald @TheHoopHerald]

Kon Knueppel on playing on two feet:

“It evens out the athleticism…I’m not super athletic, so being able to play off two feet..now they have to be ready for a shot fake or a pivot. It kind of evens the playing field.”

(Via @JeremyGrandiso1 🎥)

[@CoachRaso @CoachRaso2]

@_gaberaso_ Yes sir!!

[Anthony Pugh @Anthony_Pugh2]

“Win the day”

“Go to class, sit in the first couple of rows”

“Listen to the teachers”

“Take care of your body”

“Eat something with some color”

“Get in the video room”

“Take hard coaching.. be a man”

“Be a great teammate”

“Get in the weight room”

[Cody Hopkins @CoachCodyHop]

Amen to all of this… teach them to compete, not to play for attention. The competitiveness will give them the edge & “want” to practice/get better down the line. They will pass those up who spent time & money to be seen at that age.

[@CoachRaso @CoachRaso2]

@DFSAAU @sydneybarney30 @emmapavelek @HaggertyMairan @AlyssaGillin1 @kassiepotts2 @wlauren34 Gillin!!