Pete Traynor, CSCS SSN

Disciple, husband to Lauren and father of Payton and Cole. IDLife Associate. Director of Strength & Conditioning at Urbandale High School

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

See a ‘Sports Parent’ sitting alone?

There is a reason.

- No drama.
- No negativity.
- No ignorance.
- No complaining.
- No badmouthing coaches or refs.

They just want to enjoy watching their child play.

Be a part of the solution this fall sports season.

[Mike Netter @nettermike]

This article was written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA. What a GREAT perspecitve..👍🏽

My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us!
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of presidential candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.

I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it.

Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought.

We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty One Times!!!

Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. ??

Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."

Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in.

When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.

My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.

Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country.

People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, we elect some politicians who are dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.

Why? The answer is this,?? my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or we didn't see the rise and fall of socialism and communism.

We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague."

[Peter Noonan @CoachNoon45]

I really wish parents & athletes would spend the money on extra trainers on food/meal prep & recovery modalities. That extra evening session u’re doing for additional S&C work after your 1.5hr meticulously planned training session with ur team isn’t moving the needle like u think

[Brendan Thompson, PT, DPT @BrendanThompsn]

Want to get faster?

Stop depleting your legs with gassers every day.

Simply having fresh legs will add noticeable speed to your performance.

[William Payne @TweetsbyCoachP]

One of the biggest misconceptions in high school sports is that coaching is primarily about practices, games, and wins.

The reality is that coaching has become one of the most challenging roles in education because coaches are expected to wear dozens of hats while being evaluated from every direction.

Every parent, player, administrator, and community member often has a different expectation of success.

One family wants college recruiting to be the priority.

Another wants playing time.

Another wants winning.

Another wants player development.

Another wants discipline.

Another simply wants their child to enjoy the experience.

The challenge is that those goals frequently conflict, and coaches are often expected to satisfy all of them simultaneously.

Most coaches are balancing far more than what happens between the lines. They manage team culture, player conflicts, parent concerns, academics, transportation, fundraising, budgets, equipment, scheduling, eligibility, social media issues, and the emotional needs of teenagers.

At the same time, every roster includes athletes with different abilities, goals, motivations, and commitment levels. Some dream of college athletics. Some are trying to make varsity. Some simply want to belong. Building one program that serves all of them is incredibly difficult.

Perhaps the greatest challenge is decision-making.

Who starts?

Who plays?

Who sits?

Who travels?

Who gets moved up?

Who gets cut?

Every decision creates opportunity for one athlete and disappointment for another. Even well-intentioned decisions can be viewed as favoritism or politics when seen through the lens of an individual family.

Recruiting adds another layer of complexity. Coaches are expected to help athletes pursue college opportunities while also managing the needs of an entire team. Supporting one athlete can sometimes raise questions from another family about their child’s opportunities.

Social media has amplified many of these challenges. One lineup decision, one difficult conversation, or one emotional moment can quickly become public discussion, often without the full context.

There are also pressures many people never see.

Pressure from administrators to represent the school well.

Pressure from parents to provide opportunities.

Pressure from athletes to help them achieve their goals.

Pressure from communities that often measure success by wins and losses.

Pressure to retain athletes in an era of increasing transfers and movement.

And all of this occurs while coaches are trying to develop young people, not just athletes.

What makes coaching difficult is not that people don’t care.

It’s that everyone cares deeply, but often about different things.

Parents focus on their child.

Players focus on their opportunities.

Administrators focus on the school.

Communities focus on results.

Coaches must somehow balance all of those interests while making decisions they believe are best for the team.

As a former college coach, athletic director, and high school administrator, I’ve learned that most coaches are not trying to hold athletes back, play favorites, or make life difficult for families. Most are simply navigating competing priorities, limited resources, and difficult decisions while trying to do what’s best for kids.

Because at its core, coaching has never really been about managing games.

It’s about managing people.

And that’s what makes it both incredibly challenging and incredibly important

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

Parents and coaches,

A friendly question: If you’re sipping a Monster, C4, Celsius, Redbull, Ghost or whatever new energy drink while telling your athlete to stay away from energy drinks… what message do you think they’re hearing? 👀

Kids learn more from what we do than what we say.

If we want student-athletes to fuel properly, we have to model it. That doesn’t mean being perfect. It means leading by example.

Energy doesn’t come from a can. Real energy comes from:
✅ Quality nutrition
✅ Adequate carbohydrates
✅ Protein for recovery
✅ Hydration
✅ Consistent sleep

You can’t expect athletes to prioritize fueling and recovery if the adults around them aren’t doing the same.

This isn’t about judgment. It’s about leadership‼️

If this makes you a little uncomfortable, that’s okay. Growth often starts with a little discomfort. The culture we want for our athletes starts with us.

Be the example. They are always watching.

[Baseball Dudes Inc. 🇺🇸⚾️ @BaseballDudes48]

⚾️ & 🥎 coaches… listen-up!!

We need more coaches out there who understand pitching, the arm, and what the position needs to prepare. The neglect and lack of arm respect out there is 🤯!!

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

One of my slides for my upcoming creatine unlocked presentation at the annual @IntSocietySN conference! There's still time to register! https://t.co/Krs3zqu890

[Gabe @Gabe_Blanshan]

After a great day at camp and a great conversation with @CoachZeek_ and @CoachZaneRies I am blessed to announce I have received my first D1 offer to play at the university of Miami of Ohio!!

[Brendan Thompson, PT, DPT @BrendanThompsn]

Fun Fact: Speed begins to detrain in 3-8 days of neglect.

Think about this as you structure your weekly training schedule.

If you’re only committing to 1 speed day per week, you might be maintaining at best.

[Brandon Tatum @TheOfficerTatum]

🇺🇸 This weekend we remember the ones who never made it home. No politics. No noise. Just gratitude for the men and women who gave everything so we could have everything.

Honor them today. Not just with words but with how you live.

God bless our fallen heroes 🇺🇸 🦅🫡

[Ron DeSantis @RonDeSantis]

One of the bills I signed today allows school boosters to raise money to enhance compensation for coaches.

We can’t keep letting coaches from neighboring states like @3YearLetterman get windfalls while our FL coaches get paltry compensation.

[Jen @jenteach13]

You want to fix education?

Close the Chromebook. Confiscate the phone. Hand them a pencil.

[Dan Go @CoachDanGo]

Something I noticed when I visited China was public schools always started their days off with a run.

A school in Naperville, Illinois, did an experiment on this and called it "Zero Hour".

Before school, students would hit the gym at 7am and push their heart rates to 80% of their max. Then went on to do class.

The result? Reading scores doubled. Math scores jumped 20x.

On an international test, Naperville 8th graders finished 1st in science (beating Singapore) and 6th in math globally.

Some of my entrepreneur clients swear by doing cardio in the morning. They say it keeps their brain sharp. I don't disagree.

Cardio isn't just for your heart. It's brain fuel.

Exhaust the body to sharpen the mind.

[Pete Traynor, CSCS SSN @PTraynor1]

THIS! 🎯

[David Neill @DNeill62]

Common story:

Kid loves baseball. Decides to quit other sports & specialize in 8th grade.

Plays spring ball, summer travel ball, & fall ball. Private lessons over the winter. Ends up swinging/throwing 12 months straight.

Does this for 4 years.

48 months straight of the same back/arm stress.

And we wonder why so many HS players have Pars stress fractures and torn UCLs.

Now apply this to volleyball, golf, basketball, etc. We are breaking our kids’ bodies in pursuit of scholarships.

Athletes need an offseason. Especially when they’re 15.

[Jon Beck @CoachJonBeck]

Our youth system is beyond broken. We’ve devalued real coaches. Kids aren’t developed, they are overtrained, burned out, forced to specialize early & pressured to win at all costs. Structural change is needed. We don’t teach the game anymore! We promote the game & it’s killing us

[Perry Owens @CoachOwens_FB]

The NCAA Clearing house requires a 2.3 core GPA.

I’ll go slow.

3 Ds and an F is “eligible” to play in high school but that GPA is 0.75.

2 Bs and 2 Cs is a 2.5 for comparison.

You can be All conf, All area, and All world but they can’t take less than 2.3 core GPA. 🤷‍♂️

[Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck]

Youth sports is on life support.

If you think it’s fine, you’re not paying attention.

Kids age 10-12 are playing way too many tournaments and travel ball. Parents treat it like the World Series. They need less travel, more rest, fueling, and actual development. They’re 12 YO.

The data backs it up:
❌70% of kids drop out of organized sports by age 13.
❌Professionalization (year-round single-sport focus, heavy travel/tournaments) drives overuse injuries, overtraining, and burnout.
❌Nearly 1 in 10 youth athletes experience burnout; up to 35% deal with overtraining.
❌Early specialization before 12-13 raises injury and burnout risks significantly.

Multi-sport kids who rest and play for fun stick around longer and develop better.

Let them be kids. Prioritize recovery, fun, and long-term health over trophies. The best athletes often sample multiple sports early and specialize later.

Who else sees this?

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

Parents:

Your son doesn’t need a perfect baseball journey.

He needs adversity.

Bad games. Failure. Pressure. Disappointment.

That’s where confidence, toughness, and maturity are built.

Don’t rescue him from every hard moment.

[Coach Russ, CMAA CIC @Coach__Russ]

I have two rules for athletes:

1. Be On Time

2. Don't Let Your Teammates Down

Those two cover everything you're going to encounter everyday, whether in weightroom/practice/meetings/game.