Can We Make Youth Sports Fun Again? With John O’Sullivan
How to reverse modern trends that are ruining kids’ athletics.
Note: This is the first of a 3-part summer series on Youth Sports. I hope you’ll spread the word and comment over in show notes to keep the conversation going.

According to recent research, 70% of kids drop out of organized athletics by the age of 13. Today’s guest, John O’Sullivan, suggests that this is because youth sports have become adult-centered, ultra-competitive, and crazy-expensive. I don’t think he’s wrong.
Since my husband, Dave, and I brought up conversations about youth sports on social media this year, I’ve heard from a lot of families who are looking for wisdom on how to navigate. Dave and I recently read O’Sullivan’s book, Changing the Game, and we thought his voice would be helpful to this conversation.
O’Sullivan played collegiate and professional soccer and has spent decades coaching and speaking to coaches and parents about the youth sports culture and how we might reverse some dangerous trends. In today’s episode we talk about early specialization, when to give kids the “nudge” to be more committed (there is a time!) and how to help kids who may not be headed to the Olympics grow up loving sports anyways! I think this is a great conversation that will offer you some food for thought as you consider your kids’ athletic endeavors.
NOTES:
Watch John’s TED Talk here!
Grab a copy of Changing the Game on Amazon!
Learn more about John & Changing the Game Project here!
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Thanks to this episode’s sponsor: Diveintomath.com
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