The Business of Money in Sports’ Post

Balancing Academics and Sports To give you a perspective, we have trained more than 1000 athletes in the last 6 years but this one needs to be mentioned because this one is heartbreaking. An 11-year-old boy started coaching with us in 2020. Sport wasn't just a hobby; it was a burning passion. He progressed across levels, month after month, year after year. For perspective - we have 7 levels of training - from Beginners to Advanced Pro.   Starting at the 3rd level, he soon surpassed L-4, L-5 and L-6 in record speed. Our Strength and Conditioning sessions start at 5.15 am in the morning, never saw him reach after 5 (he was always warmed up waiting for the coach) Committed to his practice, he finally entered the Advanced Pro level. The pressure to excel was intense. And this pressure came when he turned 15, which means Class X boards also came knocking. The need to excel academically as well collided head-on with his rigorous training schedule. The pressure mounted on both sides. Excelling in sport does take time but boards come only once. Faced with an impossible choice during his crucial board exam year, the young man made a difficult decision. Academics came first. Need to take break from the sport. And this is not an isolated case. When we question our tally at the olympics or India losing the world cup final after a stupendous run, these are the real discussions that need to happen - Can schools offer more support for students juggling sport with high-pressure exam years? What should sports academies like ours do when such athletes are becoming formidable but are facing the education system’s wrath P.S. the boy has been spotted again a few times in the last one week (after a month’s break). Maybe he is trying a balancing act. Our fingers remain crossed. Suhail Narain Deepak Ghugtyal Vishal Lunia Sonam Taneja Apoorv Govil Aditya Vikram Kohli Ikshit Arora Nitin Mahiwal Sumit Garg Akul Chauhan Gaurav Badalia AmitJung Mongia Mansi Raghav JEFFREY DUTREIL Krithin Shankar Deepak Agrawal SNEHIL KHURANA #academics #sportsperson #athletes #balance

Another awesome post by The Athletic with Jacob Tanswell looking into the realities of life after the academy. It reminds me of the few football clubs I would go into when I was a Student Revruitment Officer for the University of Stirling to try recruit for the men's scholarship programme. I'd look into the eyes of U18s of League 1 and 2 clubs and see a mixture of disinterest, genuine interest and feigned disinterest in the eyes of the players. The genuinely interested had a couple of questions straight after the presentation, the disinterested ones left as quickly as possible confident they wouldn't need my option but the toughest ones were the feigned disinterest players. Those ones that followed the disinterested ones out the door but slowly, with lingering looks at the final slide and me. You could tell they wanted to ask questions but maybe caught in the worry that they would be seen as not committed by other players or the coaches. The ones who had the internal worry mentioned in the article that, they knew they no longer enjoyed football but didn't want to be seen to be wasting an opportunity millions dream of. Academy football is remarkably pressure filled. There aren't really any other relevant examples in other industries. There aren't thousands of 16 year olds heart broken every year when they are told that accountancy will not be an option for them and they may not get another shot in their lifetime to do it full time. And sure, Playermaker can certainly help clubs with the exit process. One player mentions getting a video package to take to clubs, why not also give them a data package filled with technical and physical metrics that show exactly who they are? I love sport, I want my kids to play sport and I experienced the joy, heartbreak of maybe not reaching my potential and subsequent loss of love for my own personal sport. As long as parents, coaches and wellbeing staff contiue to educate ourselves and be open to the feelings and concerns of young players, we can keep more interested in sport when the inevitable release day comes. #football #soccer #academy https://lnkd.in/eV6JF8ED

Interesting to see this prediction come to fruition after all. For what it is worth, I commend these coaches and administrators for making attempts to balance spending and allocate more resources to the athletes. #collegesports #collegefootball #NIL #sportslawyer #sportsadviser #sportsagent

5 Tips To Prepare for College Football October 21, 2024|Prepare for College Football 1. Take care of your body--establish good habits now. Eat right, drink water, and get sleep. Good nutrition and general health is essential to succeed at the next level, when the demands on your body are much greater. Follow a regular routine of strength training, speed workouts and position specific drills to ensure you remain in top shape and ready to perform. 2. Tend to school--academic progress and course selection matter. Your high school classes and grades from freshman year all the way through graduation are part of your college admission record. Colleges, and the NCAA, take these things into account to determine your admission to school and eligibility to compete. Because the requirements vary from school to school, it is important to communicate with your guidance counselor throughout your high school academic career--you don’t want to be in the final semester of senior year and find out you are missing a critical class for the school of your choice. 3. Do some research--be sure the school is right fit for YOU. Finding the right college takes a lot of work, even without considering the football opportunities. Be sure and identify the 3-5 most important factors that will help you decide which school is best for you, and have this list handy when you take your visits. For example, Do you prefer a big or small school? Division I, II, or III? Close to home or venture far away? A commuter school or one in which everyone stays on campus? How much do facilities matter to you? And remember, football may seem like everything now, but this place is going to be your home for the next four years and there are no guarantees about what will happen on the field. 4. Create a marketing video--make sure you put your best foot forward. A recruitment video is one of the most important ways to get noticed. Throughout your season, get quality game footage (and practice footage if needed). Be sure and have a trainer or coach review the video to ensure it reflects your best effort--proper technique and maximum effort on every play. It is also wise to have someone with relevant experience review the music and image quality and overall presentation. 5. Visit schools and attend camps. Participating in one of their camps shows the coaches are committed to their school, and it allows them the opportunity to see you play in person. It will give you a chance to talk to some of the athletes on the team and get a feel for the program. Visiting the school will give you an idea of what it would be like to live there and attend the school. Remember to be sure you are making the best possible impression at all times, with coaches, other players and school administrators. Ask questions and have fun! Adapted from an article by Allison Sheahan, Want To Play College Football? Follow These 5 Tips, published June 27, 2023, on 2adays.com

*Balancing Cricket and Academics: A Parent’s Guide to Nurturing Professional Athletes Nurturing a child’s dream of playing professional cricket while ensuring they excel academically can be challenging. However, with the right strategies, parents can support their children in achieving a harmonious balance between sports and studies. Here’s how: **1. Prioritize Time Management** Teach your child effective time management skills. Create a structured schedule that allocates time for practice, matches, and homework. Consistency and discipline in following this routine are crucial. **2. Foster a Growth Mindset** Encourage a growth mindset by praising effort over talent. Emphasize that skills in both cricket and academics can be developed through hard work and perseverance. This will help your child stay motivated during setbacks. **3. Set Realistic Goals** Work with your child to set realistic, achievable goals in both areas. Breaking down long-term objectives into short-term milestones can make the journey less overwhelming and more manageable. **4. Ensure Academic Support** Stay involved in your child’s academic life. Monitor their progress and seek additional help if needed, such as tutors or study groups. Balancing sports and studies requires a strong academic foundation. **5. Promote Physical and Mental Well-being** Encourage a healthy lifestyle that includes proper nutrition, sufficient rest, and mental relaxation. Balancing physical exertion with recovery is essential for overall performance and well-being. **6. Communicate with Coaches and Teachers** Maintain open communication with your child’s cricket coaches and teachers. They can provide valuable insights and adjustments to ensure your child isn’t overburdened in either area. **7. Lead by Example** Demonstrate balance in your own life. Show your child how to manage responsibilities effectively, prioritizing health, work, and leisure. **8. Celebrate Small Wins** Acknowledge and celebrate your child’s achievements, no matter how small. Recognition boosts confidence and reinforces their dedication to both cricket and academics. By implementing these strategies, parents can create a supportive environment that nurtures their child’s passion for cricket while ensuring academic success. Balancing these dual pursuits is a valuable life skill that will benefit them in all future endeavors.

When I was in my late teens, and just getting volleyball, one of the kids on my community team asked my coach, “Who do you think will make the team?” In my head, I knew he’d pick other players over me. I wasn’t the tallest, I wasn’t a consistent hitter, and I couldn’t set the ball if my life depended on it. Plus, I was shy and lacked the confidence of the other players. My coach responded by saying he couldn’t give us the full roster yet but had already selected the top three players who would make the team… Jay… Kevin (not their real names) …and Aleem. I was shocked! How could he pick me? I wasn’t even close to being as athletic as the other players on my team. Then something incredible happened to me at that moment... For the first time ever, I saw myself as a winner! My identity and energy completely shifted in an instant. During practice, I began to focus more, tried harder to improve, and followed directions more precisely than I ever had. The faith and belief my coach had in me affected me so deeply that I saw myself as someone who could succeed. As time went by, my game improved, and I was selected to captain some of my local community teams. Last year, we won a gold medal in a Canada-wide community sports tournament, and as a result of this win, I was selected to coach in an international tournament in Dubai. The lesson here is that your child’s future can change in just a moment with the right mentoring. The right person can inspire your child so much that they can completely transform how your child sees themself. Just like my coach believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. You see, belief is like a virus and it is extremely contagious! This is one of the ways we help our students achieve results they never thought were possible. We see things in our students that they don’t see in themselves. We help them see the qualities within themselves that can make them a 4.0 student even when they don’t. This is where the REAL magic happens! If you’d like to be a better mentor in your child’s life and help them deal with academic stress and overwhelm, you only have a few hours to purchase my new training program especially created for parents “The Happy Student Advantage.” It's available for only $27 USD till July 31. It will not be available after July 31, and if I do make it available later, the cost will be considerably higher at $147. You can get it here: https://lnkd.in/gakPv7Sz To your child’s success! Aleem

👀𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬: 𝟏𝟑-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐛𝐨𝐤 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 This video was filmed in 2015 and features Sacha Feinberg - Mngomezulu, who was 13 years old and a student at Bishops Diocesan College, thanking the coaches and parents for all their support over the season. Sacha made his full international debut for South African Rugby Union (SA Rugby) in 2024. There are a few things that really stood out when I watched this - other than how good the speech was - which can be a useful source of education for all coaches. Sacha commented on: 🏉 Coaches being good on and off the pitch 🏉 How much fun he had 🏉 How the coaches had inspired him 🏉 The bond he'd formed with his teammates and coaches 🏉 Having a team song 🏉 Keeping speeches short These are all things that coaches can do to support their athletes and make sports more fun and enjoyable. Coaches can also impact the well-being and self-esteem of adolescent athletes via the support they provide. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 A recent systematic review meta-analysis by Panza et al. (2020), which included 122,056 from 29 different studies, revealed that adolescents who participate in sports report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depressive symptoms than adolescents who do not play sports. This demonstrates the positive impact that sports participation can have on well-being among adolescents. Coaches can enhance the well-being of adolescent athletes by supporting them in the choices they make and soliciting input. For example, Adie et al. (2012) found that environments created by coaches that solicit athlete’s responses and opinions convey that the coach trusts the athlete. Allowing athletes to make their own choices or decisions increases well-being. Furthermore, this type of coaching environment may even reduce symptoms of overtraining among athletes (Adie et al., 2012). 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗺 Research has indicated that coaching behaviours account for variances in self-esteem (Cronin & Allen, 2018; Smith et al., 1983). Indeed, Cronin and Allen reported that autonomy-supportive coach behaviours were linked positively with self-esteem.  It should be noted, however, that athletes with lower self-esteem are more sensitive and responsive to instructive and supportive behaviours from a coach (Smith & Smoll, 1990). 📽️ Credit: Nick Feinberg on YouTube

I spent the last 13 weeks teaching two groups of youth hockey coaches practical strategies to support athlete motivation for my dissertation. Here's what I observed. Youth coaches experience a pressure to "motivate" players but have a limited understanding of what drives player motivation and engagement. Youth coaches unintentionally miss out on meaningful opportunities to support athlete motivation because they are focusing too much on creating the perfect practice plan and what I would call "over-coaching" instead of seeking to build quality coach-athlete relationships. When given practical strategies to bolster engagement, youth coaches are quick to implement and keenly aware of the positive impact. They've already tried every strategy in the book! Some demotivating approaches are relied upon by youth coaches because "they work" in the short term but are likely contributing to bigger coach-athlete issues in the long term. Coaches often feel they have no other options than to yell, use exercise as punishment, etc... Youth coaches appreciate spaces where they feel seen, heard, and supported, just like athletes do. Youth coaches are doing the best they can with what they know how. I look forward to continuing to support the growth and development of youth sport coaches. They make such a difference in this world! Stay tuned for future youth coach learning opportunities 🏆 #coachingthecoach

Why we choose to invest in our coaches specifically? Well, because at Hockey Dreams they are much more than a coach. And their growth means the development of entire communities! Read about the role of our coaches in our latest story 👇🏿 #sportfordevelopment #hockeydreams #fieldhockey #hockeydreamsfoundation #coach #mentor #community #kids

Coaches have the power to inspire for life! Remember that when you choose your words and actions… how do you want to be remembered? And how do you want your players to remember their teammates and the game? Let’s do all we can to inspire our young athletes to lead themselves and others, to make choices and understand the impact of the choices and, most of all, to have fun! Adam Robinson Tech IOSH Sami Smara Darren Tree Peter Sayce Daniel Mosely Ernesto Sandoval Curiel Dan Murphy