Kids need space to navigate their journeys on the field, in the classroom, and life. After years of coaching others' children, I assumed I'd naturally excel as a sports parent to Rocco and Gio. Yet, I've made my share of mistakes, and continue to learn.​ It was unreasonable of me to expect him to line up every putt. He was too young to really care about the results. I was too caught up in the competition, and I didn't realize it at the time. Just yesterday, while gathering im

I’m not sure exactly where I first came across it, but I recently read that by the time our children turn 12, we’ve already spent 75% of the total time we’ll ever have with them. Fast forward to age 18, and that number grows to 90%. That statistic hit me hard. And when I think about my own two sons, who will turn 17 and 15 in just a few weeks, it sends shivers down my spine. Sarah and I have always aimed to be intentional with our time as a family. Yet, I must admit, there we

So much fun and joy at this age. I remember this like it was yesterday. On April 2nd, I stepped down from my role as the Executive Director of the Rogue Valley Timbers. It was a bittersweet moment, stepping away from something I poured my heart and soul into. Yet, I take immense pride in the foundation we've built, evident every time I drive through town and see fields filled with kids playing soccer, proudly wearing our shield. That pride deepens when I watch my two sons re

I was 25, maybe 26, when I got my first “paid” soccer coaching job. I’d just been hired to take over the boys program at Southern Columbia High School, a small, rural school in Pennsylvania where football was (and still is) king, and soccer was still something of a novelty. The team was heading into its fourth year as a varsity program, and if memory serves, they hadn’t won a single game, or maybe one or two at best. I was young. I was brash. And I thought I had it all figure

“You Can’t Throw It That Far." Those were the words my father said one day at the local park, as I kept asking him to move farther back while tossing a football.

Last fall, Sarah and I got to watch Rocco (junior) and Giovanni (freshman) take the field together for the first time. After all these years coaching and parenting, this one just felt special. “There’s a difference between honoring where you come from and being bound by it.”  This night felt like honoring. As I approach my 53rd birthday, I find myself seeing the world with more clarity and optimism than ever before. I only wish it had always felt this way. In the summer of 20