Ilovetowatchyouplay

01/10/2026

This is a struggle too many girls unconsciously and unknowingly suffer. Give them permission.

Karlyn Pickens didn’t just throw the fastest pitch in NCAA softball history — she stopped shrinking herself to do it. Girls, take up space.

01/03/2026

Relax parents. It's a journey. We all need to remember this.

01/02/2026

Rinse and repeat.

20 powerful questions every sports parent should ask themselves to better support their child on game day.

01/01/2026

Happy New Year Everyone! Kick it off right with this brilliant sports psychologist, Dr. Colleen Hacker, giving Abby and Julie incredible sports parenting advice! It's a great episode to kick off your new year.

Welcome to the Party Show

What does it really take to build a gold medal mindset and how do those lessons show up in everyday life? Julie and Abby welcome one of the most influential ...

10/03/2025

The toughest moments are coming—missed shots, lost games, mistakes under pressure. How we parent through them shapes how our kids feel about themselves long after the game ends.

This takeaway is from , the podcast hosted by Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy and Billie Jean King. The episode with Rebecca Lowe was full of powerful youth sports nuggets—definitely worth a listen. 🎧 Find it on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

For more like this and free support on your youth sports journey, visit Ilovetowatchyouplay.com for hundreds of blogs on topics like:
⚽ communicating with coaches
🏐 balancing multi-sport athletes
🏃‍♀️ youth sports mental health
💪 how to help your child keep the joy and so many more. We are with you every step of your youth sports journey!

10/03/2025

Shame, Blame, or Claim: How Does Your Kid Handle the Hard Stuff? Some kids hang their heads, some point fingers, and every once in a while, a kid takes a deep breath and says, “That one’s on me.”

Here's how to handle each reaction:
👉🏼https://ilovetowatchyouplay.com/2025/09/05/shame-blame-or-claim-how-does-your-kid-handle-the-hard-stuff/

09/27/2025

Every now and then a conversation in youth sports is packed with so much good insight I can’t stop scribbling notes. Working on this episode with Rebecca Lowe, Abby Wambach, and Julie Foudy was exactly that—one gem after another for parents trying to navigate this world.

🎧 Check out Welcome to the Party, their new podcast (in comments), for the full conversation—and if you want a quick way back to all the best nuggets, my blog is basically a cheat sheet with time codes to get you straight to the insight.

FOR MORE LIKE THIS AND SUPPORT ALONG YOUR YOUTH SPORTS JOURNEY, VISIT ILOVETOWATCHYOUPLAY.COM AND ON INSTAGRAM

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/welcome-to-the-party/id1835504451

https://ilovetowatchyouplay.com/2025/09/25/what-every-youth-sports-parent-needs-to-hear-lessons-from-rebecca-lowe-abby-wambach-and-julie-foudy/

Rebecca Lowe joined Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy to break down the chaos of youth sports parenting, from snack duty to sideline pressure.

09/26/2025

She is the first person my daughter calls, and the first to notice when something isn’t right. She listens, she helps, she is her parent away from home.

For anyone who has a child who dreams of playing in college, I hope they will have a Katie.

https://ilovetowatchyouplay.com/2025/09/25/the-unsung-hero-in-my-daughters-college-soccer-journey-her-athletic-trainer/

For more like this and support along your youth sports parenting journey, visit Ilovetowatchyouplay.com and on Instagram .



Girls Soccer Network National Athletic Trainers' Association

When my daughter left for D1 soccer, her athletic trainer became the person who knows her best. Every athlete needs a Katie.

09/25/2025

A new Morning Consult survey shows money is the divide between who plays what sport. Basketball, soccer and football rise to the top across all families. But when it comes to swimming, tennis, golf, hockey and lacrosse, the kids most likely to play are the ones whose parents make over $100,000. Families earning less lean into football, baseball, and softball — sports with long-standing community access and lower costs.

The Divide We Don’t Like to Talk About

Aspen Institute’s Project Play has tracked this divide for years. Wealthier families spend almost four times more per child on sports than the lowest-income families and travel alone eats up 80% more of their budgets. That’s not just about a few weekends on the road — it determines which kids even get the chance to play.

And the gap shows up everywhere: kids from households under $25,000 participate in sports at far lower rates than those from $100,000+ homes.

What This Means for Our Kids

Think about the child who might have thrived in tennis but never touches a racquet or the kid who could’ve been a natural in the pool but doesn’t have access to lessons. That potential never gets the chance to grow.

There are some positives. Sports with low barriers — basketball and soccer — draw kids from every background. They prove that when the gate is open, children walk through it. But even here, income shadows the experience. A wealthy family can still layer on travel teams, private trainers and the best gear, widening the gap in development and opportunity.

Where Do We Go From Here?

If we want more kids to play — and thrive — not just the ones whose families can afford it, here’s where we start:

-Lower the first barrier. Registration fees travel, and gear are the biggest hurdles. Clubs and leagues offering scholarships and sliding scales make participation possible.

-Keep it local. Project Play data shows travel is the single biggest budget killer. Shorter seasons and closer competition keep more families in the game.

-Value multiple paths. Not every journey needs to run through an elite club. School teams, rec leagues, and community programs remain the most inclusive doors into sports.

-Share their message. Organizations like Positive Coaching Alliance now teaming with ESPN’s Take Back Sports initiative, provide ready-to-use tools for parents and coaches.

-And Aspen Institute Sports & SocietyProject Play’s 63×30 goal — to get 63% of kids playing sports by 2030 — gives us a clear, shared target. The more we amplify these efforts at the team and community level, the faster they take root.

The Bottom Line

The Morning Consult chart isn’t just about which sports are popular. It’s a mirror, reflecting how opportunity in youth sports bends toward money. If we want every child to experience the confidence, resilience and friendships sports bring, we need to widen that doorway.
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For more like this and free support along your youth sports journey, visit us at Ilovetowatchyouplay.com and .

09/23/2025

Thank you Mudsock Youth Athletics!

Helping parents do youth sports better.

09/23/2025

And yes, in some leagues and communities, participation trophies are still alive and well. But the national debate that once consumed youth sports — the outrage, the headlines, the late-night punchlines — has all but disappeared. The once-familiar panic about self-esteem has slipped quietly into the background.

https://ilovetowatchyouplay.com/2025/09/18/the-death-of-every-kid-gets-a-trophy/

The death of “every kid gets a trophy” has reshaped youth sports, raising new questions about what kids truly need to thrive