How can club and travel coaches make youth sports a fun, rewarding, and positive experience while still supporting highly competitive players through every level of their athletic journeys?

Team sports are what you make them—YOU meaning coaches, players, families, communities, and organizations. While those critical of the youth sports system can point to issues with player burnout, high costs, extensive commitments, overuse injuries, and other problems, Legends FC SD-Del Mar ECRL Coach and College Liaison Bob Remensperger joins the podcast to discuss his player-driven approach and the ways that he teaches young players (and their parents!) to enjoy and thrive in their time playing soccer, all while still pursuing consistent development, competitive success, and potential opportunities to play beyond the high school level.

The conversation begins with a discussion of core coaching principles, and Coach Remensperger discusses the importance he places on disciplined preparation, leading by example, and believing in his athletes so that they are comfortable taking risks and being brave.

Based on well over a decade of coaching experience across multiple clubs and levels, Remensperger breaks down ways he prepares for his training sessions, how he interacts with athletes to set the foundation of a positive team culture, and ways he communicates with parents to make sure they are enjoying their child’s experience with the team (plus strategies to help parents turn the dreaded “car ride home” into actual quality time spent with their child).

While much of the discussion focusses on establishing an engaging and welcoming environment on the field, Remensperger also shares practical insight for players looking to play at the college level and how their parents can best support those higher-level goals. As a former college player (and the parent of a current D1 volleyball athlete), Remensperger explains the importance of having the college recruiting process be player-driven, proactive, and realistic. He discusses some of the hands-on advice he provides players in his role as the club’s college liaison and tools and strategies players can leverage while pursuing a commitment to play at the university level.

Chapter List

00:00 Introduction to Coaching Philosophy

01:48 Building Values and Expectations in Athletes

04:26 Leadership and Collaboration in Coaching

07:24 Encouraging Bravery and Risk-Taking in Players

10:58 Creating Joy in Youth Sports

18:28 Navigating the College Recruiting Process

27:03 Positive Parent-Child Dynamics in Sports

Equality. Fairness. Respect. Coach Devan McConnell, High Performance Director for the NHL’s Utah Mammoth, joins the latest episode of the Truth In The Arena Podcast to discuss how those core tenets are essential for teamwork and developing a positive team culture. In addition to being vital in the world of sports, Coach McConnell also explains how inclusiveness and fairness are core principles he looks for at the community level and with national political leadership.

Through the conversation, McConnell shares the roots of his coaching philosophy and how his outlook has been impacted by professional stops across the USA, with college coaching roles at Stanford and the University of Massachusetts Lowell and then positions at the pro level with NHL teams in New Jersey and Arizona. All this while also starting a family and raising kids of his own.

Moving from Arizona to Utah, one of the ways he chose the neighborhood to move into was based on prevalence of Pride flags in the community, as he wanted to be in an area where inclusiveness was a fundamental part of the social fabric.

“As coaches, I think it’s important that we create environments that our athletes, our staff members, the people in our organizations can feel safe being who they are.”

Additionally, McConnell discusses his participation in the Strength Coaches for Harris group during the 2024 Election and his takeaways from stepping in to a more direct role in political advocacy. Finally, the coaches discuss the unique community culture in Utah and how patriotism is rooted in holding the country accountable to its ideals.

Chapter List

00:00 Introduction to Coaching Values

02:47 Core Coaching Principles and Their Impact

05:19 Political Advocacy in Coaching

07:50 Navigating Diverse Political Landscapes

10:20 Instilling Values in Young Athletes

13:00 Creating Inclusive Environments

15:23 Media Literacy and Healthy Information Consumption

18:01 Defining Patriotism in Today's Context

Overcoming adversity. Resilience. Taking a loss in stride and continuing to work towards a common goal. We understand how these qualities shape durable and successful teams, and in this episode Molly Binetti, the Director of Women’s Basketball Performance for the powerhouse University of South Carolina program, discusses how those same qualities have also been elemental in pushing forward against the political headwinds facing progressive policies and achievements.

The conversation begins with a discussion of how USC head coach Dawn Staley empowers her players and staff to take leadership positions and speak out for what they believe in. Coach Binetti discusses the “People Principles” of empathy and authenticity that Coach Staley promotes, as well as Staley’s “look-sound-feel” approach to recognizing the look, sound, and feel of success while also being prepared to address and fix anything that intuitively looks, sounds, or feels wrong.

Looking back on the 2024 Election, Binetti talks in depth about her involvement in the Strength Coaches For Harris group and shares the sense of community and fellowship she was able to find in that network of her coaching peers.

“As demoralizing as the (election result) was, it’s still nice to be able to know that there are people that are still gonna fight. And the fight’s not over.”

The coaches also discuss GOP attacks on women’s health and civil rights and how coaches can help their female players live their healthiest lives amid efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, and threats to LGBTQ rights. They also dive into the Protect Women’s Sports movement and debate the exploitation of the issue as outrage-bait by those who generally are not that interested in women’s sports, except for those involving the tiny percentage of competitive trans athletes.

That leads to a discussion on the prevalence of online propaganda as a tool to inflame and divide, and how Binetti tries to guide her athletes toward a healthy media diet as an element of their overall health. Finally, Binetti breaks down her definition of patriotism as based in the shared humanity that binds everyone together.

Chapter List

00:00 Core Values in Coaching

06:03 The Human Element in Leadership

08:46 Political Advocacy in Coaching

11:40 Women's Health and Political Issues

17:33 Protecting Women's Sports: A Complex Discussion

21:16 The Politics of Women's Sports

24:38 Navigating Media Influence on Athletes

30:49 Defining Patriotism in Modern Society