Kids hate gym class

One of my team kids the other day was telling me how she hated Physical Education . I thought it was interesting because she was a very fit and health conscious kid. She told me that she like the play and activity but didn’t like the  showers afterward. I remembered when I was in Middle…

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Why winners win

As a coach, you can bet, my family watched every conceivable Olympic competition over the last few weeks.  We watched track, triathlon, sand volleyball, court volleyball, tennis, water polo, biking, fencing, archery (online) wrestling, (we are BIG Jared Frayer fans). And we of course watched Gymnastics but we tried to see a little of everything.…

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Is trampoline safe? No.

We have posted on our website, under the tab of questions we sometimes get from parents: “is trampoline safe?” I wrote the response and I was questioned by several of our coaches about it. It might be a dumb move to post that I don’t think trampoline is safe on our own website when WE…

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Our freedom can be detrimental

America is great. We have so many choices that our freedom offers us that sometimes we don’t even realize it. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. We are also overstimulated in all of the messages we hear: healthy “sports” drinks endorsed by our favorite sports star that are filled with sugar (stars never shine so brightly as when…

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Wisconsin Drops the ball on our children’s health

Wisconsin should be so proud. At the risk of choosing sides in a political hot topic, I want to point out a few facts. Not politically swayed right or left, but facts: Children are getting fatter, in fact Wisconsin is 33rd in the country for levels of childhood obesity. We were 25th so we were…

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love and friendship shouldn’t hurt

Why is bullying so prevalent now? I believe that it is because our children are on uneven ground when it comes to their own feelings of worth.  When kids are pampered and their egos are inflated they tend to feel that they are hollow and their self-worth is low if not non-existent. Sometimes these kids…

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Cyber-wusses and how to beat them

With the new world of social networking everyone has an opinion and everyone feels that their opinion should be heard. Not so. Sometimes kids act out their bully behavior online because they don’t have the strength to say or do anything face to face.  But kids don’t realize that once something is online, it’s very…

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How can sports keep our kids safe

What sports can do to stop bullies?  Being in sports is a good defense against bullies for three reasons: athletes exude confidence, they are stronger than their average peer and sports provides a positive network of support. Yet all of that can be the reverse. Some athletes have poor self -image and feel that their…

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How do we deal with bullies?

What happens when a kid is a bully? Sadly, sometimes nothing. In the movies the bully always gets their comeuppance, but life is not a movie and often what we wish would happen to the bad guys actually happens in reverse.  Often the aggressors are rewarded for their behavior. They get what they are seeking by…

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Where do bullies come from?

What makes a child into a bully? What makes an adult into a bully? Most bullies grow out of two different or combined settings. They were either abused or bullied themselves, or they were so over-inflated by parents and other adults that they feel they have no responsibility for their actions. This second type of…

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