Better Sports Parents

por Scott Rintoul

Temporada 2

Manny Malhotra: Don't Be That Parent, Coaching Your Own Kid & We're Just Buying Memories

Manny Malhotra is the Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks and a central piece in a family that has an incredible amount of perspective and opinion on youth sports. Drafted seventh overall in 1998, Manny played nearly 1,000 NHL games across seven organizations, and built a reputation as one of the league's most respected leaders. His coaching career has seen him move from an NHL assistant to a Calder Cup winner as head coach of the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks to the bench boss of the NHL franchise he helped lead to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final as a player. He's also a father of four, including son Caleb, who was drafted by the Canucks this past summer, putting Manny on the verge of coaching his own son in the NHL. Manny and Scott dig into the youth sports household that shaped him, and how that same philosophy now guides how he and his wife Joann, the younger sister of Steve and Martin Nash, raise their own four kids. They talk through the real challenges of coaching your own child, why he and Joann deliberately keep their kids multi-sport despite living in a city with ice available year-round, and why they believe producing good people through sport matters more than producing great players. Manny also shares the story that changed how he thinks about pressure in youth sports today, and closes with a simple truth every sports parent should hear: most of what your kid remembers won't be the score. If you've ever wondered how a former first-round pick and now NHL head coach actually parents through youth sports, this conversation is full of practical perspective. Chapters: 0:00 Opening 2:05 Introducing Manny Malhotra 3:45 Growing Up in a Competitive Household 6:52 Why His Parents Made Sports Central to Family Life 8:53 Never a Forced Issue 10:36 Passing These Lessons to His Own Four Kids 13:59 The Challenges of Coaching His Own Children 16:17 The Conversation That Changed His Coaching Approach 18:33 Stepping Back From Coaching Caleb 21:36 Coach Hat vs. Dad Hat 24:20 Why "He Was So Polite" Means More Than Stats 27:41 Growing Up the Youngest of Four 29:47 Married Into an Even More Competitive Family 32:08 How Monetization Changed Youth Sports 33:01 Intentionally Raising Multi-Sport Kids 37:25 "Don't Be That Parent" 41:29 The Foundational Lessons: Don't Be Late, Work Hard 43:21 Why Kids Specialize So Early Today 44:59 Steve Nash's Warning About Individual Training 45:57 Skill Level Is Up, Hockey IQ Is Down 48:00 The Lost Art of Pickup Shinny Hockey 50:28 What Should a Youth Coach's #1 Priority Be? 54:47 Chasing Plastic Trophies 57:17 Becoming a Role Player at the NHL Level 59:38 What Coaches Should Actually Praise 1:02:31 The Matheny Manifesto 1:04:38 Why Youth Sports Pressure Is Heavier Today 1:07:31 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today 1:07:43 "We're Just Buying Memories" Resources Manny Malhotra Better Sports Parents

T2 · E51

8 sept 2026

1:10:15

Temporada 1

Duff Gibson: Real Tools for Coaches, Mindset Matters Most & Lean Into the Love of the Game

Duff Gibson won a World Championship and Olympic gold in skeleton, a remarkable achievement at the end of a winding athletic path that took him through wrestling, speed skating, and rowing before he ever touched a sled. He also spent 25 years as a Calgary firefighter, and since retiring from competition has built the Community Coach Program (contact duffgibson@icloud.com) and the multi-sport kids' program Dark Horse Athletic. Duff unpacks the phrase that shaped his entire relationship with sport — "it's just sport" — and how his parents held that belief alongside a genuine passion for competition. They talk through the real difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, why youth sport is quietly manufacturing the wrong one, and the story of a coach yanking a child by the jersey that led directly to the founding of Dark Horse Athletic. Duff also shares what a landmark German study of Olympic athletes actually proves about early specialization, why the cost of youth sport is a bigger barrier than most people realize, and why he believes the ultimate measure of a youth sport program isn't pro athletes or Olympic medals. If you've ever wondered whether taking sport "too seriously" actually helps kids perform better, this conversation offers a rare, research-backed answer from someone who's lived it at the very top. Chapters: 0:00 Opening 01:35 Introducing Duff Gibson 03:15 From Wrestling and Rowing to Olympic Gold 04:04 Raised on "It's Just Sport" 08:47 Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset 14:30 Helicopter Parenting and the Physical Literacy Decline 17:52 Building the Community Coach Program 18:46 Purpose: The Missing Piece in Youth Sport 22:59 The Rising Cost of Youth Sport 25:02 Beckie Scott and the Coach Who Didn't Interfere 30:55 Watching His Own Kids Choose Fun Over Obsession 33:03 The Lake Placid Story: Two Mindsets, One Team4 0:04 Why His Son Walked Away From Baseball 40:51 The Moment That Started Dark Horse Athletic 49:59 Personal Challenges Over Competition 50:58 The State of Physical Education Today 54:17 Coaching Kids With ADHD 56:33 From Wrestler to Rower to Skeleton Champion5 7:28 Handling Olympic Pressure 59:37 Kyle Shewfelt on Trusting His Coach 1:01:47 Is a "Failed" Sports Career Really Wasted? 1:02:38 The Common Upbringing of Olympic Medalists 1:07:44 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today 1:09:33 What a German Olympic Study Really Proves 1:11:28 Roger Federer, Late Specialization & Genetics Resources Duff Gibson Dark Horse Athletic Better Sports Parents

T1 · E50

25 ago 2026

1:15:37

Jamie Huscroft: Conscious of Cost, The Ever-Shrinking Offseason & Develop People Not Players

Jamie Huscroft played more than 350 NHL games with seven organizations, won a Memorial Cup with the Medicine Hat Tigers, and was drafted in the 9th Round after starting out as, in his own words, the worst player at every level he ever played. Since retiring in 2001 after suffering 13 concussions as a pro, he's spent nearly 25 years building community hockey in the greater Seattle area, where he's now Director of Facilities for Sno King Ice Arenas. Jamie and Scott dig into what's changed and what hasn't in youth hockey: rising costs, shrinking off-seasons, and the pressure to specialize early despite Jamie's own multi-sport upbringing in tiny Creston, BC. Jamie shares how his parents' hands-off, "how was your day" approach shaped him, why his own kids never played hockey and he never pushed them to, and how Sno King's philosophy puts character development ahead of chasing the NHL. He also opens up about the toll of his concussions, how hockey has evolved on safety, and why cost — not talent or dedication — is the number one barrier keeping kids out of the game today. Whether your child is just starting out or already deep in the travel-team grind, Jamie's perspective as both a pro-hockey veteran and a rink operator offers a rare, grounded view of youth sports from the inside. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 02:06 Introducing Jamie Huscroft 03:13 Why He Chose Community Hockey Over the Pros 03:59 Concussion Number 13 Ended His Career 06:12 Watching Former Youth Players Become Coaches 08:32 How the Kraken Changed Seattle Hockey 10:29 Rising Costs and Shrinking Off-Seasons 13:24 The Norway Model vs. Choosing Earlier 14:21 Top Teams, Early Specialization, and "The Outlier" 15:14 Why He Never Pushed His Own Kids 17:35 Character Development Over Chasing the NHL 19:22 Turning Teenagers Into Mentors 20:38 The Worst Player in Camp, Every Step of the Way 24:35 His Parents' Hands-Off, Car-Ride Philosophy 27:12 A Multi-Sport Childhood in Creston, BC 28:17 Is Early Specialization the System's Fault? 29:59 "If I Don't Do It, Someone Else Will" 32:13 Where Win-at-All-Costs Culture Actually Lives 33:34 Pond Hockey: Letting Kids Coach Themselves 35:22 Parents Coaching From the Stands 36:48 Building a Mentorship Pipeline for Referees 39:18 Has Parent Behavior Really Changed? 41:50 Are There Really Only a Few Paths to the Top? 43:41 The Attrition Rate of Elite Hockey 44:58 How He Defines Success Through Sport 48:01 Staying in Hockey after 13 Concussions 49:25 How Hockey Has Changed on Safety 54:55 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today 55:54 Keeping Hockey Affordable at Sno King Resources ⁠Jamie Huscroft⁠ ⁠Sno King Arenas⁠ ⁠Better Sports Parents⁠

T1 · E49

18 ago 2026

59:39

Ilya Orlov: Why Kids Quit Sports, Breaking Bad Coaching Habits & Dollars Over Development

Ilya Orlov almost quit soccer at 13 due to pressure from well-meaning parents, punishing coaches, and a body that developed later than his peers. On the brink of leaving the game he loved, his father gave him one piece of advice that changed everything: drop down a level. That decision, and the years of reflection since, shaped how Ilya now coaches as head coach of the University of Toronto men's soccer program, a role he's held for over seven years after playing at York University and captaining them to a national championship. Ilya holds a master's in developmental psychology and has trained as a coach across Europe, giving him a research-backed, data-driven lens on what's actually broken in youth sports. In this conversation, he and Scott dig into the relative age effect, why year-round training without recovery is quietly injuring kids, the real odds of making it to university or pro sport, and why coach education in North America is dangerously subjective. Ilya also opens up about the traumatic coaching moment from his own youth that he vowed never to repeat, what he actually looks for in recruits and their parents, and his blunt take on social media, private coaching, and the number one issue facing youth sports today. If you've ever wondered whether your child should specialize, drop down a level, or just be allowed to have fun, this episode offers a coach's rare combination of lived experience and research. Chapters: 0:00 Opening 01:35 Introducing Ilya Orlov 03:32 From Player to Coach at 24 04:56 His Soviet-Influenced Sporting Roots 06:21 Relative Age Effect and Late Puberty 07:34 On the Brink of Quitting at 12 09:36 When Parental Pressure Really Starts 14:01 Pushed Out of a Team by a Coach 16:28 Free Play and a Multi-Sport Childhood 17:10 Should More Kids Drop Down a Level? 18:29 The "Overload" Theory of Development 20:11 Tiering, Late Bloomers, and False Perceptions 26:02 Year-Round Training and Missing Recovery 26:51 The Real Odds of "Making It" 28:39 Private Academies and the Pressure to Specialize 30:49 Kids as Revenue Tools in a Money-Driven System 32:03 Overuse Injuries and "Any Given Monday" 33:38 Why Coach Education Needs to Be Evidence-Based 35:18 The Volunteer Coaching Problem 37:42 The Foundation of Coaching: "What" vs. "How" 42:36 The Punishment Run That Changed How He Coaches 46:24 Pro Coaches as Role Models for Bad Behavior 48:45 What a Parent's Role Should Really Be 51:11 Support Them, Don't Coach Them 53:49 The Real Odds of Playing University Soccer 57:25 Why Parent Behavior Factors Into Recruiting 1:00:11 The Real Goal: Raising Good Humans 1:04:33 Social Media in Youth Sports 1:06:09 How Private Coaching Leads to FOMO 1:08:20 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today Resources ⁠Ilya Orlov⁠ ⁠Any Given Monday ⁠ ⁠Better Sports Parents⁠

T1 · E48

11 ago 2026

1:12:43

Matt Nichol: Specialize in Fun, Training Myths Debunked & The Real Lesson from Norway

Explícito

He's spent his career training athletes for the NHL, NFL, Olympics and beyond. And Matt Nichol is telling parents to slow down. Matt has trained some of the best athletes on the planet, but he's clear on one thing: he'd never train a 10-year-old like a pro. So why do so many youth coaches and parents try to do exactly that? In this conversation, Matt and Scott dig into what's actually broken in youth sports right now: the flood of private academies, the misuse of the "10,000 hour rule," and the difference between kids who are overtrained and kids who are simply under-recovered. Matt also takes apart one of the most common arguments parents use to justify early specialization: "Well, Connor McDavid did it." (Spoiler: that logic doesn't hold up, and Matt explains exactly why.) They talk about what Norway is doing differently in athlete development, why the old Soviet sports school model can't be copied today, and what parents should really be looking for in a coach at any level. If you've ever wondered whether your kid is training too much, too early, or in the wrong way, this conversation will change how you think about it. 🎙️ Better Sports Parents is helping parents positively contribute to the youth sports environment. Subscribe for new episodes every week. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 02:02 Introducing Matt Nichol 03:32 How Youth Sports Has Changed in 30 Years 04:36 The Rise of Privatized Youth Sports 06:13 Who Gets Left Behind in a Private System 08:18 The "10,000 Hour Rule" Myth 11:06 Why Kids Quit Instead of Dropping Down a Level 13:16 Redesigning the System vs. Educating Parents 15:51 Early vs. Late Specialization Sports 16:53 Why Connor McDavid Is a Weak Argument 19:12 The Mental Health Cost of Overspecializing 20:20 FOMO Training and Busy Work 22:52 What Overtraining Actually Looks Like 25:34 Under-Recovery: The Bigger Hidden Issue 29:27 The Magic of Unstructured Play 34:06 Is There Too Much Commitment Too Young? 36:42 The Decline of School Sport 40:08 Could Public and Private Sport Merge? 42:28 What Norway Gets Right 45:36 You Don't Have to Choose Between Fun and Elite 48:00 The Soviet Sports School System 56:15 Why Long-Term Athlete Development Is Hard to Implement 1:00:31 Supporting Volunteer Coaches 1:04:23 What to Look for in a Youth Coach 1:09:06 Values Matt's Parents Instilled in Him 1:12:08 What a Parent's Role Should Really Be 1:17:15 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today Resources: Matt Nichol LTAD Framework Better Sports Parents

T1 · E47

4 ago 2026

1:19:21

Jason Strudwick: Kids Aren't Your Scorecard, A Culture of FOMO & Problems with Super Teams

Jason Strudwick played over 600 NHL games across a 17-year pro career with the Islanders, Canucks, Blackhawks, Rangers, and Oilers. Since retiring, he's become a broadcaster, youth hockey coach, and dad to three kids active in sports, giving him a rare view of the youth sports system from every angle. In this episode, Jason gets refreshingly honest: why he tells parents the truth even when they don't want to hear it, why "your kids aren't your scorecard," and why no five-day camp has ever turned a player into someone 50% better. He and Scott dig into the rise of private academies, the real financial cost of access in hockey, the pressure of FOMO on parents and kids alike, and explains why physical literacy, not early specialization, is the real long-term advantage. He also opens up about his own physical and mental health routine, and the identity crisis so many athletes face when sport doesn't work out the way they hoped. If you're navigating minor hockey, private leagues, camps, or just wondering whether you're doing right by your kid, this conversation is full of hard-earned, no-nonsense perspective. Better Sports Parents is helping parents positively contribute to the youth sports environment. Subscribe for new episodes every week. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 02:08 Introducing Jason Strudwick 03:34 Pushing Kids Harder Than We Pushed Ourselves 07:04 Overexposure and the Injury Risk 08:44 Reading What Your Kid Actually Wants 11:10 "Kids Aren't Your Scorecard" 3:05 No Kid Improves Dramatically in Five Days 15:06 Shane Doan: "We All End Up Here" 18:48 Why Parents Need to Talk to Each Other 23:35 Tell the Truth as a Coach 26:11 The Rise of Private Academies 30:36 The Accessibility Gap in Hockey 32:01 What Age Should Kids Specialize? 36:07 Letting Family Values Lead the Decisions 38:14 Do Travel Tournaments Actually Help? 40:48 The Problem With Super Teams 42:52 Give Your Coaches a Break 44:53 Free Development Tools Online 49:11 Jason's Own Late-Blooming Journey 50:44 Why Multi-Sport Matters 53:24 Skate, Ski, Swim: Physical Literacy for Life 57:38 Physical Activity and Mental Health 1:00:36 When Sport Becomes Your Identity 1:02:56 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today 1:05:39 You're Not Paying for Performance 1:07:39 The Real Cost of Access in Youth Sports Resources: Jason Strudwick Got Yer Back Podcast Better Sports Parents

T1 · E46

28 jul 2026

1:12:12

Kara Kalin: Smiling While Dying, The Sweaty Head Test & Create Unshakable Confidence

Kara Kalin competed at the national level in artistic swimming, coached the sport from club to the Canadian team, and became a clinical counselor and certified EMDR therapist. She then founded Shift Change, a platform for trauma processing in sport and beyond. Kara is also a mother of four children all active in sport, so she has seen the youth sports environment from every angle. And what she sees concerns her deeply. In this conversation with Scott Rintoul, Kara shares the moment a coach publicly shamed her on a pool deck at eleven years old, and how that single experience planted a seed of "I'm not good enough" that drove her career for decades without her knowing it. She explains what trauma actually is, why sport is full of it, and why policies and documents change nothing if the brain never gets to process what happened. She also shares some of the most practical parenting wisdom on the podcast to date: how she developed the Sweaty Head Test for her son, why she built a program called The Power of the Drive Home, and what parents can do in ten minutes after a game that changes everything. Kara makes the case, plainly and without apology, that threat does not need to be the driving force in sport. If the conditions are right, the greatness comes anyway. Chapters 00:00 Opening 01:35 Introducing Kara Kalin 03:15 Being Inside a System That Resisted Change 04:35 The Olympic Dream 08:22 Choosing Her Kids Over Her Sport 11:29 Training Beside Olympians 13:29 How She Found Synchro Swimming 14:19 One Moment Changed Everything 16:19 Public Shame on a Pool Deck 17:04 Fear of Holding Her Breath 18:07 Smiling While Dying 19:04 Straight Into Coaching at 16 20:02 Finding Joy in Sport Again 20:34 Her Parents: A Quiet Champion, a Pacing Dad 26:07 Should Parents Fight Their Kids' Battles? 28:15 The Sweaty Head Test 30:04 Asking for Feedback After Practice 31:25 Threat Doesn't Need to Drive Us 33:24 Why Sport Is Full of Trauma 35:27 The Car Ride After a Coach Yells 39:48 The Sweaty Head Test 40:28 Recognizing Trauma in Yourself 41:06 The Definition of Trauma That Changed Her Life 44:21 What Unprocessed Trauma Does to the Body 46:40 When Her Body Finally Said "Enough" 48:00 Do We Pass Unprocessed Trauma to Athletes We Coach? 52:13 Children as Mirrors 54:47 Safe Sport: Too Much Talking, Not Enough Doing 56:14 The 90-Day Window for Processing Harm 57:12 How Shift Change Was Born 1:00:00 Mental Health in Sport 1:01:32 Why Sport Is Stuck 1:05:28 Why LTAD Never Took Hold 1:08:08 Kara's Biggest Issue in Youth Sport 1:11:33 What Often Happens to Those Who Try to Change the System 1:15:25 What She Hopes Her Kids Get From Sport Resources ⁠Kara Kalin ⁠ ⁠Shift Change⁠ ⁠ Better Sports Parents⁠

T1 · E45

21 jul 2026

1:18:08

Adam Bighill: From Bullied to Belonging, Misleading Money Grabs & Coaches Build Communities

Adam Bighill made more tackles than all but five players in the history of Canadian football. He won three Grey Cups, was named the CFL's most outstanding defensive player three times, and is a shoe in for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. But the most revealing thing about Adam's relationship with football can't be found on the stat sheet. Born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, Adam was bullied as a kid and used sport to do the one thing it does better than almost anything else: earn respect and build belonging. His proclivity for sport and his relentless work ethic meant he was always one of the first picks. Sport levelled the playing field and gave him a place where he fit. Now retired from the CFL and coaching his three kids in flag football, Adam has a clear-eyed, no-nonsense view of what's wrong in youth sport today: parents with mismatched expectations, a money grab masquerading as development, and coaches who yell instead of teach. His philosophy is simple, and the results speak for themselves. His team went from chaos to competing at the national level on one practice and one game per week, and more importantly, every player improved and contributed to the best of their ability. Adam is very direct on the importance of coaching, the need for more resources, and his belief that sport can help everyone build confidence and self-worth. 🎙️ Better Sports Parents is helping parents positively contribute to the youth sports environment. Subscribe for new episodes every week. Chapters 00:00 Opening 02:07 Introducing Adam Bighill 03:32 Why He Retired 04:08 Three Kids, All Multi-Sport 06:03 Early Specialization 07:47 Too Many Games, Not Enough Practice 08:39 The Money Grab 09:25 The Power of the Coach 11:07 His Coaching Philosophy 14:41 How to Make Practice Fun Without Losing the Work 17:27 What Bad Youth Coaching Actually Looks Like 17:43 The Best Coaching Advice He Ever Received 20:08 Managing Parents 21:48 The Context of Team 23:47 The Word Every Coach Needs: "Yet" 23:59 Being a Sports Parent on the Sidelines 24:47 What His Dad Taught Him Just by Showing Up 26:41 Applauding Everyone on the Field 29:12 Conditional Love and What It Does to Kids 30:39 Youth Travel Sports 32:43 What Happens Outside Structured Practice 34:40 How Much Commitment Is Too Much at a Young Age? 37:05 Why Kids Play and Why Parents Should Ask 39:12 How Sport Gave Adam Belonging 41:28 Sport Broke Down Every Barrier 43:43 Sport Builds the People Your Community Needs 45:56 "Some Kids Need Football More Than Football Needs Them" 46:23 Canada vs. the US 48:50 Privatization in Youth Sports 52:33 Sport Should Be a Meritocracy 55:11 The Pressure Parents Feel 57:35 What Adam Expects From His Own Kids 59:02 What 14 Years of Pro Football Built in Him 01:01:29 The Mindset That Lasted Beyond Sport 01:03:45 Adam's Biggest Issue in Youth Sport Today Resources ⁠Adam Bighill⁠ ⁠Operation Smile Canada⁠ ⁠Better Sports Parents

T1 · E44

14 jul 2026

1:06:32

Shannon Winzer: We're Failing Our Coaches, Why Parents Lose the Plot & The Gift of Free Play

Shannon Winzer has coached volleyball at the highest level on two continents:national teams in Canada and Australia, and now as head coach of the Dallas Pulse in Major League Volleyball. She's also a mother of three kids actively playing youth sports and a volunteer lacrosse coach in her community. That combination gives her a perspective on youth sport that very few people have. What she sees frustrates her deeply. Coaches who have lost sight of the developmental needs of young people. Organizations selling dreams to parents who don't know enough to question them. A volunteer coaching workforce that is expected to do everything and supported to do almost nothing. And a youth sports culture so focused on winning, medals, and the next academy program that it has completely forgotten why kids play sport in the first place. In this conversation with Scott Rintoul, Shannon is direct, honest, and at times quietly furious. She talks about talent identification, the myth of early specialization, what the best professional athletes all have in common, the role of school sport, and the one question every parent should be asking their child but probably isn't. Her diagnosis of the biggest issue in youth sport is simple: we've lost perspective on what the purpose of youth sport actually is. Better Sports Parents is helping parents positively contribute to the youth sports environment. Subscribe for new episodes every week. Chapters 00:00 Opening 01:58 Introducing Shannon Winzer 03:18 Why She's So Passionate About Youth Sports 03:59 Her View on Youth Sports Today 05:22 Why Parents Lose the Plot 07:17 What Shannon Wants for Her Own Kids 08:44 Do Parents Understand Their Role in Youth Sport? 10:04 Fighting Your Child's Battles vs. Supporting Them Through Their Own 11:44 When a Child Approaches the Coach vs. When a Parent Does 12:01 What Learning Looks Like: Reframing Failure 13:49 Please Don't Coach From the Stands 16:23 Why Coaching From the Sideline Adds Noise, Not Help 20:26 Why Shannon Got Into Coaching 22:03 Shannon's Youth Sports Background 24:03 Academies: When They Help and When They Don't 28:19 Setting Boundaries as a Sports Family 30:09 The Greatest Gift We Can Give Kids: Free Play 33:28 How Coaches Can Create Space for Creativity 36:21 Ask What They Love, Not Just Why They Play 39:27 We Are Failing Our Coaches 42:18 Coach Retention, School Sport and the Teacher Problem 47:02 The Missing Recreational Pathway in Volleyball 51:29 Why Shannon Chose Volleyball Over Basketball 52:28 Multi-Sport at the Professional Level 55:53 People Selling Youth Sports 57:42 Shannon's Biggest Issue: We've Lost Perspective 01:01:08 We Need a Framework, Not Just Funding 01:04:31 The Number One Purpose of Youth Sport 01:08:36 Competition and Participation Can Coexist 01:10:48 The Myth Around Talent ID Resources ⁠Shannon Winzer⁠ ⁠Long-Term Athlete Development⁠ ⁠Better Sports Parents⁠

T1 · E43

7 jul 2026

1:13:29

Brian Johns: The Rat Race of Youth Sports, Parents Need Help & Who is the System Serving?

Brian Johns is a three-time Olympian and was a world record holder in the pool. He also thought he knew what youth sport looked like — until he became a parent. What he found when he put his daughters into youth sports was an eye-opener even for someone who has spent decades in sport at every level. Sports operating in silos, parents left to figure everything out alone, nine-year-olds being tiered into competitive groups without equal resources. He started writing and speaking about it because the problems were obvious but the solutions felt stuck. In this conversation with Scott Rintoul, Brian draws on his background as an Olympian, a coach, and Head of Coaching Science at Form Swim to make the case that youth sport isn't failing because people don't care, it's failing because organizations are just trying to survive, and nobody is coordinating the bigger picture. He argues that the answer isn't just more funding or more facilities. It's collaboration, purposeful programming, and a willingness to put the child in front of the organization. 🎙️ Better Sports Parents is helping parents positively contribute to the youth sports environment. Subscribe for new episodes every week. Chapters 00:00 Opening 02:09 Introducing Brian Johns 03:05 What Made Him Start Writing About Youth Sport 05:57 The Biggest Revelation: Everything Is Siloed 08:23 Brian's Youth Sports Background 09:33 His Parents' Approach: Let Him Choose 11:07 Why He Kept Playing Other Sports Despite Excelling at Swimming 12:55 How the Culture of Swimming Has Changed 15:45 Purposeful Practice vs. Empty Volume 16:06 Peak Performance Ages in Swimming: A Unique Challenge 19:55 Managing Young Phenoms: Communication Is Everything 24:14 Creating Community in an Individual Sport 27:41 Competing Against Other Sports for Kids' Time 32:26 You're Not Just Competing With Other Clubs 37:45 Can Sports Organizations Work Together? 43:00 The Death of School Sport and What It Cost Us 45:13 Reframing Sport: Accessibility vs. Competition Is a False Choice 48:29 Pathways for Kids Who Don't Make the Team 53:21 Zoom Out: We All End Up at the Rec Center 54:11 Unprecedented Funding: Can Canada Actually Deliver? 56:10 The Infrastructure Problem Nobody Talks About 01:01:24 Free Swimming Lessons: Vancouver's Experiment 01:03:09 Who Is the Youth Sport System Actually Designed to Serve? 01:07:07 Who Needs to Step Back and Why 01:11:17 Brian's Biggest Issue in Youth Sport: Lack of Collaboration 01:13:59 Identity Beyond Swimming: How Coaches Can Help 01:16:48 Performance vs. Learning: The Flip Turn Story Resources ⁠Brian Johns ⁠ ⁠Vancouver's Free Swimming Proposal ⁠

T1 · E42

30 jun 2026

1:19:25

1 de 8