Youth sports isn’t collapsing because kids changed. It’s collapsing because the adults around them don’t always know how to help.
In this episode, I continue the conversation with longtime coach and youth-sport observer Shaun Reid. We move past diagnosing what’s broken and get into solutions—what parents, coaches, and leaders can actually do to make youth sports healthier.
Shaun argues the real root issue is a lack of parent Education. Most parents genuinely want to help their kids, but without Clarity on what healthy support looks like, they drift toward over-involvement, pressure, or mixed messages. The result: Stress, confusion, and a youth-sport dropout rate that now approaches 70 percent by age 13.
We discuss how parents unintentionally make things harder, what appropriate involvement looks like, why youth Coaching has almost no barrier to entry, and how families can navigate pay-to-play without burning out. Shaun also shares what the U.S. can learn from countries like Norway and closes with rapid-fire reflections on books, failure, coaching success, and the role of faith in shaping his life.
Shaun can be reached at [email protected].
About the Impactful Coaching Project
The Impactful Coaching Project exists to help coaches lead with competence, care, and constancy through research-backed frameworks, practical tools, and ongoing conversations about holistic coaching.
