Episode 48: Let it be difficult

A little behind the scene vision of what I hope to be part of as it relates to this space of how we support all kids🫶🏻

In this episode, I talk about your awareness of your own self regulation, and how critical this is in our role as a coach for kids.

In this episode I reflect on how crucial it is for adults to be clear and consistent about what the values are for your team/group.

This episode reflects on the importance of how adults connect and communicate when there are challenges involved. This skill is important as a model to our kids for how we can communicate respectfully and directly to hear each other, especially when there might be a challenge or critical point to make .

This concept is all about how to PIVOT as adults coaching youth, keeping growth and change at the core of the work we do.

In this episode I talk about our team’s experience this past weekend and how you can choose to decide where you want to place your locus of control when you go through an experience.

It’s so important as youth coaches and supporters of youth that we frame losing as a tool- as a form of data- to inform our growth. Tune in as I share a few ways to think about losing and to think about how to support our kids in talking about losing.

Welcome to Episode 50 of Coaching Youth for Life! We made it to 50!This podcast has undergone several rebranding periods so it feels especially exciting to hit episode 50 and reflect on where we have been and where we are going. I am so glad you're here. In this episode, I chat about the importance of belonging and friendships for our kids who are struggling with self-regulation. When kids are struggling, these are the first two areas I try and zone in on (in addition to better understanding a child's executive function skills) and encourage teams to think about. Side note- this episode was recorded while I was traveling in my car (safely, hands free, thanks to Siri!) and as such audio quality may be different from previous episodes.

Episode 49 is all about a concept I call PAFO- play around and find out. PAFO to me is encouraging kids to not only let things be messy* and not feel good at something, but also to try things to figure out how to get better at something. This concept is really noticeable in so many areas of my life including being an SLP, a mom, and a basketball coach. Kids sometimes need nudging to play around and mess up on things (not be perfect at them) in order to get better. *This ties back to Episode 48 of letting it be messy. (Note, I recorded this one on the road, so audio quality is not as good as other episodes- specifically you get a fun little POT HOLE moment 😉)

This is my 'welcome back' episode where I share on the importance of encouraging kids to let things be difficult as they try new things or work through the 'stickiness' of not feeling good at something. The more we normalize letting things be difficult, the easier it can be to regulate during those times. I've got some good things planned for this podcast for 2026 after doing a lot of work and planning in 2025- can't wait to spend more time together!