Thanksgiving week in youth sports is chaos. Half your team is traveling to see family. Practice attendance is a mess. Parents are apologizing for missing the tournament because Grandma's in town. Your group chat looks like a game of telephone where nobody actually heard the original message.
But here's what's easy to forget when you're juggling schedules and fielding "sorry we can't make it" texts: this is exactly what we're building programs for.
Not the championships. Not the perfect attendance records. The connections. The community. The reasons families want to gather in the first place.
So before you stress about Thursday's practice that three kids will actually show up to, let's talk about what we're actually grateful for in youth sports—and why gratitude might be the most underrated coaching tool you have.
The Kids Who Show Up (Even When They Don't Want To)
Let's be real—not every kid bounds out of bed excited for Saturday morning practice. Some of them are there because their parents signed them up. Some are still half-asleep. Some would rather be literally anywhere else.
But they show up.
They tie their cleats even though they're tired. They run the drills even when it's cold. They high-five their teammates even after a tough loss. That's not nothing. That's actually everything.
The gratitude play: Tell them you notice. A simple "thanks for being here today" hits different than you think. Kids remember coaches who saw them, not just the superstars who made everything look easy.
The Parents Who Make It All Possible
Yeah, some parents are... a lot. They question your lineup decisions. They hover at practice. They accidentally-on-purpose coach from the sidelines.
But here's what else they do: They drive 30 minutes to practice three times a week. They wash jerseys at midnight. They pack snacks for the whole team. They volunteer to bring goals or set up cones. They write checks and shuffle schedules and miss their own plans so their kid can play a game.
Youth sports literally cannot exist without parents doing the unglamorous work behind the scenes.
The gratitude play: Say thank you publicly. At practice, at games, in your team emails. Specific thank-yous are even better—"Thanks to Sarah's mom for organizing the tournament carpool" hits harder than a generic shout-out. Parents volunteer because they care, but they stick around because they feel valued.
Bonus move: Create a "Parent Appreciation" moment at your last practice before Thanksgiving. Thirty seconds of applause. Simple, powerful, free.
The Volunteers Who Keep Showing Up
Some programs have the luxury of paid coaches and administrative staff. Most don't. Most run on volunteers who have full-time jobs, families, and about seventeen other commitments but still show up to help.
The assistant coach who leads warm-ups every week. The team manager who tracks RSVPs and never complains. The board member who handles registration drama so you don't have to. The parents who stay after games to help clean up.
These people are choosing to give their time when they could be doing literally anything else.
The gratitude play: Don't wait until end-of-season. Build gratitude into your culture year-round. Quick shout-outs during practice. Recognition in your team newsletter. Small gifts of appreciation—a team hat, a handwritten note, public acknowledgment.
Volunteers don't do it for the recognition, but recognition is why they come back.
The Kid Who's Struggling (But Still Trying)
Every team has that player who's not the fastest, not the most skilled, not the most naturally athletic. The one who works twice as hard for half the results. The one who sits on the bench more than they'd like but still cheers louder than anyone when their teammates score.
That kid is teaching everyone else on your team what resilience actually looks like.
The gratitude play: Find a moment to tell them specifically what you appreciate. Not "good job" or "nice try"—specific stuff. "I love how you always encourage your teammates" or "You never give up in drills and that sets the tone for everyone."
These kids grow up to be the ones who remember sports as the place they learned they mattered, even when they weren't the star.
The Community That Rallies
Think about what happened the last time a player got injured. Or when a family faced a hardship. Or when the field got damaged and needed repairs.
The community showed up, didn't they?
Parents organized meal trains. Teammates sent cards. Local businesses donated. Your program became bigger than sports—it became a safety net, a support system, a chosen family.
The gratitude play: Don't take community for granted. Actively nurture it. Host events that aren't about competition—team dinners, volunteer days, movie nights. Create opportunities for families to connect off the field. The more connected people feel, the stronger your program becomes.
The Moments That Sneak Up On You
The game-winning goal is memorable. But so is the kid who finally nailed that skill they've been working on for months. The team that came together after a tough loss. The inside joke that made everyone crack up at practice. The parent who said "thank you for believing in my kid."
These moments don't show up on scoreboards. They show up in group chats and photo albums and stories families tell at Thanksgiving dinner years later.
The gratitude play: Notice them out loud. Pause practice for ten seconds to say "that was awesome, everyone saw that." Send a quick text to a parent after a breakthrough moment. Write it down so you remember it later. These moments are why we coach—don't let them slip by unacknowledged.
Why Gratitude Actually Matters (Beyond Feeling Warm and Fuzzy)
Here's the thing about gratitude in youth sports: it's not just nice, it's strategic.
Programs that build cultures of appreciation have better retention. Volunteers stick around longer. Parents become ambassadors who recruit their friends. Kids learn to value effort and teamwork, not just outcomes.
Gratitude creates loyalty. It builds resilience. It makes the hard seasons easier because everyone remembers why they're here in the first place.
And honestly? It makes coaching more fun. When you actively look for things to be grateful for, you stop fixating on what's going wrong and start noticing what's going right. That mindset shift changes everything.
🦃 Final Whistle
This Thanksgiving, when you're sitting around the dinner table listing what you're grateful for, youth sports will probably come up. Maybe you'll mention your team, your coaches, your kid's progress, or that tournament where everything came together.
But the real gratitude happens in the small moments. The Tuesday night practice when everyone showed up. The parent who fixed the equipment without being asked. The kid who encouraged a struggling teammate. The community that shows up for each other, on and off the field.
That's what we're building. Not just athletes. Not just winning programs. Communities of people who show up for each other and say thank you for showing up.
So from all of us to all of you: thank you. For coaching. For volunteering. For driving the carpool. For washing the jerseys. For believing in kids even when they don't believe in themselves yet. For building programs that matter.
Happy Thanksgiving. Now go enjoy your turkey and stop checking your team group chat.
(Okay, fine, check it once. But then put the phone down.)
Ian Goldberg is the CEO of Signature Media and the Editor of the largest and fastest growing sports parenting newsletter. He’s been recognized as an industry expert by the National Alliance for Youth Sports, the US Olympic Committee’s Truesport, and the Aspen Institute's Project Play. Ian is also a suburban NJ sports dad of two teenage daughters and has over 2,000 hours of volunteer time coaching them (which he calls the most fun form of R&D for his newsletter content). Ian and his team provide players, coaches, parents and program directors with the articles and content they need to have a great sports season. Ian has spent most of his career in digital product development and marketing and got his start at the White House where he worked for the economic advisors to two US Presidents.
