When pro athletes talk about their childhood, the stories usually trace back to a simple truth: someone showed up for them. For USA Hockey forward Ryan Kesler, that person was his dad. And in a recent Play Positive video, Kesler shared the kind of youth sports father he hopes to be — one modeled after the support he received growing up.
“Kind of Like My Dad. Supportive.”
Kesler doesn’t dress it up with elaborate theory or parenting advice. His vision is straightforward and grounded: be present, be supportive, and make sure your kids are having fun.
He credits his own dad for shaping that approach. Growing up, his father made it to games, showed up for practices, and cared about more than performance. The message was always the same: enjoy the game first.
It stuck.
The Priority: Fun Comes First
Kesler says the reason he still plays hockey today — after decades of elite training, pressure, and professional expectation — is because the game is still fun for him. And fun is exactly what he wants to protect for his own kids.
Youth sports today tend to drift toward high stakes early: travel teams, pressure to specialize, long weekends, performance-based expectations. Kesler pushes in the opposite direction. He understands that joy is the engine that keeps kids playing long enough to grow, improve, and love the sport on their own terms.
Showing Up Matters More Than Parents Realize
In the video, Kesler emphasizes something simple but increasingly rare: being there.
Showing up to games
Showing up to school events
Showing up to moments that matter
That presence sends a message kids don’t forget — that their effort is worth witnessing, regardless of the scoreboard.
Kesler isn’t trying to coach from the sidelines or turn the rink into a second job. He wants to support, encourage, and keep sports rooted in what they were meant to be for kids: a place to move, learn, and feel joy.
A Long Commitment to Joy
Kesler ends with a joke — he’ll probably keep playing until he’s 60 or 70, maybe until the day he can’t skate anymore. It drives home the larger point: the love of the game lasts when fun stays at the center.
And for him, that starts in childhood. It starts with parents who remember that youth sports aren’t about building future pros. They’re about building confidence, resilience, and lifelong joy.
Kesler’s philosophy is simple but rare in youth sports culture:
Support the kid. Protect the fun. Show up.
It’s a mindset Play Positive continues to highlight through conversations like this — reminders that the best youth sports parents aren’t the loudest or the most strategic. They’re the ones who help their kids fall in love with the game and stay in love with it for as long as possible.
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.
