Program Director's Playbook

The Stories Parents Invent When a Decision Goes Unexplained

The Stories Parents Invent When a Decision Goes...

A normal roster decision, a coaching assignment, a placement, or a small policy change gets made, and the program assumes it speaks for itself. Two weeks later, a parent has...

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The Stories Parents Invent When a Decision Goes Unexplained

A normal roster decision, a coaching assignment, a placement, or a small policy change gets made, and the program assumes it speaks for itself. Two weeks later, a parent has.

Why Transition Windows Should Stay Open All Summer

Why Transition Windows Should Stay Open All Summer

Every program has levels. Most programs designed those levels around skill: beginner, intermediate, advanced, elite. The skill ladder is intuitive, matches how coaches think about development, and makes sense as...

Why Transition Windows Should Stay Open All Summer

Every program has levels. Most programs designed those levels around skill: beginner, intermediate, advanced, elite. The skill ladder is intuitive, matches how coaches think about development, and makes sense as.

How to Keep Families Loyal to Your Program, Not Just the Coach

How to Keep Families Loyal to Your Program, Not...

When a strong coach leaves and families follow within a season, the departure gets the blame, but the vulnerability was usually built into the program's structure long before. A program...

How to Keep Families Loyal to Your Program, Not Just the Coach

When a strong coach leaves and families follow within a season, the departure gets the blame, but the vulnerability was usually built into the program's structure long before. A program.

The #1 Thing That Keeps Your Best Families Loyal Through a Hard Season

The #1 Thing That Keeps Your Best Families Loya...

Most programs treat the parent group chat as a communication problem to be managed, and the recurring dysfunction (a weather question that turns into a coaching critique, a schedule debate...

The #1 Thing That Keeps Your Best Families Loyal Through a Hard Season

Most programs treat the parent group chat as a communication problem to be managed, and the recurring dysfunction (a weather question that turns into a coaching critique, a schedule debate.

Why Your Reluctance to Brag Is Costing Your Program

Why Your Reluctance to Brag Is Costing Your Pro...

You're not the program out there subtweeting competitors, inflating ordinary wins into franchise-defining headlines, or posting about a Tuesday clinic on Wednesday like it cured cancer. You're the other kind...

Why Your Reluctance to Brag Is Costing Your Program

You're not the program out there subtweeting competitors, inflating ordinary wins into franchise-defining headlines, or posting about a Tuesday clinic on Wednesday like it cured cancer. You're the other kind.

The Program Offerings That Are Costing More Than They Give Back

The Program Offerings That Are Costing More Tha...

Pull up your fall calendar. Look at every camp, clinic, league, training block, showcase, and one-off event you are carrying into the new season. There are probably more than you...

The Program Offerings That Are Costing More Than They Give Back

Pull up your fall calendar. Look at every camp, clinic, league, training block, showcase, and one-off event you are carrying into the new season. There are probably more than you.

Everything Your Coaches Saw at the Tournament That Never Reaches You

Everything Your Coaches Saw at the Tournament T...

Every director has run some version of this experiment. After a tournament weekend, you ask the coaches what they saw. You get back a sentence and a half. "Good weekend,...

Everything Your Coaches Saw at the Tournament That Never Reaches You

Every director has run some version of this experiment. After a tournament weekend, you ask the coaches what they saw. You get back a sentence and a half. "Good weekend,.

The One Summer Metric That Actually Leads to Renewal

The One Summer Metric That Actually Leads to Re...

Every program has at least a handful of athletes between the ages of ten and thirteen who haven't quit, exactly, but who are running out of reasons to stay. They...

The One Summer Metric That Actually Leads to Renewal

Every program has at least a handful of athletes between the ages of ten and thirteen who haven't quit, exactly, but who are running out of reasons to stay. They.

When the Families You Developed Leave for a Bigger Name

When the Families You Developed Leave for a Big...

Most directors have lived this exact sequence. A family that's been with the program for years, whose kid is genuinely thriving, gets pulled into the orbit of a more prestigious...

When the Families You Developed Leave for a Bigger Name

Most directors have lived this exact sequence. A family that's been with the program for years, whose kid is genuinely thriving, gets pulled into the orbit of a more prestigious.

When Playing Time Becomes an Identity Problem

When Playing Time Becomes an Identity Problem

The U14 midfielder used to be the first one on the field. He'd show up twenty minutes early to juggle. He talked about practice on the drive home. His weekends...

When Playing Time Becomes an Identity Problem

The U14 midfielder used to be the first one on the field. He'd show up twenty minutes early to juggle. He talked about practice on the drive home. His weekends.