The Power of Learning from Other Sports Around the World
There is a new collaborative game in town aiming to score real solutions to the issues plaguing youth soccer and youth sports in North America and beyond.
To Improve Youth Sports, We MUST First Change the Narrative
Under the banner of GO! Chase Excellence, four seasoned youth sports professionals in the United States and the United Kingdom have teamed up to host a new kind of online event.
The 2019 GO! Chase Excellence Think Tank to Improve Youth Sports will bring together some of the world’s leading experts in the many fields that are vital to the success of youth sports.
Read: WANT TO IMPROVE YOUTH SOCCER? CHANGE THE NARRATIVE
Sam Snow has been deeply involved in youth soccer in the US for decades. He recently retired as the Technical Director of US Youth Soccer.
One of his new projects has been as a co-host for the 2019 GO! Chase Excellence Think Tank to Improve Youth Sports. His role has been to design and facilitate the part of the Think Tank focused on gathering the expertise and insights of high-level youth sports experts from US national sports governing bodies and around the world.
SoccerToday Interview with Sam Snow on Chasing Excellence
Soccer Today interviewed Sam about his insights as to what those involved in the game of soccer can learn from other sports.
SoccerToday: What is the Think Tank? Is it just for soccer coaches?
Sam Snow: The Think Tank is an online forum that will present many of the issues faced today in youth sports, Each expert presenter will provide potential solutions to those challenges.
The 2019 Think Tank cuts across national boundaries and involves multiple sports. The 21 sports represented include soccer, volleyball, swimming, ice hockey, wrestling, and lacrosse. One aspect of the Think Tank that I am the most excited about is the engagement with coaches, parents of youth athletes, and sports’ administrators.
SoccerToday: What is your role as a co-host of the event?
Sam Snow: I am the co-host of the coaching hardware track of the Think Tank called “Compete – Coach the Sport”.
I am engaging with experts in coaching and coach development from many sports and countries. I am assisting assist these high-performance coaches with the development and presentation of their information. No matter the sport, I know that coaches will find value in every presentation.
SoccerToday: Coaching soccer, or any sport, seems like it would be something unique to that sport. What can soccer coaches learn from coaches in other sports?
Sam Snow: A great deal of coaching is the same across sports. Leadership, goal setting, time management, scheduling, athlete health, staff development, administrative duties, equipment management, communication, parental involvement, reporting to one’s superiors, professional growth are a few items that spring to mind that are similar to coaches of any sport.
Perhaps the most important common ground among coaches is being able to balance the coaching workload and still have time for one’s personal life.
When coaches sign up to attend Think Tank 2019, they will pick up ideas, methods, and application from other coaches from various sports.
To a great extent, coaching is coaching.
SoccerToday: Who are some of the presenters in your Coaching track that people will most enjoy? What sports do they represent?
Sam Snow: All of the coach presenters are top notch.
A few that many coaches may already know are John Kessel from USA Volleyball, Ian Barker from United Soccer Coaches, and Ken Martel from USA Hockey. I encourage attendees of Think Tank 2019 to do a web search of any of our presenters, and they will find articles and videos demonstrating why they are top in class.
SoccerToday: How can people learn more about the Think Tank?
Sam Snow: Check out a previous Soccer Today article on the Think Tank called Want to Improve Youth Soccer? Change the Narrative.
The Think Tank launches the first set of presentations on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. New sessions will roll out daily through Friday, March 29th.
The 2019 Think Tank is organized into six tracks.
- Compete – Coach the Sport
- Compute – Coach the Brain
- Collaborate – Coach the Parent
- Coordinate – Coach the Club
- Cultivate – Coach the Coach
- Correlate – Coach the Person
Click to REGISTER for the EVENT
More specific information on the Think Tank, speakers, schedule, and registration can be found at ThinkTank2019.com.
