The GO! Chase Excellence Think Tank to Improve Youth Sports
This is the brainchild of Ruth Nicholson, founder of GO! and Reed Maltbie, founder of Raising Excellence.
After months of design and preparation, the GO! Chase Excellence Think Tank to Improve Youth Sports launched on March 20, 2019.
When Ruth launched GO! in 2017, she was searching for easy and affordable ways to help youth sports organizations better support their athletes and coaches. It resulted in her recognition as one of four national finalists for the 2018 Hudl Innovator of the Year award in youth soccer.
Reed Maltbie was working on similar issues from the perspective of athletes and how coaches could be more effective in helping them be successful in sport and in life. His background was also in the game of soccer. In something akin to the old Reece’s peanut butter cup commercial in which two people collide, the chocolate unexpectedly lands in a glob of peanut butter, and something unique is created, Ruth and Reed discovered that they were dreaming about the same thing from different perspectives. (Ruth claims she is the nuttier of the two.)
READ: CHASING EXCELLENCE – SAM SNOW ON THINK TANK TO IMPROVE YOUTH SOCCER
With that, they started developing a series of webinars and other resources under the GO! Chase Excellence banner. 2019 GO! Chase Excellence Think Tank to Improve Youth Sports is the most ambitious project to date.
For the past decade, the narrative has been what is wrong with youth sports. Ruth and Reed believe that if we want real change and improvement, we must start focusing on solutions.
The 2019GO! Chase Excellence Think Tank to Improve Youth Sports brings together over 65 of the world’s leading experts in the many fields critical to the success of youth sports.
Presenters will offer practical ideas for solutions based on professional practice and science. The goal is to provide participants with a multitude of activities that can be easily implemented by youth sports organizations to improve the experience for young athletes.
“It could be the largest gathering of youth sports experts in one place!” marveled Gordon, founder of Working with Parents in Sport and one of the Think Tank’s co-hosts.
Ruth Nicholson, Reed Maltbie, Sam Snow, and Gordon MacLelland have teamed up to host this pioneering online event.
The 10-day schedule of online presentations runs from March 20-29, 2019 and includes presenters from five continents. Each session is 15-30 minutes in length.
The 2019 Think Tank is organized into six tracks with presentations from experts representing over two dozen sports. A note-taking and reflection journal is linked to each presentation to help participants capture key ideas and identify what they can implement at home.
The Think Tank also offers a community forum for participants to share questions and ideas. As they are rolled out each day, the recorded sessions are then available on demand through the end of April.
“One aspect of the Think Tank that I am the most excited about is the engagement with coaches, parents of youth athletes, and sport administrators,” explained Snow of American Made Soccer Consultants.
The diversity of tracks and speakers makes the Think Tank attractive to a wide variety of people engaged in youth sports. In addition to a number of soccer experts from the US, the diverse list of presenters includes
- Dr. Deb Skinstad, a collegiate tennis athlete and sports scientist from Stellenbosch University in South Africa focused on long-term athletic development with an emphasis on children in sport,
- Dave Wright, a UEFA A Licensed coach and co-founder of the Player Development Project in Australia on creating exceptional learning and training environments,
- Dr. Mara Smith, a mental strength and conditioning expert who works with USA Hockey, USA Gymnastics, US Figure Skating, US Ski & Snowboard, US Bobsled & Skeleton, and USA Luge,
- Eira Parry, founder of High-Performance Parenting who also has professional experience with the Start Programme of British Rowing, and
- Dr. Steven Horwitz, founder of TeamSafeSports, on athlete injury response and risk management.
Other topics of interest include tips for starting a new organization, a whole-club approach to building and fostering culture, the critical role of feedback in coach development, addressing the female coaching shortage, and creating momentum in training sessions.
“We have only scratched the surface. There are more experts who will be a part of future Think Tanks,” promises Maltbie.
Social media has been buzzing with positive reaction to the Think Tank after only the first couple of days, such as
“Coaches. Parents. Educators. #ThinkTank2019 is an amazing resource for everyone with an interest in kids & sport and it is live now,” said Steve Gennaro, Canberra, Australia.
READ: WANT TO IMPROVE YOUTH SOCCER? CHANGE THE NARRATIVE
“I’m 2 videos in and feel like I’ve already gotten more than I paid for. This is a must see online event. Youth sports coaches, parents, and influencers should all be taking advantage of this awesome resource,” said Rise Volleyball, Meridian, Idaho USA
The dream of gathering a wide range of experts to provide realistic solutions to the challenges in youth sports has been awakened thanks to the efforts of Nicholson and Maltbie.
“This is only the beginning,” explains Nicholson.“Folks are asking what comes next. Think Tank Live? Or perhaps the launch of our next GO! Chase Excellence project called Boardrooms to Benches …”
