Better Sports Parents

Trevor Linden played 19 seasons in the NHL, captained the Vancouver Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, and performed under the most intense pressure imaginable. But as a sports parent to his 8-year-old son? He's about as low-pressure as it gets. In this segment, Trevor discusses the advent of travel tournaments to major markets for teams with very young players, the rising cost of youth sports...

Shannon Winzer has coached volleyball at the highest level on two continents:national teams in Canada and Australia, and now as head coach of the Dallas Pulse in Major League Volleyball. She's also a mother of three kids actively playing youth sports and a volunteer lacrosse coach in her community. That combination gives her a perspective on youth sport that very few people have. What she sees fru...

Kim Gaucher was a member of the Canadian Women's Basketball Team for more than 20 years, captaining the team in multiple Olympic Games. Her prolific NCAA and professional career led her into coaching and eventually her current role as Head of the Players Unit with FIBA, the governing body of international basketball. In this segment, Kim discusses the benefits of kids playing in unstructured envir...

Brian Johns is a three-time Olympian and was a world record holder in the pool. He also thought he knew what youth sport looked like — until he became a parent. What he found when he put his daughters into youth sports was an eye-opener even for someone who has spent decades in sport at every level. Sports operating in silos, parents left to figure everything out alone, nine-year-olds being tiered...

Brendan Morrison played over 900 games in the NHL and centred a line known as The West Coast Express, the league's highest scoring line for a couple of seasons. As a parent, he and his wife Erin have raised four children, all of whom became NCAA Division I athletes... but that was never Brendan's or Erin's goal. In this segment, Brendan discusses the pressure too many parents place on their kids i...

Canada needs change in its sport system; Radha Balani has seen this before. As an expert partner in strategy and leadership at Think Beyond, she spent decades inside the UK's sport system, including its radical 2015 overhaul. Since then, she's worked with several countries and companies directly, including Jumpstart and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. She knows exactly what it takes to change a...

Former CFL centre and Grey Cup champion Angus Reid is now a high school football coach, a keynote speaker, and recently authored his second book, "Teenager: A Story About Finding Your Way". In this segment, Angus shares why he refuses to charge kids for coaching, what children can teach coaches and parents if they take the time to listen, and the critical difference between being demanding and dem...

Greg Stewart spent the first 25 years of his life trying to prove to people that he wasn't disabled despite being born without half of his left arm. Once he changed his mindset, he found the sport of shot put and won two Paralympic gold medals. Greg is a three-time world champion in para standing volleyball, a U Sports Defensive player of the Year in able bodied basketball, and he stands seven foo...

Jesse Marsch, coach of Canada's National Men's Soccer Team, has seen youth sports development from every angle: as a player, as a coach, and as a parent. Jesse doesn't give parenting advice: he gives coaching insights rooted in decades of professional experience and the lessons learned from watching his own three children navigate sports across the globe. In this segment, Jesse reveals the secret...

Jay Triano has spent almost all of his 67 years in sport. He's a former captain of Canada's Men's Basketball Team, the first Canadian head coach in NBA history with the Toronto Raptors, and a current assistant with the Dallas Mavericks. He's also the son of a high school basketball coach and the father of three kids who all played youth sports, which means he's seen every side of the equation. In...

Andrew Ladd is a Stanley Cup winner, a 4th overall NHL draft pick, and a former NHL captain who played 1,000 games in hockey's top league. He's also a proud father, husband and youth hockey coach who wants to improve the youth sports environment who all kids who play. In this segment, Andrew shares powerful stories from his pro career and details "1616" - a mental health initiative he founded to e...

⚠️ This episode deals with serious topics including mental health, self-harm, and abuse. If you or someone you know needs support, contact Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868) or the Suicide Crisis Helpline (988). Brock McGillis became the first openly gay player to have played professional hockey, but the path to that moment nearly cost him everything. Depression. Daily drinking. Self-harm. A sport c...

Veteran sports agent and advisor Ross Gurney has helped players like Duncan Keith, Devon Toews, and Zach Benson navigate their way to and through the NHL, but he's also a father who's had to navigate the youth sports environment with his own two children. Though he's seen what it actually takes to make it to the highest levels of sport, Ross doesn't believe that early specialization, "elite" camps...

Chris Pronger's NHL resume reads like a fairy tale: second overall pick, Stanley Cup champion, two Olympic gold medals, Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy, Hockey Hall of Fame. But ask him what the hardest thing he's ever done is, and the answer isn't hockey. It's parenting. In this conversation with Scott Rintoul, Chris draws a direct line between the low-pressure, multi-sport, creativity-driven childhoo...

Will Loftus played more than a decade in the CFL, won two Grey Cups, and is enshrined in the BC Football Hall of Fame for his excellence on the field. But Will truly found his purpose once his days on the gridiron were over. Through Game Ready Fitness and the Washington Kids Foundation, he and his team are on a mission to ensure that every child has access to quality coaching and mentorship, regar...

Adam Van Koeverden has paddled over 120,000 kilometres in his lifetime. He's a four-time Olympian, a multiple world champion, and one of the most decorated kayakers Canada has ever produced. He's also Canada's Secretary of State for Sport, and that may be where his biggest race is being run. In this conversation, Adam traces the full arc of a sporting life that began with a mom who needed somewher...

Steve Kindel is a former professional soccer player, the Technical Director of a youth soccer club (North Van FC), and the father of NHL forward, Ben Kindel. Steve not only had a front row seat to watch his son grow in various ways through multisport participation, but he also witnessed how NHL stars Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini benefited from playing soccer into their teens. In this segmen...

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif contains multitudes. He's a Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, a practicing physician in Quebec, a business owner, and the founder of a foundation dedicated to giving underserved children access to both sport and the arts. He is also one of the most thoughtful voices on youth sport you will find anywhere. In this conversation, Laurent traces the full arc of a...

Hockey Hall of Famer Cammi Granato is a pioneer in women's hockey, breaking down barriers on and off the ice. Currently the Assistant General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Granato has experienced the game as a player, a coach, an executive, and a parent. In this segment, she discusses how to guide your children when they encounter adversity - from the pressure they may feel in competitive envi...

Ryan Huska has seen youth sports from just about every angle. As head coach of the Calgary Flames, he operates at the pinnacle of professional hockey. But as a father of three, he's also lived the full experience of the sports parent. Certain aspects of what he sees concerns him. In this conversation, Ryan reflects on two decades of parenting in youth sport and pulls no punches. He believes early...

John O’Sullivan, a former professional soccer player and coach, founded of Changing the Game Project to help parents, coaches, and organizations understand how they can better support all young athletes. He's recognized internationally for his positive work in the youth sports environment. In this segment, John breaks down why so many well-intentioned parents accidentally harm their child’s long-t...

Dr. Oliver Finlay has seen youth sport from every angle: athlete, physiotherapist, performance director, and global sports investor. In this conversation, he makes a clear-eyed case for what's broken in North American youth sport and what needs to change. Growing up in the UK, Oliver played a multitude of sports, guided by parents who simply encouraged commitment and let sport do the teaching. The...

As a rugby player, Gareth Rees was arguably the most prominent Canadian to represent his country on the world stage and was inducted in to the International Rugby Hall of Fame and Canada's Sport Hall of Fame for his efforts. A father of two boys, Gareth has coached professionally and at the amateur sport level, which gives him a unique perspective on what parents should be looking for in a quality...

Jason D'Rocha didn't plan to spend his career in youth sports. A blown knee in grade 12 ended his dreams of playing university basketball, and what followed — a degree in child psychology, a summer camp job that lit something up in him, and an introduction to Sportball — became a calling he's never walked away from. Jason's now the Vice President of Sportball, the author of multiple children's boo...

Affectionately known as Captain Coyote, Shane Doan played 21 seasons in the NHL and has worked in executive positions with multiple franchises since his playing days ended. The former Memorial Cup MVP and three time Gold Medalist at the World Championships is also the father of four children, one of whom, Josh Doan, plays in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres. In this segment, Shane uses Josh's story...