Better Sports Parents

Lauren Bay-Regula is a three-time Canadian Olympian in softball, and one of the most honest, self-aware voices you'll hear on what it actually looks like to parent in today's youth sports world. Her path back to the Olympics at 39 wasn't just about softball. It came after six years of postpartum depression and identity loss following the 2008 Games, years she describes as being buried from a menta...

Former Blue Jays' first round draft pick Travis Snider is on a mission to change youth sports. After experiencing the highs of what appeared to be a nearly flawless ascension as a youth star, Travis came face-to-face with the lows of struggling to perform as a pro due in large part to an identity that was tightly bound to results. He now pours his energy into teaching parents and coaches a better...

Farhan Lalji is a very recognizable face and voice in Canadian sports. Since 1997 he's been with TSN, covering everything from the Olympics to the Stanley Cup and the Super Bowl. He's a CFL Football Hall of Famer in the media category and a BC Football Hall of Famer as a builder thanks in large part to creating a high school football program from scratch in New Westminster. He also sits on the nat...

Andrea Neil is one the greatest players and leaders to ever wear the jersey for Canada's National Women's Soccer team. She played in multiple Women's World Cups, captaining Canada to a 4th place finish in 2003, its best ever result at the event. In this segment, Andrea implores parents to demand more from the people and organizations who oversee the development of children in sports. Listen to the...

Aaron Volpatti was never supposed to make it. He wasn't drafted. He wasn't a goal scorer. He grew up in Revelstoke, BC, playing house hockey at 14 and got cut from select teams. And then at 19 years old, while playing junior hockey with the Vernon Vipers, he was badly burned in an accident and told by doctors that his hockey career was over. He was wrapped head to toe in a hospital burn unit, unab...

Ray Ferraro is an 18-year NHL veteran, an award-winning hockey analyst, and the father of four boys. He's also coached young players over multiple decades and witnessed the evolution of parental involvement in youth sport. In this segment, Ray talks about his own evolution as a sports parent, the trap that many parents fall into when they invest in development, and how your child's interests need...

Allison McNeill is one of the most accomplished figures in Canadian basketball. As a player, she won multiple provincial and national titles before finishing her collegiate career in the NCAA. As a coach, she took over Simon Fraser University's women's program in 1988 and spent 13 years turning it into a perennial national championship contender. She then took the reins of Canada's women's nationa...

Allison Forsyth is a former Olympic skier, a renowned SafeSport expert, and the Chief Sport Officer at Headversity. A survivor of abuse in sport and vocal advocate for athlete wellbeing, Allison founded Generation Safe to create more resources for athletes and organizations to confront and reduce maltreatment and abuse through sport. In this segment, Allison discusses the role parents, coaches and...

Most conversations about improving youth sports focus on athletes, parents, and coaches. This one looks at the people everyone else seems to forget — the officials. Dave Hawkshaw is the only Canadian to hold a full-time position as an NFL official. He has officiated over 100 games in the world's top football league after 13 years in the CFL, but his journey started the same way thousands of young...

Dr. Rick Celebrini is the Vice President of Player Health and Performance for the Golden State Warriors and the father of four extremely athletic children, including Macklin Celebrini, the NHL's number 1 overall draft pick in 2024. A former professional soccer player himself, Rick has worked with professional and amateur athletes across several sports including basketball, hockey, and soccer. In t...

Jay DeMerit's path to professional soccer reads like a fairy tale, but he'll be the first to tell you it wasn't supposed to happen the way it did. No academy. No draft. Just a backpack, $1,800, and a willingness to knock on doors in the ninth division of English soccer. Within three years, he was captaining Watford in the Premier League. By 2010, he was a starter on the US World Cup team. But what...

Amar Doman didn't make it as a professional athlete, but sport shaped everything about the man, the father, and the business leader he became. In 2021, Amar purchased the BC Lions and has been one of the CFL's most community-invested owners ever since. He's also a husband, a father of three, and a youth football coach who has spent years learning what it really means to develop kids not just playe...

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 honest conversation, the former Canucks captain shares why he didn't need his son to play hockey, why parents are caught in an "arms race" men...

Terry McKaig built the most successful post-secondary baseball program in Canada's history at UBC, sending players to the MLB draft year after year. But if you asked him now, there are many things he would have done differently—especially in the first half of his coaching career. In this raw and honest conversation, Terry opens up about his transformation from a "hardcore, intense" 24-year-old coa...

Olympic gold medalist Steve Mesler (Vancouver 2010, Bobsled) delivers a nuanced perspective on youth sports that challenges both the "winning is everything" and "winning doesn't matter" camps. As co-founder of Classroom Champions and a father navigating today's youth sports landscape, Steve explores the complex relationship between achievement, self-worth, and the purpose of sport. This conversati...

Former NHL star Brendan Morrison (900+ games, West Coast Express) shares hard-earned wisdom from raising four Division I athletes. He challenges the "elite" youth sports culture that's pyramiding kids too early, discusses why banning parent coaches is often misguided, and reveals how his children took completely different paths to high-level athletics. In this episode, Brendan tackles tough topics...

A 20-year veteran of Team Canada, Kim Gaucher shares her journey from a high school basketball star to a professional athlete and coach. She discusses the significance of youth sports in fostering social skills, resilience, and teamwork. Kim emphasizes the importance of parents modeling behaviour in teaching their children about sports, the benefits of multi-sport participation, and the challenges...

Hockey Hall of Famer Geraldine Heaney, who scored the game-winning goal in the first Women's World Championship and won Olympic gold, shares what's broken in youth hockey and her view on how to fix it. From pioneer player to coaching her own kids, Geraldine has seen it all: as a multi-sport athlete who taught herself the game, as an elite player, and now as a parent navigating today's youth hockey...

Three-time Olympic gold medalist and Canadian Senator Marnie McBean joins Better Sports Parents to discuss the crisis facing youth sports in Canada and what we can do about it. From her rowing career to raising her 10-year-old daughter Isabel, Marnie shares insights on why multi-sport participation matters more than early specialization, how we're monetizing youth sports at kids' expense, and why...

Courtesy of Mas+ by Messi, Jesse Marsch, coach of Canada's National Men's Soccer Team, joins Better Sports Parents to share lessons from his playing career in MLS, managing in Europe, and raising three children across multiple countries and cultures. From playing for the US National Team to coaching the New York Red Bulls and leading clubs in Germany, Austria, and England, Jesse has seen youth spo...

Sports agent and advisor Ross Gurney shares his unique perspective on youth sports from both sides - as a professional who's guided players through leagues like the NHL & CFL and as a father navigating the youth sports environment with his own two children. With clients like Duncan Keith, Devon Toews, and Zach Benson, Ross has seen what it actually takes to make it to the highest levels of spo...

Former CFL centre and Grey Cup champion Angus Reid discusses the troubling state of youth sports, the business model destroying accessibility, and what it really means to develop champions. Reid, now a high school football coach and author of " ⁠ Teenager: A Story About Finding Your Way ⁠ ," shares why he refuses to charge kids for coaching, how parents unknowingly harm their children's developmen...

Former Canadian national team soccer player Steve Kindel shares invaluable insights on youth sports development through the lens of a player, a parent, and a coach. As Senior Technical Director for North Vancouver FC, father to NHL player Ben Kindel and Canada U17 soccer player Lacey, plus husband to former national team player Sara, Steve offers a unique perspective on balancing competition with...

Former NHL captain Andrew Ladd opens up about the hard truths facing kids in today’s youth sports system and what parents must change to help their children thrive. From early specialization to unhealthy pressure, entitlement, burnout, and the myth of the “perfect path,” Andrew shares powerful lessons from his pro career, his parenting journey, and years spent studying youth development after reti...

Will Loftus didn't start playing football until grade 10, yet he went on to win two Grey Cups and play 11 years in the CFL. In this episode, the BC Football Hall of Fame inductee and founder of Game Ready Fitness shares game-changing insights for parents navigating youth sports today. What You'll Learn: ✅ Why starting sports late can still lead to professional success✅ The power of multi-sport p...