The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe

Bill Hoopes is a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer who served 20 years, rising through the ranks after enlisting at age 19. Raised in a single-parent household, he left high school at 16 to help support his family, later earning his GED, a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Child Development, and a Master’s in Juvenile Policy and Leadership. After retiring from the Navy and moving to Florida,...

Welcome to the 27th Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe.  Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected.  Today’s word is Comparison — a habit for sports parents to manage carefully, as constantly measuring your child against others can quietly damage their confidence an...

After my conversation with Hannah Huppi, something clicked for me about what high performance really means. We often focus on the grind and the glory, but Hannah highlighted something many people overlook: the return. She rowed over 600 miles across the Arctic Ocean, set world records, and came home forever changed. Same city, same routines — but a different woman. Achieving something that big is...

Hannah Huppi is a world-class rower and adventurer who became the first American woman to row across a polar ocean. In 2025, she set multiple world records in the Arctic Ocean, including the fastest crossing at 10 days and 5 hours. A former USA National Team member, she represented the United States in beach sprint coastal rowing, earned a historic World Championship medal, and was voted USRowing...

Welcome to the 26th Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe. Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected.  Today’s word is Resilience — a core skill for sports parents to develop in their children, helping them learn to recover from mistakes, losses, and difficulties in yo...

After speaking with Shane Watson, i9 Sports franchise owner, my perspective on youth sports shifted. His daughter was shy and quiet at age 4. Instead of pushing her or rushing into one sport, they let her try multiple sports — soccer, baseball, basketball — in a low-pressure environment. Over time, her confidence grew. She started speaking up, engaging more, and showing up differently. This short...

Shane Watson is a former professional baseball player who was drafted by the Phillies out of high school in Lakewood, California. After nearly a decade in pro baseball, he transitioned into youth sports by becoming an i9 Sports franchise owner in Southern California. As a husband and father, Shane is actively involved in coaching his children’s teams, including running 6U and youth baseball progra...

Welcome to the 25th Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe.  Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected.  Today’s word is Responsibility — a key awareness for sports parents to develop, recognizing how teaching your child to own their effort, choices, and outcomes builds...

After interviewing Alyssa Tormala on the podcast, I found myself thinking more deeply about how parents choose schools—and one idea kept coming up: we’re asking the wrong question. Most conversations focus on which system is better—online or traditional—but that debate misses what actually matters, because school is doing something far more powerful than delivering information; it’s shaping someth...

Alyssa Tormala is an experienced education leader with nearly 20 years in private and independent schools. She currently serves as Head of School at Laurel Springs School, where she leads academic strategy, oversees faculty, and supports students and families in high-achievement environments. Before moving into education, Alyssa spent over six years practicing law after earning her Juris Doctor fr...

Welcome to the 24th Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe. Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected.  Today’s word is Expectations — a crucial pause for sports parents to take, noticing how the silent forecasts and benchmarks you carry can either lift your child up or...

After interviewing rower Cara Stawicki on the podcast, my perspective on late bloomers shifted. Most parents think if talent hasn’t shown up by a certain age, it never will. That’s not how performance works. Cara started rowing at 18, made the national team at 34, and won gold in her late 30s. The game-changer? She stopped seeing herself as “just someone who works hard” and started seeing herself...

Cara Stawicki is a World Champion rower and high-performance coach who helps athletes and leaders build confidence, overcome self-doubt, and perform at their best. As a member of the U.S. National Team, she won gold at the 2019 World Rowing Championships and spent years training and competing at the highest level of international sport. Her journey wasn’t linear—Cara has been open about the intern...

Welcome to the twenty-third Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe.   Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected.   Today’s word is Identity — a grounding force for sports parents to honor, helping your child build a full sense of self in youth sports that goes far beyon...

After interviewing two mothers of high-level athletes on the podcast, my perspective shifted. They’re deeply involved in their children’s path — and doing many things right. There’s a lot we can learn from them. This is not about avoiding pressure, but about evolving while walking the path. In this short note, I share three small shifts that can make a real difference. Carrie Kimmel episode link--...

Marina Villatoro is the creator and host of Raising Pro Athletes , a podcast that shines a light on the parents behind young athletes—the sacrifices, the struggles, the laughter, and the lessons that never make it into the trophy photos. As a mom actively guiding her son Keanu through the world of competitive rock climbing, Marina has lived the full spectrum of youth sports parenting: the early mo...

Welcome to the twenty-second Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe. Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected. Today’s word is Energy — the invisible force sports parents carry onto the sidelines, into the car ride home, and through every conversation about the game. I...

ilda Oltean is the co-founder, along with her husband, of San Marcos Basketball , a youth basketball organization launched in 2020 in the San Marcos / San Elijo Hills area of San Diego, California. Both Hilda and Ciprian played basketball in their youth and represented the Romanian National Team. Their club was created to provide affordable, competitive basketball opportunities for boys and girls...

Welcome to the twenty-first Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe. Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected. Today’s word is Perspective — a quiet superpower for sports parents that lets you step back and see the whole picture instead of getting lost in the heat of a...

Reid Meyer is a Certified Educational Planner (CEP) and co-founder of Athletes to Athletes (A2A), a platform dedicated to helping student-athletes navigate college recruiting, admissions, and the transition to collegiate sports. He also founded Play College Sports Abroad and works as a counselor at The Student-Athlete Advisors. Reid’s own athletic path included playing baseball at Texas Tech Unive...

Welcome to the twentieth Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short, 5-minute reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe. Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected. Today’s word is Listen — an often-overlooked superpower for sports parents, one that turns car rides home, post-game silence, or quiet frustrations into...

Stone Melet is the Founder & CEO of BriteLegacy, a premium legacy company that creates high-end, meaningful keepsakes to preserve the stories and journeys of athletes. His flagship product, “The Fold,” is designed as a lasting heirloom for senior nights, championships, college signings, graduations, and other milestone celebrations. Stone’s mission is to help families capture the full emotional an...

Welcome to the nineteenth Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe. Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected. Today’s word is Balance — a vital skill for sports parents to practice, creating harmony between supporting your child’s sports journey and protecting the rest o...

Madison Gates is the Vice President of Marketing at i9 Sports, where she leads national marketing strategy, brand development, and growth initiatives for one of the largest youth sports franchise organizations in the United States. With extensive experience in franchise marketing, she has previously held leadership roles with brands such as CARSTAR and Maaco, helping multi-location businesses scal...

Welcome to the eighteenth Monday Reset for Sports Parents, a short reflection inside The Youth Sports Parenting Tribe. Each Monday Reset brings you one word, one idea, and one mindset to help you start the week calm, clear, and connected. Today’s word is Gratitude — a transformative mindset for sports parents to cultivate, shifting focus to the positives in your child's youth sports journey, like...