Most Popular this Week
Featured
How Capital Football’s new festival puts the participant first
With the evidence highlighting a clear drop-off for participation in youth football, Capital Football knew it needed to act to keep young people playing the beautiful game. Data analysed by Capital Football showed that many people playing football...
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Parents
Female Athletes and the Menstrual Cycle
Traditionally, education around the menstrual cycle has focused on reproduction. But this can overlook the many other vital health outcomes associated with the menstrual cycle. At Balance is Better, we believe it is essential for girls and parents...
Coaches
Webinar replay: Supporting Sporty Girls
Are you a coach or administrator supporting young women to develop a love of sport? There are some important things that you should know but are rarely talked about. This webinar replay is hosted by youth sport experts,...
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Coaches
Managing the Physical Load of Female Athletes
Giving athletes appropriate physical loads is crucial to helping them optimise their experiences in youth sports. Though a certain level of physical activity is necessary for individuals to develop physiologically and improve their overall performance levels, excessive physical...
Value of sport
The value of community sport
The benefits of being involved in sport are far-reaching. For participants, research shows that sport is a form of recreation that makes us happier, healthier people. At a community level, we know sport is a great connector. Sport...
Coaches
The Risks of Early Specialisation in Youth Sports
In this article, we examine the ever-growing evidence of increasing injury to children in youth sport. Are high-performance behaviors creeping in too soon? Early specialization is a topic that is starting to get more and more coverage in...
Parents
Individual vs team sports: how do I know what’s best for development?
A common issue faced by parents and coaches is when children become disillusioned with playing sports. Maybe they participate in a team sport but want to play individual sports – or vice versa. Or perhaps they want to...
Coaches
What Can We Learn from the Coaching Philosophies of Five Great Coaches?
As coaches, we should always be learning. The best coaches — even at the elite level — are avid learners, constantly seeking new ideas and information that might help them to be better at developing athletes and optimising...
Coaches
A practical guide for monitoring athlete training and competition load
Though we want our young people to enjoy healthy, physically active lives, it’s also important to recognise that some young people are at risk of exercising “too much”. Typically, the young people most at risk here are the...
Coaches
Building Rapport and Developing Great Coach-Athlete Relationships
Building rapport and developing relationships is arguably the most important part of coaching. After all, coaching is a human activity, revolving around people, and centred upon our abilities to motivate, teach, and interact with one another. So how...
Coaches
Why specialising later can reduce the risk of injury and burnout
Good practice at youth development level can enable both life-long participation in sport and future high-performance outcomes. The High Performance Athlete Development team at High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) works with targeted National Sport Organisation’s to create...
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Parents
10 Golden Rules For Youth Sport Parents
In this video by BeSportive we hear from various past and present New Zealand athletes, coaches and sport personalities about how parents can make sport great for young Kiwis. 10 Golden Rules for Youth Sport Parents 2. Be...
Sport Leaders & Administrators
Promoting Balance is Better Messages
Are you a sport administrator working in a national or regional sport organisation, a school or club and want to understand how you can promote Balance is Better? This article shows you how and provides some good examples. It’s...
Coaches
How not to coach – with Led Tasso
Sometimes the best learning comes from people showing us what not to do. In this blog, we look at Ted Lasso’s alter-ego Led Tasso, and examine some of his ‘unhelpful’ coaching behaviours as a lesson for coaches on how not...
Editor's Picks
A collection of articles curated by the Balance is Better team.
Coaches
How to coach with a Balance is Better Philosophy?
How can coaches bring the Balance is Better philosophy to life? In this article, Andy Rogers, National Coaching Consultant at Sport NZ,...
Coaches
Creating an Environment for Youth to Flourish
In this article, Sport Development Consultant, Charissa Barham shares some valuable ideas on creating positive sporting environments and understanding our purpose as...
Coaches
Book Club with Dr. Ralph Pim
Following on previous Book Club features (see the recommendations from Andy Rogers and Tammy Mehrtens), we hear from Dr. Ralph Pim. Dr Ralph Pim...
Coaches
No Coach is an Island: Coaching in Competition
This article is republished with permission from iCoachKids In this article, Simon Toole discusses coaching feedback and intervention from the sideline. The...
Coaches
The CPR Method: How to Support Players When They Make a Mistake*
* Important clarification: we are not talking about poor skill execution, but more about poor game-decisions. In this article, Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial...
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Coaches
How to be a great secondary school sport coach?: Defining success, mistakes verses outcomes, and the importance of self-awareness
In this Q&A, we hear from Dan Stamp, mental skills coach and Unitec lecturer, about his observations of New Zealand secondary school coaches. Dan,...
Parents
What makes an expert sports parent?
In 2015, Chris Harwood and Camilla Knight, published an academic paper titled, Parenting in youth sport – a positioning paper on parenting expertise. In this paper...
Parents
A parent guide to child growth and development in sport
In this guide we discuss the key considerations relating to children’s growth and development that may influence their sport experience. This guide...
Balance is Better in Action
Fun without pressure – Ex-New Zealand footballer Wendi Henderson talks youth sport
Former New Zealand footballer Wendi Henderson wants young people to enjoy their sports without any pressure, just as she did in her youth. ...
Coaches
Experience doesn’t equal expertise
Dave Keelty unpacks whether experience is the be all and end all to becoming an expert. To get better at something, we need to do more of it. Get more reps in, do the work, put in the hard yards....
Coaches
Praise vs. Affirmation
This article is shared by Player Development Project Prof. Stephen Rollnick is a pioneer in motivational interviewing and in recent years has been applying his knowledge to sport. In this article, Stephen offers a psychology perspective on the...
Coaches
Build a better connection with your athletes: What I wish my coach knew
This article is republished with permission from iCoachKids Have you ever been frustrated, disappointed, or puzzled by your athletes’ behaviour? Of course, happens all the time, right? We all experience those moments when we witness one of our...
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Coaches
How Do I Help Individuals in a Team Setting?
Working with individuals is a fundamental part of coaching. Even in team environments, it’s vital that we support every athlete individually to help them improve. So how can we help everyone in our group while maintaining a wider...
Coaches
Happy People, Better Players
This article is shared by Player Development Project In this article, former Chelsea FC & Portsmouth FC academy player, Jack Burns opens up about the harsh realities around pursuing sport as a career & how athlete welfare and happiness...
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Coaches
Letting Go of Control: How Coaches Can Lead and Be Vulnerable
A willingness to be vulnerable can be an incredibly valuable trait for both athletes and coaches. While traditional coaching outlooks may view vulnerability negatively, it’s increasingly recognised that openness — and an ability to admit mistakes and solicit...