Over the course of a week, I visit several websites and blogs to read articles on what is going on in the Basketball Coaching Network. With the Speedlinking Series, I’d like to share with you some of the greatest articles I found on the web. You can find all previous links right here in the Speedlinking Archive.

These are posts from Blogs that I enjoy reading and recommend:

(Blogs ordered in groups)

  • Is Your Team Passionately Pursuing Their Goals? by Coach Dawn
    I had a parent in my office the other day ask me for an example of an athlete of whom I was proud. Every example that came to mind were players who worked hard, who ground it out, who left it all on the gym floor when their careers were over. […]

  • What Is The Key To Happy Teams? by Coach Dawn
    Perception is reality. We’ve all heard this cliché phrase, but what does it mean for coaches and their teams? It means that we have the power to turn a devastating loss into a learning experience, to change a disappointing season into a foundation for the future, and (in the case of the team that’s feeling a bit too good about themselves), we have the power to turn success into “not quite good enough”. […]

  • The Power Of A Positive Outlook by Coach Dawn
    I just finished watching The Optimism Bias, a great TEDtalk by Tali Sharot. I highly recommend you check it out, it’s very interesting, though a tad long at about seventeen minutes. Let’s look at what the optimism bias is and how it could impact our teams. […]

  • How To Use Storytelling To Motivate Your Team by Coach Dawn
    Not to toot my own horn (but toot! toot!), but I can tell a mean story. I remember a time when my team was winning games, but not in the dominating fashion that we should. I gathered the team around and told them about my childhood love of the video game Mortal Combat and how when you’d beaten your opponent, you had two choices. […]

  • 10 Fun Ways to Motivate your kids in Youth Sports by Janis B. Meredith
    Has your child lost his motivation to play youth sports? It happens all the time with older athletes, and that’s when their mental toughness is truly tested. But what about small kids? We can’t expect them to have the mental fortitude to continue working hard without motivation. Yet it’s important for them to stay active […]

  • What’s a Sports Parent to do when your child stops playing sports? by Janis B. Meredith
    The time for stopping sports will be different for every athlete. Some may quit after one season, when they are still small, some after middle school, some mid-season, some after high school, and some may make it all the way to college. And then it ends. As sport parents, it is easy for youth sports […]

  • Sleep Experts Rethink Sleep by Wendy Lynne
    Craig and I constantly read and study what gives athletes the competitive edge both mental and physically. When something stands out we want to share it with you… Recently, I read a fascinating article that turns upside down our beliefs about the need for 8 hours of straight deep sleep […]

  • Goal Setting For Kids: A Must for Young Athletes by Wendy Lynne
    As parents, we know the importance of setting goals for ourselves, but what about for our young athletes? Today we have a guest post on goal setting for kids written by Michael Hare, the owner of League Pitching Machines, who is passionate about skill development in players of all ages. […]

Enjoy these fine articles and visit the blogs regularly! If you’d like to point me to a blog you are missing here and which I should be reading, please let me know!