11/18/25: Bucket Mom’s Bucket List, O’Sullivan on Key to Youth Sports, Connor Casey Strikes Again

👏 The Bucket Mom: Inspiring Parents 

Bringing Much Needed Perspective to Youth Sports

If you’ve spent any time on our channel, you’ve probably come across The Bucket Mom. Her heartwarming and inspiring videos have struck a chord with parents and athletes everywhere. Her messages are simple but powerful: slow down, stay present, and remember what this game is really about.

Through her storytelling, she brings perspective to the youth sports experience both for the kids who are living it and the parents cheering them on.

💡Building up Athletes For the Game of Life

This Week's Podcast with John O'Sullivan

Best-selling author, longtime coach and renowned youth sports expert John O’Sullivan recently joined Greg Olsen on the Youth Inc. flagship podcast for a wide-ranging and enlightening conversation, touching on everything from bringing joy and fun back into sports to how to properly develop young athletes.

“Practices and games can be both competitive and fun,” said O’Sullivan. “[Sometimes] it’s like running a marathon. There’s no pleasure in miles 22 through 26. But most runners enjoy running and the experience.”

When it comes to youth sports, O’Sullivan challenged coaches to take a hard look at what they’re doing in practice. “After each practice, I ask myself: ‘would I want to be a player in that practice?’” said O’Sullivan. “If there answer is no, maybe I shouldn’t keep doing things the same way. If it’s yes, keep doing it.”

🤣 Expert Tips from Conor Casey

Stay Away From These at Practice

Tennis coach Conor Casey knows how important energy and connection are to a great practice. He also knows a few certain ways to ruin them.
If you want to kill the good vibes and high energy at your tennis practices, here's how:

1. Jealousy: Feel threatened when your athlete works with other coaches? That'll bring the vibes down fast.
   
2. Comfort: Get so comfortable with your players that you stop giving them your full attention and start taking phone calls. Your lack of focus will make them feel unimportant and, ultimately, kill the vibe.
   
3.  Boredom: Stick to repetitive, uninspiring drills. Nothing drains enthusiasm like monotony.
   
4.  Conflict: Stir up tension between players or with other coaches. Toxic culture, guaranteed.
   
5. Control: Take all of the credit for your athlete's success. That ego will take you a far... far away from positive vibes.

Ask The Experts: How to Actually Track an Athlete’s Development

Take the guesswork out of athlete development

Longtime coach and leadership expert Matt Young tackles the very important – and often complex question of how parents and coaches can accurately and effectively track an athlete’s development.

1. Understand what player development really is. Young defines it as finishing a season better than one started across a mutually defined set of criteria.

2. What should the development criteria include. Young suggests competence, confidence, character, connection and culture.

3. Develop checkpoints at three key points of the season – preseason, midseason and end of season.

4. Establish follow-up steps and monitoring.

Check out the full segment as well as many others from all corners of youth sports here.

WE'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER

Combined points between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz. Chicago won the game, 150-147, in double overtime.

297

"There’s no such thing as a losing team. There’s only a losing leader, and I’m the leader, and we lost.”

 - Atlanta HC Raheem Morris after the Falcons fell to the Panthers in overtime on Sunday.