🏆 Making Moments Matter
Practice is about to start — the same warm-ups, the same lineups, the same routine.
But what if, inside that routine, there was a chance to break the script — to do something that leaves an impression on your players?
Every practice has a thousand ordinary minutes. The best coaches find five that matter most.
🧬 The Insight
Building trust is one of the most important parts of any great team — not just athlete to athlete, but coach to athlete and parent to athlete.
One way to do that?
Pull moments out of the mundane and make them meaningful.
Show your athletes they matter.
Let them know they’re seen.
Trust isn’t built in big speeches. It’s built in small, intentional moments.
🏈 The Story
During my first year coaching pee-wee football, we’d line up five minutes before the whistle to start stretching (and if you’ve ever coached K-2nd graders, you know that’s barely enough time).
Before every practice, I made a point to go to each player — give them a fist bump, ask how they were doing, thank them for showing up.
It was small. Maybe 10 seconds each. But it mattered.
Later that season, a parent told me I was their child’s favorite coach — even though I wasn’t their position coach.
That’s when I realized: those quick moments add up.
🔁 The Shift
Trust is built through a thousand small deposits.
Every interaction is a chance to make one.
Break the script. See the person, not just the player.
🧭 The Takeaway
“Great coaches don’t just run practices — they create moments.”
Every athlete — and every child — remembers who noticed them.
Be that person.
👊 Put It Into Practice
Three simple ways to make moments matter:
• Before practice: Greet each athlete by name and eye contact — not a group “hey guys.”
• During practice: Catch one athlete doing something right and quietly acknowledge it.
• After practice: Pick one player to tell, “You stood out today — keep it up.”
These micro-moments take seconds, but they multiply into trust and belief.
🏅 The Locker Room
It’s not just the coach’s job to build trust.
Every teammate can do it too.
Did someone crush a drill? Say something.
Did a teammate bounce back from a mistake? Give them a nickname that celebrates the moment.
Culture isn’t built through orders — it’s built through ownership.
❤️ The Parents’ Bleachers
You get the same opportunity at home.
When your child finishes a game, look for a chance to break the script.
• End-of-season dinner? Add a fun personal award from you — “Hardest Worker,” “Biggest Smile,” “Most Growth.”
• Tough loss? Grab ice cream and celebrate effort anyway.
• Ordinary Tuesday? Write a quick note and leave it on their gear bag.
It’s not about the grand gestures. It’s about the quiet, consistent ones that say: You matter more than your stats.
⚡ BE THE CATALYST
Reply to this email:
👉 What’s one small moment that built trust between you and your athlete — or one you wish you hadn’t missed?
Forward this to another parent or coach who needs the reminder: moments don’t have to be big to matter.