Articles
Youth-Sports Officials
One of the biggest challenges recreation professionals face is finding—and keeping—quality volunteer coaches.
Closed For Maintenance
Closed for maintenance—these are three words that parks and rec professionals and patrons do not enjoy seeing posted on the front door of any rec facility. However, when they apply to
Goodbye, Neighbor
My neighbor Chuck passed away on New Year’s Day. He was 67 years old, 10 years older than me. When my family and I moved in next door 24 years ago, he was a youthful 43-year old—albeit living with his parents—but still a man with dreams.
Adopt A Reflective Mindset
Those readers who have spent time working with young people are likely familiar with the phrase “teachable moments.” And those who have heard the term probably embrace the idea
Ship-Shape
With spring in the air, children begin to anticipate the end of another school year and the start of summer camp; this is why parks and rec professionals are gearing up now for high-paced action.
Parent Meetings
A well-planned and executed pre-season parent meeting can help set the tone for a fun and stress-free season for all involved.
A Paradigm Shift
The Wall Street Journal (July 11, 2017) featured an article titled “The Rise of the Free 5K” that discussed Parkrun, a grassroots program developed and delivered by non-parks and rec staff.
What It Means To Forgive
She was just doing her job as she had for years, driving a bus for the local transit authority. She was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with her family—wondering what she would
Crying Fowl
There are a few issues in the parks and rec realm that seem to constantly rear their ugly heads in departments across the country. One of these topics will likely generate a lively discussion—geese.
The Book Of Life
My wife and I were putting together a birthday card for one of our nephews. We stuck a couple $20 bills and a picture of him when he was much younger in the envelope and sealed it.
Squash It!
Too often, park and rec or youth-development professionals become inadvertently paralyzed by fear, and programs and participants suffer. While apprehension and fear are perfectly normal feelings,
Dirty Dozen--Avoid these field-maintenance mistakes
Poorly maintained youth-sports fields are big trouble for a lot of reasons—most notably they put young athletes at increased and unnecessary risk of injury.
Smooth Skating
In the late fall and early winter months across North America, parks and recreation professionals turn their eyes to the sky, their noses to the wind, and their ears to the Weather Channel, waiting for signs of that first freezing day.
It’s About More Than Making A Buck
The numbers are staggering—roughly 20 percent of children live in households with incomes below the federal poverty threshold—and many lack athletic opportunities because of it.
Embrace “Boredom”
It was just another day. My wife and I had done some Saturday shopping: one store for paper products, another for meat and groceries. As we often do on Saturdays, we decided to stop for lunch.
Facility Space
The list of challenges for recreation professionals is long and ever-changing. With the explosion of travel-team sports—coupled with recreation agencies offering a variety of their
The Trouble With Labels
We live in a time when the terms “normal” and “abnormal” are used far too often to describe the news, politics, and, unfortunately, even our young people. While the idea that some terms
Defining An Audience
Who is your audience? Before we begin, the answer is not, “Everyone.” While this may seem like the obvious answer for agencies that provide services to demographically diverse
Indoor Sports Fields
Since it’s December, some locales might be very, very cold, while others are very, very wet; in some places, it might be both. Either way, it’s always “nice” to have indoor, temperature-controlled sports fields