I've enjoyed throwing the football for many years, going back to the days when I used to toss the ball with my dad. I like nothing better than doing this with my kids, but I've learned that for them, they more creative or fun I can make it the better.

For example, during a recent beach vacation, my kids were both very interested in throwing the ball while in the water, diving through and over waves to catch the ball. What made it fun for them was that this was something different, and we spent parts of several days doing this and had a great time.

I've also found that taking a football on family walks and hikes is a good way to get the kids engaged. The key is to find or create opportunities to make sports fun for your kids. The focus on the above examples is not on throwing the football, but combining it with other activities that make those events more enjoyable -- for my kids and for me. 

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Our family has spent most nights during the past two weeks watching the Summer Olympics. For my kids -- ages 8 and 11 -- one of the best things about this has been exposing them to so many different sports featuring world-class athletes.

While paying special attention to sports like gymnastics, swimming and basketball that they participate in, they've also expressed interest in trying other sports, like volleyball, badminton, pole vaulting and diving, that they watched.

This is a great opportunity to build on this Olympic inspiration and have my kids try some of these sports. While we're not going to rush out and start pole vaulting anytime soon, we've had several discussions about what sports they liked most and might like to try. I'm eager to see where this inspiration may lead.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I officially have Olympic fever. Here are some of the reasons I enjoy the Summer Olympics:

• I like watching the best athletes in the world compete for Olympic gold.
• I like the pagentry of the opening and closing ceremonies.
• I like watching and talking Olympics with my kids.
• I like watching sports I see only once every four years.
• I like stories like U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps going for a record eight golds.
• I like rooting for the U.S. athletes, especially in events where they are underdogs.
• I like learning more about great foreign athletes I've never heard of.
• I like listening to NBC's Bob Costas in prime time.
• I like hearing the Star-Spangled Banner.
• I like the fact that in many sports, it's truly amateurs competing for the highest honor in their sports.

Let the Games begin.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Boston Red Sox all-star outfielder Manny Ramirez did everything he could the past week or so to force the Red Sox to trade him, which they did today to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His actions included:

• Sitting out of two games when he was healthy enough to play
• Not running out several ground balls in a recent loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Seeming to strike out intentionally by not swinging on three straight pitches in a recent game against the New York Yankees
• Basically being a disruption to his team by talking about how he wanted to be traded to the media, holding up signs in the dugout focusing on his situation and in general being a bad teammate

Ramirez is one of the game's best hitters, and he played a key role in the Red Sox winning two World Series since 2004. The Red Sox put up with his antics, which included past demands to be traded and many other incidents, because of his offensive skills, but could not put up with his act any longer.

The bottom line is that Ramirez is anything but a role model for young baseball players. He is really only interested in himself, and he doesn't care what his teammates, the fans or others think as long as he gets what he wants.

Ramirez refers to his disruptive actions as "Manny being Manny." I think that for the Red Sox, this is a case of addition by subtraction, and that they will be better off in the long run without Ramirez.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I took a golf lesson yesterday, and was surprised when the instructor spent the first 10 minutes talking about the importance of the mental approach to the game. Specifically, he talked about focusing on every shot, and forgetting about any bad shots before you hit your next shot.

He said that many golfers follow up a bad shot with several others, as they dwell on the bad shot rather than focusing on the next shot. A part of focusing is visualizing or seeing the result you'd like to have before you hit a shot. Not letting one bad shot affect future shots is easier said than done, but I realized he was right to stress this before he watched me hit any balls.

I also realized that this advice applies to all sports. While it's important to practice your skills, take some time to work on the mental approach to the game as well. Chances are that the more focused you are, the better the result will be and the more you'll enjoy the sports you play.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When playing games or sports with your kids, do you let your kids win, try about 50% or go all out? For years, I've taken one of the first two approaches, fearing that if I did my best my kids would quickly lose interest.

As my kids get older, though (8 and 11), I've learned that they would rather lose with me really trying than having me let them win. They now call me on this whenever they think I'm not trying to win.

The good news for me is that really competing with my kids has several advantages to the let-them-win approach:

• It's much more fun for all of us.
• The kids take it as a challenge, and raise their level of play.
• The kids are looking forward to the day when they will win in 1 on 1, golf, tennis, etc.
• The kids take pride in their good moments, knowing they did it against me when I was trying.
• The kids have more respect for my modest athletic ability, and are more open to the teaching of certain fundamentals as a result.
• Learning how to lose is a good thing for everyone, and something all kids will experience and need to know how to handle.

This transition wasn't easy for me, but now that I've made it, I wonder what took me so long. I look forward to many more years of such competitions.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm often asking my kids if they want to do something active with me, such as throwing the football, shooting baskets, playing tennis, throwing the Frisbee, etc. While they say yes occasionally, most of the time they say no.

But if I start doing one of these activities with someone else, they often want to join in. This happened three or four times during a recent family vacation, and I could tell they were into it at least in part because it was their idea to participate.

I did a lot of these sort of activities with my dad growing up, and was usually on the asking end. Dad was good about doing these things with me, and I've always wanted to do things like this with my kids.

There are many strategies to interest kids in sports or other healthy activities. This may be one to consider; it's worked well for me.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Much has been written in recent years, or since Tiger Woods turned professional, how golf's popularity has risen while tennis's has fallen. Sunday's classic Wimbledon men's singles final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, considered by many to be one of the best tennis matches of all time, may help to get more people back on the court.

Nadal knocked off Federer, who had won the last five Wimbledon men's singles titles, in five sets, and more than four hours on the court. Both players were at the top of their games, hitting one amazing shot after another to win points that few other players could have contested.

Add the fact that the Williams sisters -- Venus and Serena -- dominated the women's singles competition to meet in the finals, and you had a great two days of top-notch tennis.

Like golf, tennis is a sport most people can play for a lifetime, but unlike golf, tennis is rather inexpensive, and also is much better exercise, especially at a time when most golfers opt for carts instead of walking.

It's true that Woods has singlehandedly increased golf's popularity, both in terms of numbers of players and TV ratings, and that isn't likely to change because of one great tennis tournament. What the Wimbledon performances did, though, is showcase how exciting this sport can be, and give our kids role models to look up to. It also made tennis look cool, which doesn't hurt either.

My kids watched much of the Federer-Nadal final and were very interested in taking tennis lessons this week. For my part, I play tennis with a friend on a regular basis, and watching this match has motivated me to work on my game ... much like how I feel about my golf game after watching Tiger.

Take advantage of this focus on tennis to expose your kids to the sport; it could be the start of something they'll enjoy for years to come. 

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My daughter Olivia attended her first summer sports camp (basketball) this week. She's really gotten into basketball over the past six months or so, and was eager for the camp to begin.

After the first day of camp, however, she didn't want to go back. She said there was too much fouling in the games, and she didn't like the team she was on.

These feelings were alien to me; as I kid basketball camp was one of the highlights of my summer, and I still remember those weeks fondly.

That night I listened to Olivia's reaction to camp, and shared with her some of my own. I encouraged her to tell the counselors what she told me about the fouling, and to see if she could change teams.

To her credit, she did just that the next day. Although she didn't end up changing teams, she did enjoy camp more as the week went on, and I think her expressing her feelings is a big part of the reason why.

I feel like both she and I learned a lot about summer camp this week, lessons that should help us both before the next summer sports camp rolls around.

Posted by Chris Lindsley at 06:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)